Ptolemy XI Alexander II  [ca. 105 - 80 BCE]

The son of Ptolemy X & Cleopatra Selene spent most of his life in exile. Raised on the isle of Cos while his father & grandmother (Cleopatra III) were engaged in campaigns in Syria, he was taken hostage by Mithradates VI of Pontus  (88 BCE) but four years later fled to the Roman camp where he became a protégé of the dictator Sulla. After his uncle (Ptolemy IX) died (81 BCE), Sulla sent him to Egypt to wed the widowed queen, Berenice III. That marriage proved to be a complete political & personal disaster. When Ptolemy's bride refused to cede any power to him, he murdered her & proclaimed himself sole ruler of Egypt. This in turn sparked rioting in Alexandria in which Ptolemy was himself killed. His reign lasted only weeks & his treachery left Egypt subject to Rome.

References: Appian, Civil Wars 1.102
                   _____, Roman History 12.23

Other resources on line:

* [Note: Bevan's numbering of the Ptolemies differs since he drops Ptolemy VII from classical lists because there is no historical evidence of his reign].

Perspective on the World of Jesus

Copyright © 1999-2023 by Mahlon H. Smith
All rights reserved.

an American Theological Library Association Selected Religion Website
OCLC catalog no.: 62046512