Ptolemy XI Alexander II (, ''Ptolemaĩos Aléxandros'') was a member of the

Ptolemaic dynasty The Ptolemaic dynasty (; , ''Ptolemaioi''), also known as the Lagid dynasty (, ''Lagidai''; after Ptolemy I's father, Lagus), was a Macedonian Greek royal house which ruled the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Ancient Egypt during the Hellenistic period. ...

who ruled

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

for a few days in 80 BC. He was a son of

Ptolemy X Alexander I Ptolemy X Alexander I (, ''Ptolemaĩos Aléxandros'') was the Ptolemaic king of Cyprus from 114 BC until 107 BC and of Egypt from 107 BC until his death in 88 BC. He ruled in co-regency with his mother Cleopatra III as Ptolemy Philometor Soter ...

and Cleopatra Selene.

Biography

Ptolemy XI was born to Ptolemy X Alexander I and supposedly Cleopatra Selene. His uncle Ptolemy IX Lathryos died in 81 BC or 80 BC, leaving only his sole legitimate daughter as his heir, and so Cleopatra Berenice (= Berenice III) ruled alone for a time.

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (, ; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman of the late Roman Republic. A great commander and ruthless politician, Sulla used violence to advance his career and his co ...

wanted a pro-Roman ruler on the throne, and sent the young son of Ptolemy X to Egypt, displaying Ptolemy Alexander's will in Rome as supposed justification for this obvious interference. The will also apparently required Ptolemy XI to marry

Berenice III Berenice III (Greek: Βερενίκη; 120–80 BC), also known as Cleopatra, ruled between 101 and 80 BC. Modern scholars studying Berenice III refer to her sometimes as Cleopatra Berenice. She was co-ruling queen of Ptolemaic Egypt with her ...

, who was his stepmother, cousin, and possible half-sister. Nineteen days after the marriage, Ptolemy murdered his bride for unknown reasons, an unwise move since Berenice was very popular. Ptolemy was soon lynched by the citizens of

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

. He was succeeded by his cousin Ptolemy XII, an illegitimate son of Ptolemy IX.

Notes

References

Peter Green, ''Alexander to Actium'' (

University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by faculty ...

, 1990), pp. 553–554

External links

Ptolemy XI Alexander II
entry in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith
{{Authority control 2nd-century BC births 80 BC deaths 1st-century BC pharaohs 1st-century BC murdered monarchs Lynching deaths Pharaohs of the Ptolemaic dynasty