Ptolemaic dynasty
From Ancient Egypt Wiki
| Dynasties of Pharaohs in ancient Egypt |
| Predynastic Egypt |
| Protodynastic Period |
| Early Dynastic Period |
| 1st 2nd |
| Old Kingdom |
| 3rd 4th 5th 6th |
| First Intermediate Period |
| 7th 8th 9th 10th |
| 11th (Thebes only) |
| Middle Kingdom |
| 11th (All Egypt) |
| 12th 13th 14th |
| Second Intermediate Period |
| 15th 16th 17th |
| New Kingdom |
| 18th 19th 20th |
| Third Intermediate Period |
| 21st 22nd 23rd 24th 25th |
| Late Period |
| 26th 27th 28th |
| 29th 30th 31st |
| Graeco-Roman Period |
| Alexander the Great |
| Ptolemaic dynasty |
| Roman |
Ptolemy, a Macedonian and one of Alexander the Great's generals, was appointed satrap of Egypt after Alexander's death in 323 BCE. In 305 BCE, he declared himself King Ptolemy I, later known as "Soter" (saviour). The Egyptians soon accepted the Ptolemies as the successors to the pharaohs of independent Egypt. Ptolemy's family ruled Egypt until the Roman conquest of 30 BCE.
All the male rulers of the dynasty took the name Ptolemy. Ptolemaic queens, some of whom were the sisters of their husbands, were usually called Cleopatra, Arsinoe or Berenice. The most famous member of the line was the last queen, Cleopatra VII, known for her role in the Roman political battles between Julius Caesar and Pompey, and later between Octavian and Mark Antony. Her suicide at the conquest by Rome marked the end of Ptolemaic rule in Egypt.
Contents |
[edit] Ptolemaic rulers and consorts
The dates in brackets are regnal dates for the kings. They frequently ruled jointly with their wives, who were often also their sisters. Several queens exercised regal authority, but the most famous and successful was Cleopatra VII (51 BCE-30 BCE), with her two brothers and her son as successive nominal co-rulers. Several systems exist for numbering the later rulers; the one used here is the one most widely used by modern scholars. Dates are years of reign.
- Ptolemy I Soter (305 BCE-282 BCE) married first (probably) Thais, secondly Artakama, thirdly Eurydice and finally Berenice I
- Ptolemy II Philadelphus (284 BCE-246 BCE) married Arsinoe I, then Arsinoe II Philadelphus; ruled jointly with Ptolemy the Son (267 BCE-259 BCE)
- Ptolemy III Euergetes (246 BCE-222 BCE) married Berenice II
- Ptolemy IV Philopator (222 BCE-204 BCE) married Arsinoe III
- Ptolemy V Epiphanes (204 BCE-180 BCE) married Cleopatra I
- Ptolemy VI Philometor (180 BCE-164 BCE, 163 BCE-145 BCE) married Cleopatra II, briefly ruled jointly with Ptolemy Eupator in 152 BCE
- Ptolemy VII Neos Philopator (never reigned)
- Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II (Physcon) (170 BCE-163 BCE, 145 BCE-116 BCE) married Cleopatra II then Cleopatra III; temporarily expelled from Alexandria by Cleopatra II between 131 BCE and 127 BCE, reconciled with her in 124 BCE.
- Cleopatra II Philometora Soteira (131 BCE-127 BCE), in opposition to Ptolemy VIII
- Cleopatra III Philometor Soteira Dikaiosyne Nikephoros (Kokke) (116 BCE-101 BCE) ruled jointly with Ptolemy IX (116 BCE-107 BCE) and Ptolemy X (107 BCE-101 BCE)
- Ptolemy IX Soter II (Lathyros) (116 BCE-107 BCE, 88 BCE-81 BC as Soter II) married Cleopatra IV then Cleopatra Selene; ruled jointly with Cleopatra III in his first reign
- Ptolemy X Alexander I (107 BCE-88 BCE) married Cleopatra Selene then Berenice III; ruled jointly with Cleopatra III till 101 BCE
- Berenice III Philopator (81 BCE-80 BCE)
- Ptolemy XI Alexander II (80 BCE) married and ruled jointly with Berenice III before murdering her; ruled alone for 19 days after that.
- Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos (Auletes) (80 BCE-58 BCE, 55 BCE-51 BCE) married Cleopatra V
- Cleopatra V Tryphaena (58 BCE-57 BCE) ruled jointly with Berenice IV Epiphaneia (58 BCE-55 BCE)
- Cleopatra VII Thea Neotera (51 BCE-30 BCE) ruled jointly with Ptolemy XIII (51 BCE-47 BCE), Ptolemy XIV (47 BCE-44 BCE) and Ptolemy XV Caesarion (44 BCE-30 BCE).
- Arsinoe IV (48 BCE-47 BCE) in opposition to Cleopatra VII
[edit] Simplified Ptolemaic family tree
Many of the relationships shown in this tree are controversial. The issues are fully discussed in the external links.
[edit] Other members of the Ptolemaic dynasty
- Ptolemy Keraunos (died 279 BCE) - eldest son of Ptolemy I Soter. Eventually became king of Macedon.
- Ptolemy Apion (died 96 BCE) - son of Ptolemy VIII Physcon. Made king of Cyrenaica. Bequeathed Cyrenaica to Rome.
- Ptolemy Philadelphus (born 36 BC) - son of Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII.
- Ptolemy of Mauretania (died ACE 40) - son of Juba II of Mauretania and Cleopatra Selene (II), daughter of Cleopatra VII and Mark Antony. King of Mauretania.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Ptolemaic Dynasty
- Livius, Ptolemies by Jona Lendering
