| Cleopatra V of Egypt | |
|---|---|
| Cleopatra V Tryphaena | |
![A likely sculpture of Cleopatra V Tryphaena,[a] 1st century BC, from Lower Egypt, now in the Musée Saint-Raymond[1]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.m.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aRa80-HDD-b.jpg) A likely sculpture of Cleopatra V Tryphaena,[a] 1st century BC, from Lower Egypt, now in theMusée Saint-Raymond[1] | |
| Reign | 79–69 BC withPtolemy XII[b] |
| Predecessor | Ptolemy XII |
| Successor | Ptolemy XII |
| Consort | Ptolemy XII |
| Children | Known: Berenice IV Probably: Cleopatra VII Possibly: Cleopatra VI[a] Arsinoe IV Ptolemy XIII Ptolemy XIV |
| Father | Uncertain: Ptolemy IX orPtolemy X |
| Mother | Uncertain: Cleopatra IV orBerenice III |
| Born | c. 100/95 BC[2] |
| Died | c. 69–68 BC[c] |
| Dynasty | Ptolemaic dynasty |
Cleopatra V (Greek:Κλεοπάτρα Τρύφαινα; diedc. 69–68 BC[c]) was aPtolemaic Queen ofEgypt. She is the only surely attested wife ofPtolemy XII. Her only known child isBerenice IV, but she was also possibly the mother ofCleopatra VII. It is unclear if she died around the time of Cleopatra VII's birth in 69 BC. If she did not die in c. 69 BC, she may be the same person as the co-ruler of Berenice IV, known asCleopatra VI. No written records about Cleopatra VI exist after 57 BC. Berenice IV was overthrown by Ptolemy XII in 55 BC, when his throne was restored withRoman military aid.
Because of the poor body of source material Cleopatra V is a very obscure member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, only a few ascertained facts about her are known and many aspects of her life are the subject to controversy.[3] In all known ancient sources she is given the bynameTryphaena. She may have borne this name before accession to the throne when she assumed the traditional royal nameCleopatra.[4] In some modern specialist literature Cleopatra Tryphaena, wife ofPtolemy XII, is referred to asCleopatra VI.[5] The historianWerner Huß refers to her asCleopatra VII Tryphaena.[6]
The parentage of Cleopatra V is not recorded. She may have been a legitimate or illegitimate daughter ofPtolemy IX[7][8][9] or the legitimate daughter ofPtolemy X.[10] Porphyry mentions that Ptolemy X Alexander fled Egypt with his wifeBerenice III and a daughter in 88 BC. Cleopatra Tryphaena might be this unspecified daughter.[11]
Cleopatra V is first mentioned in 79 BC in twopapyri. One of these papyri dates from January 17, 79 BC.[12] In that year she married Ptolemy XII, king of Egypt. They received divine worship astheoí Philopátores kai Philádelphoi (father-, brother- and sister-loving gods).[13] Cleopatra’s Egyptian titles, found primarily atEdfu andPhilae, includeDaughter ofRe,Female Ruler, andMistress of Two Lands.[14]
It is unclear how long Cleopatra V lived, and with which mentions of Cleopatra Tryphaena in the historical record she should be identified, as the numbering used to distinguish thePtolemies is a modern invention. Cleopatra Tryphaena V vanishes around the timeCleopatra VII was born (69 BC): her name begins to disappear from monuments andpapyri, and there is a papyrus of Ptolemy XII from 69 BC that does not mention her but would be expected to do so had she still been alive.[15]
There is some indication that Cleopatra may have died in 69 BC — she may have died in childbirth or was possibly murdered. Should she really have died that early, then the Cleopatra Tryphaena who is mentioned — after the expulsion of Ptolemy XII — as co-ruler of Egypt (together withBerenice IV) in 58 and 57 BC, and died around 57 BC, must be her daughter, numbered by some historians asCleopatra VI Tryphaena. This is also supported byPorphyry.[16][17]
On the other hand, there is a dedication on theTemple of Edfu from December 5, 57 BC that inscribes Cleopatra Tryphaena's name alongside Ptolemy XII's (who however was not present in Egypt at that time), which would have meant the king's wife rather than daughter and would be unlikely had Ptolemy XII's wife really died already twelve years earlier. Thus some, though not all, modern historians[18] consider Cleopatra V to be identical with the purported Cleopatra VI Tryphaena, and have her living to c. 57 BC. This would comport with the account by Strabo,[19] who reports Ptolemy XII to have had only three daughters; these can reliably be identified as Berenice IV, Cleopatra VII, andArsinoe IV as the king's daughters, so that there would not be left any room for a Cleopatra VI.[17] Werner Huss assumes, that quarrels erupted between Cleopatra V and Ptolemy XII in 69 BC and that as a result of these disputes Cleopatra V fell in disgrace and was compelled to resign.[20]
Cleopatra V was probably the mother of Cleopatra VII.[7][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]Michael Grant comes to the conclusion that "on the whole" it seems most likely Cleopatra V was the mother of Cleopatra VII, noting that had Cleopatra VII been illegitimate, her "numerous Roman enemies would have revealed this to the world." He continues that we should rule out the hypothesis Cleopatra VII was conceived by Ptolemy XII's second wife-to-be while Cleopatra V was on the scene, and that if this unknown second wife had been Cleopatra VII's mother and had later become a legitimized queen, Cleopatra VII would still have been considered a bastard and "her Roman foes would not have missed the hint."[7]Duane W. Roller speculates that Cleopatra could have been the daughter of a theoretical half-Macedonian-Greek, half-Egyptian woman belonging to a family of priests dedicated toPtah and was "only technically illegitimate" (however, he contends that whatever Cleopatra's ancestry, she valued her Greek Ptolemaic heritage the most), but notes that if this unknown woman was not Cleopatra's mother, then Cleopatra V would be her mother.[29] Part of his argument is based on Strabo's mention of Ptolemy XII's having only three daughters, Berenice being the only legitimate one.[29] But as Grant notes that, of all the attacks on Cleopatra VII, her being illegitimate is not among them, and it is only mentioned in a casual statement by Strabo.[7]
Most scholars agree that Berenice IV was a daughter of Cleopatra V. A different wife of Ptolemy XII may have been the mother of the younger siblings of Cleopatra VII: Arsinoe IV,Ptolemy XIII andPtolemy XIV.[30] However, Christopher Bennett thinks that Cleopatra V was the mother of all known children of Ptolemy XII.[31] In 55 BC, upon his return to Egypt from exile with Roman military aid, Ptolemy XII had his rival daughter Berenice IV executed for usurping his throne.[32]
Cleopatra V Born: ca. 95 BC Died: ca. 69/68-57 BC | ||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Pharaoh of Egypt 79 BC–68 BC withPtolemy XII | Succeeded by |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
