Cleopatra Selene II

This article is about the daughter of Cleopatra VII of Egypt and Mark Antony. For the daughter of Ptolemy VIII and Cleopatra III, see Cleopatra Selene of Syria. For other women named Cleopatra, see Cleopatra (disambiguation).
Cleopatra Selene II
An ancient Roman bust of either Cleopatra Selene II, Queen of Mauretania, or her mother Cleopatra VII of Egypt: Archaeological Museum of Cherchell, Algeria[1]
Queen consort of Numidia
Tenure25 BC – 25 BC
Queen consort of Mauretania
Tenure25 BC – 5 BC
Queen of Cyrenaica
Reign34 BC – 30 BC
Born40 BC[2]
Alexandria, Egypt
Diedc. 5 BC (aged 34–35)[2]
Caesarea, Mauretania
Burial
Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania
SpouseJuba II of Numidia
Issue
Names
Cleopatra Selene
DynastyPtolemaic
FatherMark Antony
MotherCleopatra VII Philopator

Cleopatra Selene II (Greek: Κλεοπάτρα Σελήνη; summer 40 BC – c. 5 BC;[3] the numeration is modern) was a Ptolemaic princess, Queen of Numidia (briefly in 25 BC) and Mauretania (25 BC – 5 BC) and Queen of Cyrenaica (34 BC – 30 BC[4]). She was an important royal woman in the early Augustan age.

Cleopatra Selene was the only daughter of Greek Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt and Roman Triumvir Mark Antony. In the Donations of Antioch and of Alexandria, she was made queen of Cyrenaica and Libya.[5][6][7] After Antony and Cleopatra's defeat at Actium and their suicides in Egypt in 30 BC, Selene and her brothers were brought to Rome and placed in the household of Octavian's sister, Octavia the Younger, a former wife of her father.

Selene married Juba II of Numidia and Mauretania. She had great influence in Mauretania's government decisions, especially regarding trade and construction projects. During their reign, the country became extremely wealthy. The couple had a son and successor, Ptolemy of Mauretania. Through their granddaughter Drusilla, the Ptolemaic line intermarried into Roman nobility for many generations.

  1. ^ Ferroukhi, Mafoud (2001). "Marble portrait, perhaps of Cleopatra VII's daughter, Cleopatra Selene, Queen of Mauretania". In Walker, Susan; Higgs, Peter (eds.). Cleopatra of Egypt: from History to Myth. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press (British Museum Press). p. 219. ISBN 9780691088358.
  2. ^ a b Emmanuel Kwaku Akyeampong, Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2012). Dictionary of African Biography. OUP USA. p. 228. ISBN 978-0-19-538207-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Roller 2003, p. 256.
  4. ^ Sampson, Gareth C. (2020-08-05). Rome and Parthia: Empires at War: Ventidius, Antony and the Second Romano-Parthian War, 40-20 BC. Pen and Sword Military. p. 271. ISBN 978-1-5267-1016-1.
  5. ^ Roller 2003, pp. 76–81.
  6. ^ Grant, Michael (2011-07-14). Cleopatra: Cleopatra. Hachette UK. ISBN 978-1-78022-114-4. At the same time Cleopatra's six-year-old daughter by Antony, Cleopatra Selene, was made queen of Cyrenaica, that is to say the eastern half of modern Libya, where it borders upon Egypt.
  7. ^ Chauveau, Michel (2000). Egypt in the Age of Cleopatra: History and Society Under the Ptolemies. Cornell University Press. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-8014-8576-3.