Ptolemy XI Alexander II ( gr, Πτολεμαῖος Ἀλέξανδρος, ''Ptolemaĩos Aléxandros'') was a member of the

Ptolemaic dynasty The Ptolemaic dynasty (; grc, Πτολεμαῖοι, ''Ptolemaioi''), sometimes referred to as the Lagid dynasty (Λαγίδαι, ''Lagidae;'' after Ptolemy I's father, Lagus), was a Macedonian Greek royal dynasty which ruled the Ptolemaic ...

who ruled

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medite ...

for a few days in 80 BC. He was a son of Ptolemy X Alexander I and Cleopatra Selene.

Biography

Ptolemy XI was born to Ptolemy X Alexander I and supposedly Cleopatra Selene. His uncle

Ptolemy IX Ptolemy IX Soter II Ptolemy IX also took the same title 'Soter' as Ptolemy I. In older references and in more recent references by the German historian Huss, Ptolemy IX may be numbered VIII. ( el, Πτολεμαῖος Σωτ� ...

Lathryos died in 81 BC or 80 BC, leaving only his sole legitimate daughter as his heir, and so Cleopatra Berenice (= Berenice III) ruled alone for a time. However,

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force. Sulla had ...

wanted a pro-Roman ruler on the throne, and sent the young son of Ptolemy X to Egypt, displaying Ptolemy Alexander's will in Rome as supposed justification for this obvious interference. The will also apparently required Ptolemy XI to marry

Berenice III Berenice III (Greek: Βερενίκη; 120–80 BC) was also known as Cleopatra, ruled between 101 and 80 BC. Modern scholars studying Berenice III refer to her sometimes as Cleopatra Berenice. She was co-ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt from 101–8 ...

, who was his stepmother, cousin, and possible half-sister. However, nineteen days after the marriage, Ptolemy murdered his bride for unknown reasons, an unwise move since Berenice was very popular; Ptolemy was soon lynched by the citizens of

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

. He was succeeded by his cousin Ptolemy XII, an illegitimate son of Ptolemy IX.

Notes

References

Peter Green, ''Alexander to Actium'' (

University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by faculty ...

, 1990), pp. 553–554

External links

Ptolemy XI Alexander II
entry in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ptolemy 11 2nd-century BC births 80 BC deaths 1st-century BC Pharaohs 1st-century BC murdered monarchs Lynching deaths Pharaohs of the Ptolemaic dynasty 1st-century BC rulers in Africa 1st-century BC Egyptian people