Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt (36 page)

The young Ptolemy VIII ruled Egypt alongside his brother, Ptolemy VI, and his sister, Cleopatra II. Following the Syrian invasion, Ptolemy VIII and Cleopatra II ruled Egypt together from Alexandria. The triumvirate was briefly resumed before Ptolemy VIII succeeded in dislodging his brother and once again ruled from Alexandria with Cleopatra II. In 163 the people of Alexandria summoned Ptolemy VI to rule alongside Cleopatra II, and the exiled Ptolemy VIII became the highly unpopular king of Cyrenaica. Ptolemy VIII persistently and unsuccessfully petitioned Rome, demanding support for his right to rule Cyprus as well as Cyrenaica. The Romans sympathised, but
gave little practical help. They acknowledged Ptolemy as their friend, however, and following an attempted assassination in 156, Ptolemy repaid this friendship by making a will leaving ‘his kingdom’ to Rome should he die without a legitimate heir.

In 145 the death of Ptolemy VI allowed Ptolemy VIII to return from Cyrenaica, marry his widowed sister and murder her son and heir. A purge of the Museion and Library of Alexandria followed, with most of the scholars forced to flee. As Alexandria’s reputation as a centre of intellectual excellence plummeted, the displaced scholars gained their revenge by recording unflattering portraits of their abnormally short and grotesquely fat king.

In 144 Cleopatra II gave birth to her brother’s son, Ptolemy Memphites. A year later Ptolemy fathered a son, Ptolemy IX, by his stepdaughter-niece, Cleopatra III. A marriage followed, but there had been no divorce. Cleopatra II refused to be sidelined by her daughter, and the three found themselves locked together in an uncomfortable ménage. When, in 131, Ptolemy VIII was once again forced to flee Egypt, he took Cleopatra III with him but left Cleopatra II behind. Safely settled in Cyprus, he sent for his fourteen-year-old son, Memphites, and had him murdered. Thus he ensured that the children of Cleopatra III would inherit his throne.

In 130 Ptolemy VIII returned to Egypt, forcing Cleopatra II to flee to Syria. She returned in 124, and brother and sister were reconciled. Ptolemy VIII died in 116. He left Egypt to his sons by Cleopatra III, but stipulated that the five Greek towns of Cyrenaica should pass as a separate kingdom to Ptolemy Apion, his son by his mistress Eirene.

Cleopatra II

Daughter of Ptolemy V and Cleopatra I, wife of Ptolemy VI and Ptolemy VIII

Cleopatra II bore Ptolemy VI four children: the short-lived Ptolemy
Eupator, Ptolemy VII, Cleopatra III and Cleopatra Thea. During her first husband’s reign she became widely respected as a supporter of the Jews, whom she encouraged to settle in Egypt. Following the death of Ptolemy VI, she married her brother Ptolemy VIII and bore his son, Ptolemy Memphites. Both Ptolemy VII and Ptolemy Memphites were to be murdered by Ptolemy VIII.

Humiliated by her husband’s marriage to her daughter Cleopatra III, Cleopatra refused to accept a divorce. Mother and daughter shared the queenship – and a husband – as Cleopatra the Sister and Cleopatra the Wife. When Ptolemy VIII was exiled to Cyprus, Cleopatra II ruled Egypt alone. But, while Cleopatra II had the support of the Greeks of Alexandria, Ptolemy VIII, thanks to a policy of promoting native-born Egyptians, had the support of the people outside Alexandria. Neither could truly rule Egypt without the other.

In 130 Euergetes returned to Egypt, forcing Cleopatra II to flee to safety in Syria. She returned in 124, and Cleopatra II, Cleopatra III and Ptolemy VIII united to rule an Egypt crippled by civil unrest. Cleopatra II died a few months after her husband-brother in 116.

Ptolemy Memphites (of Memphis)

Son of Ptolemy VIII and Cleopatra II

Ptolemy Memphites was born at the time of his father’s coronation at Memphis and presented to the Egyptian priesthood. Fourteen years later he was murdered by his father. It was rumoured that his dismembered body was sent home to his mother in a chest.

Cleopatra III

Daughter of Ptolemy VI and Cleopatra II, wife of Ptolemy VIII

Cleopatra III bore her first son by her uncle Ptolemy VIII before she married him. She would eventually bear him two sons and three
daughters, and would be rewarded for her loyalty with her own personal divinity.

In 116, following the death of Ptolemy VIII, a triumvirate of Cleopatra II, Cleopatra III and Ptolemy IX briefly ruled Egypt. The death of Cleopatra II left Cleopatra III regent for her two sons, Ptolemy IX and Ptolemy X. Under the terms of her husband’s will, she was to decide which son should become her coruler. This brought the royal family to the brink of collapse. The three ruled together in complete disharmony, with first one brother and then the other being forced to take refuge in Cyprus. Finally, in 107, Ptolemy IX fled, falsely accused of plotting to murder his mother. Cleopatra III and Ptolemy X ruled Egypt together until the sixty-year-old Cleopatra III died in 101, almost certainly murdered by her younger son.

Ptolemy IX Soter II (Saviour): ‘Lathyros’ (Chickpea), King of Egypt 116–107, 88–81

Son of Ptolemy VIII and Cleopatra III

Ptolemy IX married his forceful sister Cleopatra IV and then, after a divorce forced upon him by his mother, his other sister, Cleopatra Selene. Forced to flee in 107, he established himself as ruler of Cyprus. After a thwarted attempt to retake Egypt, he lived peacefully on Cyprus until 88, when he returned to Alexandria to rule Egypt.

Ptolemy X Alexander I, King of Egypt 107–88

Son of Ptolemy VIII and Cleopatra III

In 100 Ptolemy X murdered his mother and married his niece, Berenice III. He ruled Egypt for a decade of declining prosperity until the people of Alexandria took exception to his favourable treatment of the Jews and he was forced to flee, leaving the throne vacant for his exiled brother Ptolemy IX. In revenge, he willed the Egyptian empire to the
Romans. They did not take up the bequest, but they never forgot it. Ptolemy X is rumoured to have melted down the gold coffin of Alexander the Great in order to pay his troops. He died in 88, attempting to take Cyprus from his brother.

Cleopatra Berenice III Thea Philopator (Father-Loving Goddess), Queen of Egypt 81–80

Daughter of Ptolemy IX and Cleopatra IV, wife of Ptolemy X and Ptolemy XI

Berenice III was initially married to her uncle, Ptolemy X. She inherited her father’s throne in 81, changed her name to Cleopatra Berenice and, encouraged by Rome, married her illegitimate stepson Ptolemy XI. Cleopatra Berenice III was popular with the people of Alexandria but not with her husband: he had her murdered soon after their marriage.

Ptolemy XI Alexander II, King of Egypt 80

Son of Ptolemy X

Ptolemy XI had the support of the Roman general Sulla but was over-ambitious. He murdered his popular wife, Berenice III, and was in turn killed by the people of Alexandria.

Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos (New Dionysos): ‘Auletes’ (Flute Player), King of Egypt 80–58, 55–51

Son of Ptolemy IX, Brother of Ptolemy of Cyprus

Following the unexpected death of Berenice III, the elder of the two illegitimate sons of Ptolemy IX took the throne of Egypt as Ptolemy XII.

Ptolemy XII was faced with the unenviable task of preserving a
dying dynasty. The Romans, coveting Egypt’s unfailing fertility, were deciding how best to strip the Ptolemies of their throne. Ptolemy knew that he had to remain on friendly terms with Rome, but this policy turned his people against him. In 58, when the Romans annexed Cyprus, a wave of panic swept Egypt. As the people of Alexandria took to the streets, Ptolemy fled to Rome to appeal for military aid. Berenice IV now ruled Egypt in her father’s absence. Ptolemy XII was able to bribe the governor of Syria to support him against his daughter. A Roman army took Alexandria in 55 and Ptolemy XII was restored to his throne. Heavily in debt, he levied stringent taxes, which left his people hungry and desperate. Ptolemy XII died a natural death in 51.

Ptolemy of Cyprus, King of Cyprus 80–58

Son of Ptolemy IX, brother of Ptolemy XII

The younger of the two illegitimate sons of Ptolemy IX took the throne of Cyprus as King Ptolemy. In 58 the Romans annexed Cyprus, driving Ptolemy to commit suicide.

Cleopatra V Tryphaena (Opulent One)

Wife and perhaps sister or half-sister of Ptolemy XII

A woman of obscure origins, Cleopatra V Tryphaena was the mother of Berenice IV, and possibly the mother of Cleopatra VI Tryphaena, Cleopatra VII, Arsinoë IV, Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV. She may have acted briefly as co-regent alongside Berenice IV.

Berenice IV, Queen of Egypt 58–55

Daughter of Ptolemy XII and Cleopatra V Tryphaena

Berenice married an insignificant cousin, Seleucos, then had him
murdered within a week of their wedding. Her second husband, Archelaos, lasted longer; the couple ruled for two years with the full support of the people of Alexandria. A Roman army took Alexandria in 55. Archelaos was killed and Ptolemy XII, returning home in triumph, had his daughter executed.

Cleopatra VI Tryphaena (Opulent One)

Daughter of Ptolemy XII and (probably) Cleopatra V Tryphaena

The obscure sister of Cleopatra VII who may be identical with Cleopatra Tryphaena V. Cleopatra VI ruled briefly alongside Berenice IV before disappearing from the historical record in 57.

Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (Father-Loving Goddess), Queen of Egypt 51–30

Daughter of Ptolemy XII and (probably) Cleopatra V Tryphaena, probably wife of Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV

The subject of this book.

Arsinoë IV, Queen of Egypt 47

Daughter of Ptolemy XII

Proclaimed Queen of Cyprus by Julius Caesar, Arsinoë ruled Alexandria briefly during the civil war. Captured by the Romans, she was displayed in Caesar’s Egyptian triumph, then exiled to Ephesus. In 41 she was dragged from the temple and executed on the orders of Mark Antony.

Ptolemy XIII, King of Egypt 51–47

Son of Ptolemy XII, husband of Cleopatra VII

Ptolemy XIII inherited his throne alongside his sister Cleopatra VII. For the first year and a half of their joint reign Cleopatra was the effective monarch, while her brother was pushed into the background. The first decree with Ptolemy’s name preceding Cleopatra’s was issued on 27 October 50. In the summer of 49 Cleopatra’s name disappeared from all official documents as the queen and her supporters fled Egypt. Later that year Ptolemy turned a blind eye to the murder of Pompey. Ptolemy had expected to be granted sole rule of Egypt but Caesar, angered by Pompey’s murder, decided that he was to rule alongside his sister Cleopatra VII. Ptolemy XIII drowned in 47, at the end of the Alexandrian Wars.

Ptolemy XIV, King of Egypt 47–44

Son of Ptolemy XII, husband of Cleopatra VII

Proclaimed king of Cyprus by Caesar, Ptolemy became king of Egypt following the death of his elder brother, Ptolemy XIII. He had an undistinguished reign and died soon after the birth of Cleopatra’s son, Caesarion.

Ptolemy XV Caesar Theos Philopator Philometor (Father-Loving, Mother-Loving God): ‘Caesarion’ (Little Caesar), King of Egypt 44–30

Son of Cleopatra VII and (allegedly) Julius Caesar

Following the death of Ptolemy XIV, Caesarion ruled Egypt alongside his mother. Cleopatra VII died on 12 August 30 and Octavian formally annexed Egypt on 31 August 30. This left an eighteen-day period when Caesarion ruled alone. But he had no meaningful support and could have had no thought of taking up his throne. Soon after his mother’s suicide, Caesarion was betrayed and executed.

Alexander Helios

Son of Cleopatra VII and Mark Antony, twin of Cleopatra Selene

Following Cleopatra’s suicide, the ten-year-old twins and four-year-old Ptolemy Philadelphos were taken to Rome to be raised by their father’s wife, Octavia. The boys vanished from the historical record soon after entering Octavia’s care.

Cleopatra Selene

Daughter of Cleopatra VII and Mark Antony, twin of Alexander Helios, wife of Juba of Mauretania

Cleopatra Selene was raised in Rome by Octavia and married the Numidian prince Juba II. She bore a son named Ptolemy and, perhaps, a daughter who, we may guess, was named Cleopatra. She died a natural death some time between 5
BC
and
AD
11.

Ptolemy Philadelphos (Brother/Sister-Loving)

Son of Cleopatra VII and Mark Antony

Following his mother’s suicide, Ptolemy Philadelphos was taken to Rome to be raised alongside his brother and sister. He vanished from the historical record soon after.

Ptolemy of Mauretania

Son of Cleopatra Selene and Juba II of Mauretania

Ptolemy inherited his father’s throne in
AD
23. Seventeen years later he was executed by his half-cousin Caligula.

Chronology of Ancient Egypt