| Cleopatra II | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Reign |
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| Coregency |
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| Consorts | Ptolemy VI of Egypt(m. 175 BC; died 145 BC) Ptolemy VIII of Egypt(m. 145 BC; died 116 BC) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Father | Ptolemy V of Egypt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mother | Cleopatra I of Egypt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | c. 185 BC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 116/115 BC (Aged 69) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dynasty | Ptolemaic dynasty | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cleopatra II Philometor Soteira (Greek: Κλεοπάτρα Φιλομήτωρ Σώτειρα,Kleopatra Philomētōr Sōteira; c. 185 BC – 116/115 BC) was Queen consort ofPtolemaic Egypt from 175 to 170 BC as wife ofPtolemy VI Philometor, and then Queen regnant since 170 BC as co-ruler with her two successive brother-husbands, her daughter, and her grandson.
She co-ruled during her first reign since 170 until 164 BC, withPtolemy VI Philometor, her first husband and the older of her brothers, andPtolemy VIII Euergetes II, her younger brother. During her second reign she co-ruled again with Ptolemy VI from 163 BC until his death in 145 BC. She then ruled with her younger brother, Ptolemy VIII, whom she married, and her daughterCleopatra III. She was sole ruler of Egypt from 131 BC to 127 BC. Her final reign from 124 BC to 116/5 BC was also spent incoregency with Ptolemy VIII and Cleopatra III.
She was the first Ptolemaic queen known for certain to rule in her own right, and thus first confirmed femalePharaoh of Egypt sinceTausret's reign duringNew Kingdom period.
Cleopatra II was the daughter ofPtolemy V and likelyCleopatra I. If she was the daughter of Cleopatra I, she was a full sister ofPtolemy VI Philometor andPtolemy VIII Euergetes II Tryphon; otherwise she was their half-sister. She would eventually marry both of her brothers, in turn.[1][2]
Following the death of their mother, Cleopatra I, in 177/6 BC, Cleopatra II was married to her brother Ptolemy VI Philometor in c. 175 BC, thus becoming Queen consort of Egypt, but she was declared formal co-regent with Ptolemy VI and their younger brother, Ptolemy VIII Euergetes Physcon, in 170 BC;[3] trio continued to reign together until 164 BC.[1][4] The year Cleopatra II's reign began is considered by Sally-Ann Ashton to be 175 BC, the year of her marriage, but by Tara Sewell-Lasater to be 170 BC, when Ptolemy VIII also became co-ruler.[5][3] Based on the former, Cleopatra II is said to have reigned for 57 years.[6]
By becoming nominal co-ruler, Cleopatra II became first known Queen regnant of Ptolemaic dynasty.[7]
In 169–168 BC, the siblings' maternal uncleAntiochus IV ofSyria invaded Egypt. Ptolemy VI Philometor briefly joined Antiochus IV outside Alexandria in 169 BC, then turned against him in alliance with his siblings. Antiochus IV was finally induced to give up his attempt to take over Egypt by Roman intervention.[8] In 164 BC Cleopatra II and her husband were temporarily deposed by Ptolemy VIII, but were restored to power in 163 BC. After this, Ptolemy VIII was removed from the co-regency in Egypt and made king ofCyrene.[9][10]
Ptolemy VI died on campaign in Syria in 145 BC. Cleopatra II agreed to marry her younger brother, Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II Physcon, who ascended the throne.[1][11] According toJustin, Ptolemy VIII murderedPtolemy, the surviving son of Ptolemy VI and Cleopatra II,[12] on his marriage to Cleopatra II, but new evidence shows he survived as a potential heir and served as eponymous priest ofAlexander the Great in c. 143 BC; he was eliminated by his uncle sometime later.[13] Cleopatra II bore Ptolemy VIII a new heir,Ptolemy Memphites, in c. 143 BC.[14][15]
Between 142 BC and 139 BC Ptolemy VIII married Cleopatra's younger daughter, his niece Cleopatra III.[11][16] She quickly produced two sons, the future kingsPtolemy IX Soter andPtolemy XI Alexander, and three daughters.[17] These developments are assumed to have increased the pre-existing rivalry between Cleopatra II and Ptolemy VIII.[18]
Cleopatra II led a rebellion against Ptolemy VIII in 132/1 BC, and drove him and Cleopatra III out of Alexandria at the end of 131 BC.[1] At this time Ptolemy VIII is said to have had Ptolemy Memphites, his son by his older sister, Cleopatra II, dismembered and his head, hands and feet sent to Cleopatra II in Alexandria as a birthday present.[19][20]
Cleopatra II ruled in Alexandria as sole ruler until 127 BC. Ptolemy VIII had retained the allegiance of parts of Egypt and gradually expanded his control from there. In 127 BC, he took over Alexandria, Cleopatra II being forced to flee to Syria, where she joined her daughter Cleopatra Thea and her son-in-law Demetrius II Nicator. The latter was unable to offer effective support to his mother-in-law, as Ptolemy VIII pitted against him a rival for the Seleucid throne.[21]
A public reconciliation of Cleopatra II and Ptolemy VIII was declared in 124 BC. After this she ruled jointly with her brother and daughter until June 116 BC when Ptolemy died. Among amnesty decrees seeking to heal the conflicts stirred by the recent civil war, Cleopatra II's murdered son Ptolemy Memphites was deified as the GodNeos Philopator in 118 BC.[11][22]
Ptolemy VIII left the kingdom to be ruled by Cleopatra III and one of their sons. At the wishes of theAlexandrians, Cleopatra III chosePtolemy Lathyros, her elder son, as her co-ruler.[1] However, Cleopatra II retained seniority in the ruling triumvirate.[23]
Cleopatra II disappeared from historical records sometime around October 116 BC.[11] She is believed to have died in about 116 or 115 BC.[1][11]
With Ptolemy VI she had at least four children,[2][11][24] and possibly an additional daughter Berenice:[1]
Ptolemy VIII and his older sister, Cleopatra II, are thought to have had at least one son,[1][2]
Cleopatra II Born: ca. 185 BC Died: 115 BC | ||
| Regnal titles | ||
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| Preceded by | Queen consort of Egypt 175 BC-170 BC | Succeeded by vacant, PharaohCleopatra III as co-ruling Royal wife |
| Preceded by | Pharaoh of Egypt 170 BC-164 BC withPtolemy VI andPtolemy VIII | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Pharaoh of Egypt 163 BC-127 BC withPtolemy VI,Ptolemy VIII andCleopatra III | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Pharaoh of Egypt 127 BC-116/5 BC withPtolemy VIII,Cleopatra III andPtolemy IX | Succeeded by |
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