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80 – 58 Ptolemaios XII Neos Dionysos Philopatōr Philadelphios ("The Father & Sibling-loving New Dionysus"), Pharaoh & King of Egypt.

He spent his youth on the island of Kos, until it was captured by Mithridates of Pontus in 88, and he was taken to the Pontian court. After the murder of Ptolemaios XI in 80, he was recalled by the people of Alexandria and crowned king of Egypt. He chose to portray himself as an incarnation of Dionysos, the god of wine, revelry and fertility (and analogue of the Egyptian god Osiris). This involved participation in religious mysteries, for which he received the (derogatory) nickname Auletēs ("Flute-player") in addition to that of Nothos ("Bastard"). In 70 he completed the famous Temple of Horus at Edfu, which had been under construction for over 160 years; he also made the last major additions to the Temple of Hathor at Dendera. He was under a great deal of pressure from the Romans, who were in possession of a will of Ptolemaios X which purported to leave Egypt to them. Annexation was prevented by generous bribes and military support for the campaigns of Pompeius Magnus (Pompey the Great) in Asia Minor and Syria. This policy of lavish appeasement slowly bankrupted Egypt. Peasants striked, landowners rebelled and Ptolemaios became beholden to Roman bankers. In 59 the Romans agreed to recognise him as legitimate king of Egypt in return for 6000 talents, the annual income of Egypt. The very next year, however, they annexed the Egyptian satellite kingdom of Cyprus and the outraged people of Alexandria expelled Ptolemaios, who fled to Rome for aid. Rome was divided over this, debates, pseudo-prophecy and mass-assassination were all implemented as each side attempted to make their case. In 55, Pompeius Magnus and Julius Caesar became leaders of Rome and agreed to send Ptolemaios XII back to Egypt with a Roman army. Thus he reclaimed his Kingdom from his daughter, who had been reigning in the meanwhile and was executed. Collecting all the money which had been promised to the Romans proved exceptionally expensive for the people of Egypt (who had not really desired Ptolemaios XII’s return, either). Order was maintained only with the help of a corps of Roman soldiers; these soldiers rapidly ‘went native,’ losing all ties to Rome. He married his sister, Kleopatra VI Tryphaina (see above & below), in 80; she ousted him in 58 but died in 57. They were worshipped as the Theoi Philopatores kai Phildelphoi (The Father-loving and Brother-loving Gods). He died in 51, but had issue:

• 1) Ptolemaios XIII, Pharaoh & King of Egypt (son of a concubine) (see below)

• 2) Ptolemaios XIV, Pharaoh & King of Egypt (son of a concubine) (see below)

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

• 2) Kleopatra VII Philopatōr, Pharaoh & Queen of Egypt (daughter of a concubine)  (see below)

• 3) Arsinoē IV, Pharaoh & Queen of Egypt (daughter of a concubine) (see below)

80 – 69, 58 – 57 Kleopatra VI Tryphaina ("The Sumptuous"), Pharaoh & Queen of Egypt.

She married her brother, Ptolemaios XII Neos Dionysos (see above), in 80 and ruled with him as a co-regent. In 69 she fell out of favour and ceased to be a co-regent. A decade later, she seized the throne with her daughter (one source calls them sisters) when Ptolemaios XII was expelled for losing Cyprus to the Romans. She died in 57.

58 – 55 Kleopatra Berenikē IV, Pharaoh & Queen of Egypt.

She and her mother Kleopatra VI Tryphaina seized the throne after Ptolemaios XII lost Cyprus in 58. She was stymied by the lack of a male consort, so in 57 she married Seleukos Kybiosaktēs, who claimed to be a member of the Seleukid royal family, but he was so boorish that she had him strangled after only a few days. She married (second) Archelaos, who claimed to be the son of Mithridatēs the Great of Pontus, but was actually merely the scion of one of his generals; he was killed in 55, defending Egypt from a Roman army. This army restored Ptolemaios XII to the throne and he executed Berenikē IV immediately.

55 – 51 Ptolemaios XII Neos Dionysos, Pharaoh & King of Egypt (Restored).

52 – 49 Kleopatra VII Philopatōr Nea Isis ("The Father-loving New Isis"), Pharaoh & Queen of Egypt.

The famous Cleopatra, whom everyone has heard of. She was born in 70, made co-regent in 52 and succeeded her father in 51. She reigned with her brother Ptolemaios XIII, whom she probably married (first), but he had her deposed and expelled in 49. Simultaneously, the Great Roman Civil War (49 – 45) raged, and at its conclusion, the Roman general Julius Caesar found himself in Alexandria and decided to mediate between the two royal siblings. She had relations with this Gaius Julius Caesar, Roman General, Consul, Triumvir and Dictator, and, oddly enough, he came to favour her position. This led to the Alexandrian War (48 – 47), in which Caesar was besieged in Alexandria by the forces of Ptolemaios XIII and Arsinoē IV. Caesar was victorious, however, and Kleopatra returned to the throne in 47. She officially married (second) her brother and new co-regent Ptolemaios XIV (see below), whom she had killed in 44. Kleopatra was unpopular in Egypt, but maintained control with the help of three Roman legions, which Caesar left at her disposal. Caesar and Kleopatra then travelled to Rome where she encouraged him to play the part of a Hellenistic monarch, leading to his famous assassination in 44. This sparked the Liberators’ Civil War (44 – 42) in Rome, between Caesar’s adoptive son, Augustus and Caesar’s deputy, Marcus Antonius (Mark Antony). She seduced and married (third) Marcus Antonius, who controlled the east and reorganised it, giving much of it to Kleopatra. She in turn supported him in wars against Parthia (36) and Armenia (34). In a triumph through Alexandria, Kleopatra was acclaimed Queen of Queens and the incarnation of the goddess Isis. Afraid of Augustus’ power in the western half of the Roman state, Marcus Antonius attempted, with Kleopatra, to take control of Rome in the Final War of the Roman Republic (32 – 30). They were defeated at the Battle of Actium in 31 by Augustus, future Roman Emperor, after Kleopatra ordered her ships to abandon the battle. She returned to Egypt and committed suicide in 30, supposedly by snakebite (the snake being the Egyptian incarnation of Isis and guardian of kings), after Antonius had died and Augustus had occupied Alexandria. Egypt came under Roman rule and would not be independent again for nine hundred years. She had issue:

• 1) Ptolemaios XV Kaisar Philopatōr Philomētōr, Pharaoh & King of Egypt, usually known as Caesarion (son of Julius Caesar).

• 2) Alexandros Hēlios "The Sun" (son of Marcus Antonius). Born in 40; in 34 he was declared King of Armenia, Media and Parthia by Marcus Antonius. This was purely nominal; Antoninus did not even control Media and Parthia. After the Roman conquest of Egypt in 30, his title was abolished and he was marched through Rome in Augustus’ triumphal parade. He was raised by Augustus’ sister

• 3) Ptolemaios Philadelphios "Brother-lover" (son of Marcus Antonius). Born in 37; in 34 he was declared King of Syria and Cilicia (This was purely nominal; those parts of that territory which were still under Ptolemaic control continued to be administered by his mother). After the Roman conquest of Egypt in 30, his title was abolished and he was marched through Rome in Augustus’ triumphal parade. He was raised by Augustus’ sister

• 1) Kleopatra VIII Selēnē "The Moon" (daughter of Marcus Antonius), Born in 40; in 34 she was declared nominal Queen of Cyprus and Libya by Marcus Antoninus. After the Roman conquest of Egypt in 30, her title was abolished and she was marched through Rome in Augustus’ triumphal parade. In 20, she married Iuba II, King of Numidia, a Roman vassal state in modern eastern Algeria, and then of Mauretania, another Roman vassal state in the north of modern Morocco, until his death in AD 23. She died in 4 BC.

  • a) Ptolemaeus, King of Mauretania from AD 23 until he was executed by Emperor Caligula in AD 40.

51 – 47 Ptolemaios XIII, Pharaoh & King of Egypt.

He was born in 61 and succeeded his father in 51 at the age of ten, reigning with his older sister. She was not pleased with this, and prevented him from joining her on the throne until forced to by the hungry, angry mob of Alexandria in 49. He was controlled by the court, particularly the eunuch Potheinos and a native Egyptian, Achillas. Soon his sister was deposed and expelled from Egypt. Simultaneously, civil war broke out in the Roman Republic between Julius Caesar and Pompeius Magnus. Egypt fell on the side of Pompeius, to whom it was beholden, but he was defeated and when he arrived in Egypt in 48 to make his last stand they had him assassinated in the hope that they might thereby ingratiate themselves with Julius Caesar. This did not impress Caesar, who occupied Alexandria and purported to mediate between Ptolemaios XIII and Kleopatra VII, restoring her as co-regent. This led to the Alexandrian War in which the entire army descended on Julius Caesar in Alexandria. He escaped to the army besieging Alexandria, and seemed to have the dominant position, but was killed by a relieving army in 47.

48 – 30 Kleopatra VII Philopatōr Nea Isis, Pharaoh & Queen of Egypt (Restored)

48 – 47 Arsinoē IV, Pharaoh & Queen of Egypt.

She was chosen by Julius Caesar to rule Cyprus with her brother, Ptolemaios XIV, in 48. She never went there, for that year the Alexandrine War began, in which the Ptolemaic army moved against Julius Caesar. She snuck out of Alexandria and had herself acclaimed Queen by the army. She soon had the, highly competent, general commanding the army executed; a godsend for Caesar and a fatal blunder on her part. Caesar’s relieving army arrived and was victorious. She was led through Rome in Caesar’s triumphal parade of 46. Afterwards she was banished to Ephesus, where she lived in the famous Temple of Artemis until 42 when she was executed at the order of her sister’s new mistress, Marcus Antonius.

47 – 44 Ptolemaios XIV Philopatōr ("Father-lover"), Pharaoh & King of Egypt.

He was born around 59 and made King of Cyprus by Julius Caesar in 48, but never went there; for in 47, following the failed revolt and death of Ptolemaios XIII, he was made co-regent of Egypt with his sister Kleopatra VII. In 44, Kleopatra tired of him and had him killed.

44 – 30 Ptolemaios XV Kaisar Philopatōr Philomētōr ("The Father & Mother-loving Caesar"), Pharaoh & King of Egypt, usually known as Caesarion

Born in 47, he was co-regent with his mother from 44. As the only son of Julius Caesar, he became extremely important after Caesar’s death, as he undercut Augustus’ claim to legitimacy as the (adoptive) heir to Caesar. This was publically proclaimed by Marcus Antonius in 34, along with a new title, King of Kings. These blatant threats to Augustus’ authority were a cause of the Final War of the Roman Republic, which saw Egypt conquered by Rome in 30. The teenaged King fled for Arabia, or India, but was captured by the forces of the new Emperor Augustus and murdered.