Antiochus VI Dionysus

Other Events and Attributes:

• General Information: Alexander Balas was neither popular, nor an efficient ruler. His reign marks the beginning of the disintegration of the Seleucid realm, with important eastern satrapies such as Media being lost to the nascent Parthian Empire. His full name was Alexander I Theopator Euergetes, surnamed Balas.
• Parents: Alexander Balas claimed to be the son of Antiochus IV Epiphanes and Laodice IV and heir to the Seleucid throne. The ancient sources, Polybius and Diodorus say that this claim was false and that he and his sister Laodice VI were really natives of Smyrna of humble origin.[2] Modern scholars disagree about whether this is true or was propaganda put about by Alexander's opponents.
• History: 150 BCE to 145 BCE
• Last Full Review: 13 Jul 2021

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History:
150 BCE - Alexander defeated Demetrius I Soter for the crown in 150 BC.

145 BCE - He lost the crown to Demetrius II Nicator during his defeat at the Battle of Antioch (145 BC) in Syria, dying shortly after.

Died:
Alexander Balas died in battle against Demetrius II of Syria.

Alexander married Cleopatra Thea about 150 BCE. Cleopatra (daughter of Pharaoh Ptolemy VI Philometor and Cleopatra II) was born about 164 BCE; died in 121 BCE. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• General Information: She was surnamed Eueteria (i.e., "good-harvest/fruitful season") was the ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire. She was queen consort of Syria from 150 to about 125 BCE as the wife of three Syrian kings: Alexander Balas, Demetrius II Nicator, and Antiochus VII Sidetes. She ruled Syria from 125 BCE after the death of Demetrius II Nicator, eventually in co-regency with her son Antiochus VIII Grypus until 121 or 120 BCE.
• Last Full Review: 13 Jul 2021

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Died:
She was killed by her son, Antiochus VIII Grypus.

Other Events and Attributes:

• General Information: Philometor means "mother-loving" probably because his mother ruled for him early in his life.
• History: 181 BCE - he succeeded as Pharaoh of Egypt. Before he became of age, Egypt was ruled by his mother, Cleopatra I. 170 BCE - Antiochus IV decided to exploit the weak reign of his nephew and niece to reclaim Palestine, he was opposed by Ptolemy VI. Declaring himself and his sister-wife Cleopatra II no longer subject to a regency (although he was still in his mid-teens), Ptolemy VI followed with an attack of his own on Palestine. This campaign, led as it was by an inexperienced general, was a disaster. Defeated by Antiochus IV, Ptolemy VI fled Palestine in such confusion that he did not even trust in his ability to return to Egypt. Rather, he headed for sanctuary on the sacred Aegean island of Samothrace, a destination he never reached, for the fleet of Antiochus captured him anyway. The military failure, all the more damaging because of Ptolemy VI's "cowardly" flight, led to a revolution in Alexandria where the population briefly replaced Ptolemy VI, both as king and as the husband of Cleopatra II, with their brother Ptolemy VIII. After the capture of Ptolemy VI, Antiochus seems to have had ambitions on the Egyptian throne for himself until he learned of the accession of Ptolemy VIII. Thereafter, he invaded Egypt to return his recent antagonist, Ptolemy VI, to the throne. Initially successful, Antiochus left Egypt in 169 with Ptolemy VI reunited with Cleopatra and reinstalled on the throne, and with a strong Seleucid garrison in Pelusium (the fortress that defended Egypt's frontier from Syria). For Antiochus, there was influence to be gained through a manipulation of the rivalry engulfing the Ptolemaic house, that is, until more calculating heads held sway in Alexandria. Knowing that they needed a foreign champion to check Antiochus IV's ambitions in Egypt, Ptolemy VI and Cleopatra II sent an embassy to Rome to request protection from Seleucid Syria. Responding favorably to the request, in 168 the Romans sent an embassy under Gaius Popillius Laenus to demand that the newly returned Antiochus IV leave Egypt for good. Knowing that the Romans had already soundly defeated his father, and also knowing that they had recently crushed the Macedonians in Europe under Perseus, Antiochus caved in to the Roman ambassador and left Egypt permanently. Hoping to improve their standing through a deft manipulation of marriage politics, Ptolemy VI and Cleopatra initially betrothed their daughter Cleopatra Thea to a pretender, Alexander Balas, who had seized the Syrian throne from its king Demetrius I (150 BCE). When that marriage proved to be politically barren, the same daughter was forced to abandon her first husband to marry Demetrius II (145 BCE), the son of Demetrius I and thus the enemy of Alexander Balas. The latter took both personal and political affront at the Egyptian change of heart. Although Balas was unsuccessful in a military campaign fought in Palestine against the allied forces of Ptolemy VI and Demetrius II (145 BCE), Ptolemy VI died during this war as a result of a wound sustained when he fell from his horse.
• Last Full Review: 7 Jul 2020

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Ptolemy married Cleopatra II on yes, date unknown. Cleopatra (daughter of Pharaoh Ptolemy V Epiphanes and Cleopatra I) was born about 185 BCE; died in 116 BCE. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• History: birth to death
• Last Full Review: 8 Jul 2020

Notes:

History:
From 170 to 145 BCE, she was co-regent with her brother and husband Ptolemy VI Philometor. Cleopatra II was initially cited as a full equal of her husband in the original petition against Antiochus IV before the Roman Senate, and her status was confirmed in Egyptian documents shortly thereafter. This made Cleopatra II the first Ptolemaic queen to gain full political equality with a reigning king—actually, in this case, with two kings. Exactly why she became so established is a matter of conjecture, but most likely she had a talent for political affairs and was considered by all concerned as essential to the continued collaboration of Ptolemy VI and Ptolemy VIII. In addition, Cleopatra II clearly was more popular among her subjects than either of her brothers, thus conjuring up images of her mother whose memory was a significant legitimizing factor behind this generation of Ptolemies.

As a result of Ptolemy VI's demise, Cleopatra II served briefly as regent for Ptolemy Neos Philopator, the younger of her sons. However, this arrangement did not last for long because Ptolemy VIII returned to Egypt to reclaim it as his own. Although Cleopatra II (with the help of a band of Jewish mercenaries) attempted to hold out against her brother, the Greek citizens of Alexandria weighed in decisively behind the return of Ptolemy VIII. As a result, Cleopatra II married her brother Ptolemy VIII (144 BCE), and the life of her younger son with Ptolemy VI was forfeited. Ptolemy VIII arranged for his murder. Not long after his return to Egypt and his marriage to Cleopatra II, Ptolemy VIII married the long-promised Cleopatra III (142), the daughter of his wife. Now married simultaneously to both mother and daughter, Ptolemy VIII was thus able to check Cleopatra II's status at court.

In 132 BCE, tensions at court erupted into civil war, and Ptolemy VIII was driven temporarily to Cyprus with Cleopatra III and his children. Not the type to miss an opportunity for vengeance, while in exile Ptolemy VIII sent as a birthday gift to Cleopatra II the dismembered body of their son, Ptolemy Memphites.

Ptolemy VIII finally engineered a successful return in 127 BCE, driving her to Syria and the shelter of her son-in-law, King Demetrius II. Cleopatra II, however, managed to abscond with most of the Egyptian treasury.

In 124 BCE, she made her peace with Ptolemy VIII and returned home to her husband and daughter. Since Cleopatra II had the Egyptian treasury in hand, and since important regions in Upper Egypt remained loyal to her alone even after Ptolemy VIII and Cleopatra III controlled Lower Egypt, Cleopatra II was made "welcome" by her brother and daughter. Thereafter, a balance reigned between the interests and factions of Cleopatra II and of Ptolemy VIII-Cleopatra III.

In 118 BCE, the Edict of 118 was issued by the three which constituted a serious reform of Egyptian law, which had been long neglected.

Notes:

Married:
They were brother and sister. She was about 6 or 7, he about 10. This under-age marriage was arranged by Eulaeus (a eunuch) and Lenaeus (an ex-slave), two regents who, in lieu of anyone better situated, assumed their authority after Cleopatra I's death.

Other Events and Attributes:

• History: birth to death, Egypt

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History:
In 205 BCE, he was crowned Pharaoh of Egypt.

During his reign, Syria, under Antiochus III, seized Palestine and threatened Egypt. Rome intervened saving Egypt.

Died:
He was killed by a member of his court.

Ptolemy married Cleopatra I. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Married:
Their betrothal is recorded on the Rosetta Stone.