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].