| Ptolemy XII Auletes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Neos Dionysos Theos Philopator Philadelphos | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Pharaoh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
King of the Ptolemaic Kingdom | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reign | c. 80–58 BC with Cleopatra V (79–69 BC) c. 55–51 BC | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Predecessor | Ptolemy XI (80 BC) Berenice III (79 BC) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Successor | Cleopatra V and Berenice IV (58 BC) Cleopatra VII and Ptolemy XIII (51 BC) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Consort | Cleopatra V | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Father | Ptolemy IX | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mother | Unknown | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | c. 117 BC Cyprus? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | before 22 March 51 BC Alexandria | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dynasty | Ptolemaic dynasty | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysus (Ancient Greek: Πτολεμαῖος Νέος Διόνυσος, romanized: Ptolemaios Neos Dionysos, lit. 'Ptolemy the new Dionysus' c. 117 – 51 BC)[nb 1] was a king of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt who ruled from 80 to 58 BC and then again from 55 BC until his death in 51 BC. He was commonly known as Auletes (Αὐλητής, "the Flautist"), referring to his love of playing the flute in Dionysian festivals. A member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, he was a descendant of its founder Ptolemy I, a Macedonian Greek general and companion of Alexander the Great.[note 1]
Ptolemy XII was an illegitimate son of Ptolemy IX by an uncertain mother. In 116 BC, Ptolemy IX became co-regent with his mother, Cleopatra III. However, he was forced into a civil war against his mother and his brother, Ptolemy X, leading to his exile in 107 BC. Cleopatra III sent her grandsons to Kos in 103 BC. They were captured by Mithridates VI of Pontus probably in 88 BC, around the time Ptolemy IX returned to the Egyptian throne. After their father died in 81 BC, Ptolemy XII's half-sister Berenice III took the throne. She was soon murdered by her husband and co-regent, Ptolemy XI, who was then killed. At this point, Ptolemy XII was recalled from Pontus and proclaimed pharaoh, while his brother, also named Ptolemy, was installed as king of Cyprus.
Ptolemy XII married his relative Cleopatra V, who was likely one of his sisters or cousins; they had at least one child together, Berenice IV, and Cleopatra V was likely also the mother of his second daughter, Cleopatra VII. The king's three youngest children – Arsinoe IV, Ptolemy XIII, and Ptolemy XIV – were born to an unknown mother. Ptolemy XII's uncle Ptolemy X had left Egypt to Rome in the event there were no surviving heirs, making Roman annexation of Egypt a possibility. In an effort to prevent this, Ptolemy XII established an alliance with Rome late into his first reign. Rome annexed Cyprus in 58 BC, causing Ptolemy of Cyprus to commit suicide.
Shortly afterwards, Ptolemy XII was deposed by the Egyptian people and fled to Rome, and his eldest daughter, Berenice IV, took the throne. With Roman funding and military assistance, Ptolemy XII recaptured Egypt and had Berenice IV killed in 55 BC. He named his daughter Cleopatra VII as his co-regent in 52 BC. He died the next year and was succeeded by Cleopatra VII and her brother Ptolemy XIII as joint rulers.
- ^ "Ptolemy XII Auletes | Macedonian king of Egypt | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
- ^ "Ptolemaic Dynasty -- Ptolemy XII root". instonebrewer.com. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
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