Intrigues and the inglorious end of the Greek rulers of Egypt - the Ptolemaic dynasty who did not trust each other

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The Ptolemaic state is a very interesting piece of history. Its ups and downs were marked by the deaths of two of the most famous figures in ancient history: Alexander the Great and Cleopatra. The Ptolemies were very jealous of the "purity" of their ancestry. These Greek rulers of Egypt often married their siblings to maintain the lineage. Despite this, they did not hesitate to use betrayal and murder to gain power. And in most cases, the greatest danger to one Ptolemy was the other Ptolemy.

1. Founding of the dynasty

The death of Alexander the Great plunged the ancient world into chaos as many of his generals began to struggle for power. This led to a series of conflicts that lasted nearly 50 years and became known as the Diadochi ("successor") wars. One of the diadochi named Perdiccas almost managed to gain control over the empire of the deceased king. People were divided into two camps - some wanted the rule to be given to Alexander's half-brother Philip III Arridaeus, while others thought that power should be transferred to Alexander's unborn child by Roxanne (in the future known as Alexander IV). In the end, the two were named co-rulers, and Perdiccas was appointed regent of the empire and commander of the army. In fact, Perdiccas took advantage of this to consolidate his power. He began organizing the assassinations of his opponents. In 323 BC. the generals who supported him were appointed by satraps in various parts of the empire during the so-called Babylonian partition. Egypt was given to the satrap Ptolemy I Soter. However, Ptolemen's calm rule did not last long. First, he organized the arrest and execution of Cleomenes, an influential official who was in Alexandria and served the interests of Perdikki. He then stole the body of Alexander the Great to bury it in Egypt, not in the tomb prepared for the great king in Macedonia. Perdiccas considered this to be an unspoken declaration of war. He tried to invade Egypt, but was unable to cross the Nile, lost thousands of men, and was eventually killed by his officers in 321 BC. Some historians have argued that Ptolemy may have claimed regency over the entire empire at this point, but he decided to found his own dynasty in Egypt.

2. Three intrigues, execution and exile

After Ptolemy I, his son Ptolemy II Philadelphus took the throne, but it was the daughter of the founder of the dynasty, Arsinoe II, who turned out to be a skillful intriguer, ruthless enough to seize power. The true extent of her influence is discussed by historians, but wherever Arsinoe appeared, for some reason people were deprived of their power. Ptolemy II consolidated his rule with two diplomatic weddings with the king of Thrace, Lysimachus, and another of Alexander's diadochi. Around 299 BC Lysimachus married Ptolemy's sister, Arsinoe II, and Ptolemy himself married the daughter of Lysinachus, who was also called Arsinoe I. "Ptolemaic" Arsinoe gave birth to Lysimachus three sons, but none of them ascended the throne, since the king already had a son named Agathocles. However, the heir was convicted of treason around 282 BC. and executed. Some historians have argued that these were "tricks" of Arsinoe, who wanted to secure the throne for her sons. This caused some cities in Asia Minor to rebel against Lysimachus. The king tried to suppress the uprising, but was killed in battle. Then Arsinoe married the half-brother of Ptolemy Keravnes, who wanted to strengthen his claims to the kingdoms of Thrace and Macedonia. Perhaps she was preparing a conspiracy against him, but the queen's plan failed, and Keraunus killed her two sons. Finally, Arsinoe returned to Egypt. The Thracian Arsinoe I, who was the wife of her brother, was soon exiled for planning to kill her husband. Once again, rumors began to circulate that these accusations were the work of Ptolemy II's sister Philadelphus. Shortly thereafter, she married her brother and became Queen of Egypt.

3. The decline of the Ptolemies

It is believed that Hellenistic or Ptolemaic Egypt reached its peak during the reign of Ptolemy III Everget after his victories in the Third Syrian War. Conversely, his son and heir, Ptolemy IV Philopator, was described by historians as a weak ruler who was easily controlled by his associates, indulging his vices. His reign marks the beginning of the decline of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Ptolemy IV became king of Egypt in 221 BC, at the age of 23-24. He essentially devoted himself to a depraved life, while the administration of the state was mainly occupied by his chief "minister" Sosiby. The Greek historian Polybius called Sosibius the culprit in the death of several relatives of the young king. Among them were Ptolemy's mother, Berenice II, as well as his brother Magas and his uncle Lysimachus. Like his grandfather, Ptolemy IV married his sister Arsinoe III. She was killed shortly after the death of Ptolemy in 204 BC. This was done by Sosibius and another official named Agathocles to ensure that they become regents until Ptolemy V comes of age.

4. All for the sake of power

Many members of the Ptolemaic family were shown to be extremely ruthless and cruel people, ready to do anything to come to power. But hardly any of them surpassed Ptolemy VIII Everget. He fought for the throne for many years with his older brother Ptolemy VI Philometor. In 145 BC. the elder Ptolemy died during the military campaign, and his sister-wife Cleopatra II wanted her youngest son Ptolemy VII Neos Philopator to take the throne. The details of his reign are a bone of contention among historians, as some are unsure if he ever became king. If Ptolemy VII Neos Philopator did indeed rule on the throne, in any case his reign was short-lived. Due to the lack of support, Cleopatra had to marry Ptolemy VIII and rule with him. As soon as Neos Philopator was overthrown, his uncle executed him. Having come to power, Ptolemy VIII Everget married his niece Cleopatra III, while still being married to her mother. In 131 BC. the elder Cleopatra managed to organize a rebellion against Ptolemy, who left Alexandria with Cleopatra III. They remained in exile in Cyprus for four years, during which Cleopatra II was regent until her son, Ptolemy VII Neos Philopator, came of age. However, this did not happen, since Ptolemy Everget killed him by chopping off the boy's head, arms and legs and taking them to Alexandria on Cleopatra's birthday. Despite these “quarrels,” Ptolemy and Cleopatra eventually made up publicly and ruled jointly with Cleopatra III until the death of Euergetes in 116 BC.

5. A cruel end for cruel people

A good example of what happened during the 300-year reign of the Ptolemaic family is the brief but brutal reign of Ptolemy XI Alexander II. He took the throne in 80 BC, succeeding his father, Ptolemy X Alexander I. He also married his father's wife, Berenice III, who was also his cousin. Before the wedding, there was a short period of time when Berenice ruled alone and managed to literally fall in love with the Egyptian people. However, her new husband-stepson-cousin did not like her. Less than three weeks after the wedding, Ptolemy XI killed his wife. This angered the Alexandrians so much that the crowd stormed the palace and killed the young king.

6 Intervention of Rome

Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysus came to the throne in 80 BC. By this time, Egypt was under the heel of Rome and had to pay a significant tribute, which led to higher taxes for the Egyptians. The popularity of the new ruler reached an all-time low in 58 BC, when the Romans took over Cyprus and his brother, the king of Cyprus, committed suicide. The people wanted Ptolemy to either demand the return of Cyprus or condemn Rome. The king did not want to do this, which led to an uprising and the forced flight of the king from Egypt. He went to Rome, where he began to weave intrigues with Pompey. At this time, the Roman Senate put forward a proposal to go to Egypt and return Ptolemy to the throne. At some point, a delegation of 100 Egyptians led by the philosopher Dio of Alexandria arrived in Rome to appeal to the Senate with complaints against Ptolemy and prevent his return. However, the exiled king used his money and Pompey's connections to ensure that no envoy made it to the Senate. According to the Roman historian Dion Cassius, most of the envoys were killed, including Dio of Alexandria, and those who survived were bribed. But this did not help Ptolemy, as "higher powers intervened." The leaders of Rome, as they usually did during any crisis, consulted the oracles. In particular, they turned to a collection of prophecies known as the Sibyl Books. It said: “If the king of Egypt comes with a request for any help, refuse him, do not stop friendship with him, but do not help him too much; otherwise you will face difficult times and danger."

7. Aulus Gabinius

The oracle's prophecies caused the Roman Senate to refuse military support to Ptolemy. But in the end, greed prevailed over divine decision. Pompey again sent one of his generals, Aulus Gabinius, to invade Egypt. He did not have Senate approval, but Pompey was powerful enough to avoid the consequences. During the exile of Ptolemy, his daughter, Berenice IV, ruled over Egypt. She tried to conclude an alliance by marrying Seleucus Kibiozakte of Syria. But her husband turned out to be less influential than expected, and Berenice killed him, after which she married Archelaus. Her new husband died when Gabinius conquered Alexandria. He reinstated Ptolemy on the throne and left him with a Roman legion to protect him from future revolts. Returning to the throne, Ptolemy executed his daughter. He also killed the richest citizens of Egypt in order to take possession of their fortune, since he had large debts to Gabinius and Pompey. Alas, Gabinius could not enjoy the robberies in Egypt for long. The Roman people were outraged at his disobedience to the prophecies of the Sibyls and the Senate, and Gabinius was arrested when he returned to Rome. The most serious charge was high treason. But thanks to generous bribes, the Roman commander was found innocent, although he was eventually expelled with confiscation of property after another charge.

8. The assassination of Pompey

In 52 BC. Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysus bequeathed the throne to his daughter, Cleopatra VII Philopator. It was the same famous Cleopatra. He wanted his daughter to rule Egypt along with her brother Ptolemy XIII. However, the young king wanted to rule alone, although in fact he was heavily influenced by the eunuch Potin, his regent. Together in 48 BC they overthrew Cleopatra. Both would-be rulers wanted Rome's support, but Rome had its own problems. By this point, Julius Caesar had started a civil war that ended the republic. He just won a convincing victory over Pompey at the Battle of Pharsalus. Pompey traveled to Egypt to find support and refuge with Ptolemy XIII, but Ptolemy chose to befriend Caesar. He sent people supposedly to greet Pompey, but in fact to kill him. The body was decapitated and thrown into the water. It was rumored that Caesar even burst into tears when they brought him the head of Pompey, his former friend who became a rival.

9. The Ptolemaic War

It is difficult to say whether Caesar's assassination influenced Pompey, but he decided to support Cleopatra. However, he did not have enough troops to conduct open war. Therefore, he barricaded himself in Alexandria in 47 BC when Ptolemy's troops, led by Achilles, laid siege to the city. Another child of Ptolemy XII, Arsinoe IV, was involved in the war as she also claimed the throne. She sided with her brother Ptolemy XIII, but ordered the assassination of Achilles and gave command of the army to Ganymede. Ultimately, Caesar received reinforcements from his ally Mithridates of Pergamon and defeated his rivals at the Battle of the Nile in 47 BC. NS. Ptolemy XIII drowned in the river at the age of 15, while his sister Arsinoe first went to Rome as a prisoner and then was exiled to the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus. She was later executed at the insistence of Cleopatra.

10 End of the dynasty

Cleopatra returned the Egyptian throne, but Caesar ordered her to rule with her brother, Ptolemy XIV. Their reign was short-lived. In March 44 BC. Julius Caesar was killed in Rome. Two months later, Ptolemy XIV died in Egypt, and several historians such as Dion Cassius and Josephus Flavius claimed that he was poisoned by Cleopatra. Cleopatra's reason for this was weighty - she could put her son on the throne. This was Ptolemy XV Philopator Philometor Caesar, better known as Caesarion. As can be seen from his name, Cleopatra openly admitted that he was the son of Julius Caesar. After the death of the Roman leader, the Egyptian queen made herself a new lover, Mark Antony. Antony, along with Octavian and Marcus Lepidus, was part of the Second Triumvirate, which ruled Rome. In 34 BC. Mark Antony bestowed lands and titles on Cleopatra's children (including three of his own). It is important to note that he recognized Caesarion as Julius Caesar's rightful heir. This was not to the liking of the Romans, who believed that Antony preferred Egypt over Rome. In addition, Caesarion, believed to be the heir, was targeted by Octavian, who was Julius Caesar's adopted son. War broke out between Antony and Octavian. The latter won the Battle of Actium and the subsequent siege of Alexandria. Antony and Cleopatra allegedly committed suicide, and Caesarion was executed by order of Octavian. Egypt was annexed and became a province of the Roman Empire. Octavian renamed himself Augustus Caesar and became the first Roman emperor. Thus ended the history of Mark Antony and Cleopatra, as well as the reign of the Ptolemies in Egypt.