ptolemy4

116 – 101 Kleopatra III Philomētor Sōteira Dikaiosynē Nikēphoros ("The Mother-loving Saviour, Bringer of Righteousness and Bearer of Victory"), Pharaoh and Queen of Egypt.

Nicknamed Kokkē, "Grain." She married her uncle, Ptolemaios VIII Euergetēs Physkōn, King of Egypt (see above), becoming a fierce rival of her mother, who was already married to him. She was deified in 130 as an incarnation of Isis. In Ptolemaios VIII’s will, she and ‘whichever of his sons which she chose’ were left the throne. She chose her younger son, Ptolemaios X, but this was vetoed by her mother, Kleopatra II, who was still a co-regent. As a result, it was instead her older son, Ptolemaios IX who became co-King. He killed several of her favourites, so she deposed him in 107, and replaced him with Ptolemaios X. He was entirely her puppet; restricted to religious affairs, and, from 105, she controlled these as well, as Priestess of Alexander the Great (an unprecedented position for a woman). She faced an attack on Egypt by Ptolemaios IX in 103, and led warfare in Syria. She was deified as one of the Theoi Eurgetai (The Beneficient Gods), and then as one of the Theoi Philomētores Sōtēres (The Saviour Mother-loving Gods). Ptolemaios X supposedly killed her in 101.

116 – 107 Ptolemaios IX Philomētor Sōtēr ("The Mother-loving Saviour"), Pharaoh & King of Egypt.

He was born around 140 and made Crown Prince in 131 after the murder of his elder brother. He was Governor of Cyprus from 117 until he was recalled to be placed on the throne by his co-regent step-mother, Kleopatra II (also, in typical Ptolemaic fashion, his grandmother, aunt, and grandmother-in-law) in 116 in the hope that he would be a pliable puppet. His mother, Kleopatra III, also a co-regent preferred his younger brother, but he was pliable enough, for which he was nicknamed Lathyros (chickpea) and Physkōn (fatty). He tried to gain control through religion, personally taking the role of Priest of Alexander the Great (the highest priesthood of the state) throughout his reign. In 107 he killed many of his mother’s favourites, so she had him deposed. He fled to Cyprus, where he was acclaimed King of Cyprus. He remained there for 18 years, also controlling Cyrenaica until 102, intervening in the ongoing Seleukid civil war and attacking the nascent Kingdom of Judaea. He conquered Judaea in 103 and invaded Egypt itself, but was defeated in 102 and returned to Cyprus.

He regained the throne of Egypt when his younger brother was deposed by an army revolt in 88, reconquered southern Egypt, which had rebelled, but not Nubia, which was lost for good. He died in 81.

He married (first) his sister, Kleopatra IV, whom he very much loved, but was forced to divorce in 116. He married (second) his sister Kleopatra V Selēnē, in 116. After 88 he married (third) his daughter (and niece) Kleopatra Berenikē III. He was deified as one of the Theoi Philomētores Sōtēres (The Saviour Mother-loving Gods). He died in 81, but had issue:

• 1 - 2) Two sons of Kleopatra V Selēnē, who died young, if they existed.

• 3) Ptolemaios XII Neos Dionysos Aulētēs, Pharaoh & King of Egypt (son of a concubine) (see below)

• 4) Ptolemaios tēs Kyprou, King of Cyprus (son of a concubine). He was raised on Kos and after 88 in the court of Mithridates the Great of Pontus. He was recalled to Egypt in 80 after the death of Ptolemaios XI and appointed King of Cyprus. He retained this position until 58, when the Romans annexed Cyprus, ostensibly to control piracy. He then committed suicide.

• 1) Kleopatra Berenikē III, Pharaoh & Queen of Egypt (daughter of Kleopatra IV) (see below).

• 2) Kleopatra VI Tryphaina, Pharaoh & Queen of Egypt (daughter of a concubine) (see below).

107 – 88 Ptolemaios X Alexandros, Pharaoh & King of Egypt.

He was favoured by his mother Kleopatra III to succeed to the throne in 116, but was vetoed and sent to govern Cyprus by his step-mother/grandmother Kleopatra II. He declared himself King of Cyprus in 114 and remained there until 107 when he was made King by his mother after his older brother killed her favourites. She continued as co-ruler alongside him; his power in this partnership was largely restricted to religious affairs as Priest of Alexander the Great (107 – 105). Even this was lost from 105, when the office was seized by his mother. He faced an invasion by his brother in 102, but bravely resisted it. In the aftermath, he had his mother killed and became defacto ruler of Egypt. He married (first) an unknown woman. He married (second) in 101 his niece Kleopatra Berenikē III, daughter of Ptolemaios IX Sotēr (see above), they were deified as the Theoi Philomētores Sōtēres (The Saviour Mother-loving Gods). A revolt in 91 saw him lose control of Southern Egypt, and then the army revolted against him in 88 for his preferential treatment of Jews, defeated him repeatedly and killed him in a naval engagement off Cyprus. His older brother was then restored. He had issue:

• 1) Ptolemaios XI Alexandros, Pharaoh & King of Egypt (son of the first wife) (see below).

• 1) A daughter of Kleopatra Berenikē III, who died young.

88 – 81 Ptolemaios IX Sōtēr, Pharaoh & King of Egypt (Restored).

101 – 88, 81 – 80 Kleopatra Berenikē III, Pharaoh & Queen of Egypt.

She was the daughter of Ptolemaios IX, and married his usurper and brother, Ptolemaios X, ruling with him as co-regent and one of the Theoi Philomētores Sōtēres (The Saviour Mother-loving Gods) from 101 until her father regained the throne in 88. She was then deified as Thea Philopator (The Father-loving Goddess). After her father's death, she ruled alone for six months. In 80, at the instigation of the Roman Dictator, Sulla, she married her nephew and step-son Ptolemaios XI and he became her co-ruler, only to kill her nineteen days later.

80 Ptolemaios XI Alexandros, Pharaoh & King of Egypt.

He fled to Kos in 102, whence he was removed to the court of the King of Pontus in 88. He escaped to the Roman General and future Dictator, Sulla in 84 and went with him to Rome, returning to Egypt in 80 after his uncle’s death, at Sulla’s encouragement. There he married his aunt and step-mother, Kleopatra Berenikē III (see above). Nineteen days later he killed her, only to be killed himself by outraged soldiers.