Ptolemaic Period
Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos (Auletes)
Ptolemaic kings · 305-30 BCE
Open full-size illustration →Source: Shaw, Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (2000)
Background
Ptolemy XII, father of Cleopatra VII and nicknamed Auletes ("the flute player"), secured his throne and then reclaimed it after being overthrown by paying enormous bribes to Roman leaders, leaving Egypt saddled with debts to Roman financiers that his children would inherit. Background from: UCL Digital Egypt.
Reign dates: Shaw, Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (2000)
Full profile
Buying legitimacy from Rome
Ptolemy XII's grip on Egypt was never fully secure, since Rome could have annexed the kingdom outright at any point, so he spent lavishly to buy protection instead: after paying massive bribes to Julius Caesar and Pompey, the Roman senate formally recognized him as a legitimate king and ally of Rome. The cost of this arrangement, combined with the loss of Cyprus to direct Roman control, drained the Egyptian treasury and forced Ptolemy to borrow heavily from Roman bankers, debts that fueled growing anger against him at home.
Overthrown, then bought back with an army
Economic hardship and resentment over his subservience to Rome led to Ptolemy's expulsion from Alexandria in 58 BCE, with his daughter Berenice IV taking the throne in his place. Ptolemy responded the only way he knew how: he traveled to Rome and promised the enormous sum of 10,000 talents to the Roman general Aulus Gabinius in exchange for military support, and in 55 BCE a Roman army restored him to power by force. Once reinstated, Ptolemy had Berenice IV executed for taking his throne, leaving behind a kingdom mortgaged to Roman creditors that his daughter Cleopatra VII would inherit along with the crown.
Sources for this profile
- Shaw, I. (Ed.). (2000). The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press.
- Dodson, A., & Hilton, D. (2004). The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson.
- University College London. Kings of Ptolemaic Egypt.
- UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology. Chronology. UCLA.
The complete, APA-formatted reference list is on the Academic Sources & Bibliography page.