Cleopatra III

Relatives:

• Father: Ptolemy VI Philometor
• Mother: Cleopatra II
• Husband: Ptolemy VIII Physcon
  • Sons: Ptolemy IX Soter, Ptolemy X Alexander
  • Daughters: Cleopatra IV (married to Ptolemy IX), Cleopatra V Selene (married to Ptolemy IX), Tryphaena (married to Antiochus VIII Grypus)

Main deeds:

• 160: Born as daughter of Ptolemy VI Philometor and his sister Cleopatra II.
• July 145: Ptolemy VI is killed in action.
• Before 8 August 145: Ptolemy VIII Physcon becomes master of Egypt; he marries his sister Cleopatra II, widow of the former king Ptolemy VI Philometor.
• 141/140: Ptolemy VIII marries his niece and stepdaughter Cleopatra III.
• c.140: birth of Cleopatra IV
• 140/139: Birth of Ptolemy IX Soter
• 140/139: The two Cleopatras, mother and daughter, quarrel. An influential courtier named Galestes attempts a coup, unsuccessfully.
• 139: To strengthen their position, Ptolemy VIII and Cleopatra III seek support from the native population.
• c.135: Birth of Cleopatra V Selene and Tryphaena
• 132, November: Outbreak of civil war between Ptolemy VIII and Cleopatra II. Cleopatra III appears to have stayed on Cyprus.
• 131, autumn: Cleopatra II controls Alexandria.
• 131/130: Ptolemy is on Cyprus.
• 130, spring: Ptolemy returns to Egypt and defeats his opponents.
• 127: Cleopatra III returns to Egypt too.
• 124/123: Tryphaena marries to Antiochus VIII Grypus
• 28 June 116: Death of Ptolemy VIII, who is succeeded by Cleopatra III. She wants to rule with Ptolemy X Alexander, but the Alexandrines force her to accept Ptolemy IX Soter, who is fourteen years old, as co-ruler. Ptolemy X receives an honorary position as general on Cyprus.
• Cleopatra tries to gain support from the native population; she presents herself as the goddess Isis and the goddess Maat.
• October 110-February 109: Ptolemy X briefly replaces Ptolemy IX as co-ruler
• March 108: Ptolemy X briefly replaces Ptolemy IX, but this second attempt is a failure too, and Ptolemy IX returns
• March 108: Ptolemy X briefly replaces Ptolemy IX; at the same time, Cleopatra's stepson Ptolemy Apion becomes ruler of the Cyrenaica.
• October 107: Ptolemy IX flees to Cyprus; Ptolemy X Alexander becomes king.
• 105/104: Cleopatra replaces Ptolemy X as priestess of Alexander the Great.
• 103: Antiochus IX Cyzicenus supports the Samarians against the Hasmonaean king John Hyrcanus of Judaea; Ptolemy IX supports Antiochus, hoping that Judaea will be a first step to a return to Egypt.
• Ptolemy X Alexander invades Judaea, reaches Damascus, and returns
• 20 February 102: Cleopatra III defeats Ptolemy IX Soter near Pelusium
• 26 October 101: Ptolemy X Alexander orders the killing of Cleopatra and continues as sole ruler