iwꜤ pꜢ nṯr nti nḥm stp n ptḥ iri mꜢꜤt rꜤ sḫm (Ꜥnḫ) n imn Iwapanetjernetynehem setepenptah irmaatra sekhem(ankh)enamun The heir of the saviour god, chosen by Ptah, who brings forth the Maat of Ra, the living image of Amun[1]
Ptolemy XV Caesar[b] (/ˈtɒləmi/;Ancient Greek:Πτολεμαῖος Καῖσαρ,Ptolemaios Kaisar; 47 BC – late August 30 BC),[2] nicknamedCaesarion (Greek:Καισαρίων,Kaisaríōn, "Little Caesar"), was the lastpharaoh of thePtolemaic Kingdom ofEgypt, reigning with his motherCleopatra VII from 44 BC to 30 BC. He nominally reigned as sole pharaoh for a few days after his mother's death, although Alexandria had already fallen and Caesarion remained in hiding until his execution byOctavian, who would become the firstRoman emperor as "Augustus".
Caesarion was the eldest son ofCleopatra, and was the only known biological son ofJulius Caesar, after whom he was named. He was the lastsovereign member of thePtolemaic dynasty, and the last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, ending more than 3000 years of traditional kingship.
Ptolemy Caesar was born inEgypt in mid to late 47 BC.[5][6] His motherCleopatra gave him the royal names Theos Philopator Philometor[c] (lit. 'father-loving, mother-loving God') and insisted that he was the son ofRoman politician anddictatorJulius Caesar.[7] While he was said to have inherited Caesar's looks and manner,[8] Caesar did not officially acknowledge him.[9][10] All accusations of bastardy against Caesarion were cast from a Roman perspective; their intention was not to portray Caesarion as inappropriate for the throne of Egypt, but rather to deny that he was Julius' heir by Roman law.[11] One of Caesar's supporters,Gaius Oppius, even wrote a pamphlet which attempted to prove that Caesar could not have fathered Caesarion. Nevertheless, Caesar may have allowed Caesarion to use his name.[12] The matter became contentious when Caesar's adopted son,Octavian, came into conflict with Cleopatra.[13]
Caesarion spent two of his infant years, from 46 to 44 BC, inRome, where he and his mother were Caesar's guests at his villa,Horti Caesaris. Cleopatra hoped that her son would eventually succeed his father as the head of theRoman Republic, as well as of Egypt. AfterCaesar's assassination on 15 March 44 BC, Cleopatra and Caesarion returned to Egypt. Caesarion was named co-ruler by his mother on 2 September 44 BC at the age of three,[14] although he was pharaoh in name only, with Cleopatra keeping actual authority. Cleopatra compared her relationship to her son with that of the Egyptian goddessIsis and her divine childHorus.[12][15]
There is no historical record of Caesarion between 44 BC until the Donations of Antioch in 36 BC. Two years later he also appears at theDonations of Alexandria. Cleopatra and Antony staged both "Donations" to donate lands dominated by Rome andParthia to Cleopatra's children: Caesarion, the twinsAlexander Helios andCleopatra Selene II, andPtolemy Philadelphus (the last three were his maternal half-siblings fathered byMark Antony). Octavian gave public approval to the Donations of Antioch in 36 BC, which have been described as an Antonian strategy to rule the East making use of Cleopatra's unique royalSeleucid lineage in the regions donated.[16]
In 34 BC, Antony granted further eastern lands and titles to Caesarion and his own three children with Cleopatra in theDonations of Alexandria. Caesarion was proclaimed to bea god,a son of [a] god, and "King of Kings".[17] This grandiose title was "unprecedented in the management of Roman client-king relationships" and could be seen as "threatening the 'greatness' of the Roman people".[17] Antony also declared Caesarion to be Caesar's true son and heir. This declaration was a direct threat to Octavian (whose claim to power was based on his status as Julius Caesar's grandnephew and adopted son). These proclamations partly caused the fatal breach in Antony's relations with Octavian, who used Roman resentment over the Donations to gain support for war against Antony and Cleopatra.[18]
Roman painting fromPompeii, early 1st century AD, most likely depicting Cleopatra VII, wearing her royaldiadem, taking poison in anact of suicide, while Caesarion, also wearing a royal diadem, stands behind her[19]
After the defeat of Mark Antony and Cleopatra at theBattle of Actium in 31 BC, Cleopatra seems to have groomed Caesarion to take over as "sole ruler without his mother".[12] She may have intended to go into exile, perhaps with Antony, who may have hoped that he would be allowed to retire asLepidus had. Caesarion reappears in the historical record in 30 BC, when Octavian invaded Egypt and searched for him. Cleopatra may have sent Caesarion, 17 years old at the time, to theRed Sea port ofBerenice for safety, possibly as part of plans for an escape toIndia.[13]Plutarch does say that Caesarion was sent to India, but also that he was lured back by false promises of the kingdom of Egypt:
Caesarion, who was said to be Cleopatra's son by Julius Caesar, was sent by his mother, with much treasure, into India, by way of Ethiopia. There Rhodon, another tutor like Theodorus, persuaded him to go back, on the ground that [Octavian] Caesar invited him to take the kingdom.[20]
Octavian captured the city ofAlexandria on 1 August 30 BC, the date that marks the official annexation of Egypt to the Roman Republic. Around this time Mark Antony and Cleopatra died, traditionally said to be bysuicide.[21]
Though Octavian may have temporarily considered permitting Caesarion to succeed his mother and rule Egypt (though now a smaller and weaker kingdom), he is supposed to have had Caesarion executed in Alexandria in late August, possibly on 29 August 30 BC (the beginning of the Egyptian new year). According to Plutarch, he followed the advice of his companionArius Didymus, who said "Too many Caesars is not good"[22] (a pun on a line inHomer).[23][24] Surviving information on the death of Caesarion is scarce.[23] Octavian then assumed absolute control ofEgypt. The year 30 BC was considered the first year of the new ruler's reign according to the traditional chronological system of Egypt.[21]
Few images of Caesarion survive. He is thought to be depicted in a partial statue found in the harbour of Alexandria in 1997 and is also portrayed twice in relief, as an adult pharaoh, with his mother on the Temple ofHathor atDendera. His infant image appears on some bronze coins of Cleopatra.[30]
^The Ptolemaic Kingdom wasannexed by the Roman Republic in 30 BC and hence the office of pharaoh ceased to exist. However, due to the pharaoh's central position in Egyptian religion, the local people recognizedAugustus and all subsequentRoman emperors as pharaohs for the sake of continuity; no emperor ever bore or recognized the title. SeeRoman pharaoh
^Later full name:Ptolemy Caesar Theos Philopator Philometor (Greek:Πτολεμαῖος Καῖσαρ Θεὸς Φιλοπάτωρ Φιλομήτωρ).[3][4]
^Rolf Strootman (2010). "Queen of Kings: Cleopatra VII and the Donations of Alexandria". In M. Facella; T. Kaizer (eds.).Kingdoms and Principalities in the Roman Near East. Occidens et Oriens. Vol. 19. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag. pp. 139–158.
^abMeyer Reinhold (2002).Studies in Classical History and Society. US: Oxford University Press. p. 58.
^Burstein, Stanley Mayer (2007).The Reign of Cleopatra. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 29.
^David Braund et al,Myth, History and Culture in Republican Rome: Studies in Honour of T.P. Wiseman, University of Exeter Press, 2003, p. 305. The original line was "ουκ αγαθόν πολυκοιρανίη" ("ouk agathon polukoiranie"): "too many leaders are not good", or "the rule of many is a bad thing". (Homer'sIliad, Book II. vers 204–205) In Greek "ουκ αγαθόν πολυκαισαρίη" ("ouk agathon polukaisarie") is a variation on "ουκ αγαθόν πολυκοιρανίη" ("ouk agathon polukoiranie"). "Καισαρ" (Caesar) replacing "κοίρανος", meaning leader.
^The wall-painting of Venus Genetrix is similar in appearance to the now-lost statue of Cleopatra erected by Julius Caesar in theTemple of Venus Genetrix, within theForum of Caesar. The owner of the House at Pompeii of Marcus Fabius Rufus, walled off the room with this painting, most likely in immediate reaction to the execution of Caesarion on orders ofAugustus in 30 BC, when artistic depictions of Caesarion would have been considereda sensitive issue for the ruling regime.
![This mid-1st century AD Roman wall painting in Pompeii, Italy, showing Venus holding a cupid is most likely a depiction of Cleopatra VII of Ptolemaic Egypt as Venus Genetrix, with her son Caesarion as the cupid[25][26][27]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aVenus_and_Cupid_from_the_House_of_Marcus_Fabius_Rufus_at_Pompeii%2c_most_likely_a_depiction_of_Cleopatra_VII.jpg)
![One of two statues of the falcon god Horus behind a smaller depiction of Caesarion at the Temple of Edfu in Edfu, Upper Egypt[28]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aStatue_of_Horus_in_Edfu_Temple.jpg)
![A coin depicting Cleopatra VII with her son Caesarion as an infant, British Museum.[29]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aRPC-3901_Cleopatra_VII_with_baby_Ptolemy_XV_Caesarion_son_of_Julius_Caesar_on_coin_of_Cyprus_47BC_displayed_in_the_British_Museum.jpg)
