Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II (Greek: Πτολεμαίος
Ευεργέτης) (ca. 182 BC – 26 June 116 BC), nicknamed
Physcon ("Potbelly" or "Bladder") for his obesity,
was a king of the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt. His
complicated career started in 170 BC, when Antiochus
IV Epiphanes invaded Egypt, captured his brother
Ptolemy VI Philometor and let him continue as a
puppet monarch. Then Alexandria chose Ptolemy
Euergetes as king. Monumental stela attributed to
Ptolemy VII, glorifying his rule and describing his
support of Egyptian gods. The stela was written in
Egyptian hieroglyphs as well as Greek.After
Antiochus left (169), Euergetes agreed to joint rule
with his older brother Ptolemy VI Philometor and
Cleopatra II. This arrangement led to continuous
intrigues, lasting until October 164, when
Philometor went to Rome to gain support from the
Senate, who were a little helpful, but Physcon's
sole rule was not popular, and in May 163 the two
brothers agreed to a partition that left Physcon in
charge of Cyrenaica.
Although the arrangement lasted until
Philometor's death in 145, it did not end the
sparring. Physcon convinced the Senate to back his
claim on Cyprus, but Philometor ignored this, and
after Physcon's attempt to conquer the island
failed, in 161 the Senate sent Philometor's
ambassadors home. Sometime around 156/155 Philometor
tried to have Physcon assassinated, but this failed,
and Physcon went to Rome, displayed the scars of
wounds he received in the attempt, and despite the
opposition of Cato the Elder, received the Senate's
support and some resources for another attempt on
Cyprus. (An inscription records that Physcon had
bequeathed Cyrenaica to Rome if he died childless,
an act not mentioned by any literary source.)
The second attempt on Cyprus also failed, and
Philometor captured Physcon, but spared him,
offering him the hand of his daughter Cleopatra
Thea, and sent him back to Cyrenaica.
When Philometor died on campaign in 145,
Cleopatra II had her son proclaimed Ptolemy VII, but
Physcon returned, proposed joint rule and marriage
to Cleopatra II, his sister. He then had the unlucky
youth assassinated during the wedding feast. He then
took the throne as "Ptolemy VII Euergetes II", the
name deliberately recalling his ancestor Ptolemy III
Euergetes, and had himself proclaimed as pharaoh in
144.
Physcon took his revenge on the Jews and
intellectuals of Alexandria who had opposed him,
engaging in mass purges and expulsions that included
Aristarchus of Samothrace and Apollodorus, leaving
Alexandria a changed city.
He then seduced and married Cleopatra III (who
was his wife's daughter) without divorcing Cleopatra
II, who was infuriated, and by 132 or 131, the
people of Alexandria rioted and set fire to the
royal palace. Physcon, Cleopatra III, and their
children escaped to Cyprus, while Cleopatra II had
his 12-year-old son (also Physcon's son), Ptolemy
Memphitis acclaimed as king. Physcon was however
able to get hold of the boy and killed him, sending
the dismembered pieces to Cleopatra.
The ensuing civil war pitted Cleopatra's
Alexandria against the countryside, who supported
Physcon. Cleopatra offered the throne of Egypt to
Demetrius II Nicator, but he got no further than
Pelusium, and by 127 Cleopatra left for Syria,
leaving Alexandria to hold out for another year.
After further intrigues, Cleopatra II ended up
back in Egypt in 124 BC, and about this time Physcon
sent his second daughter by Cleopatra III, Cleopatra
Tryphaena, to marry Antiochus VIII Philometor. A
formal amnesty decree followed in 118 BC, but it was
insufficient to improve government, and the Romans
would soon be forced to intervene after his death in
116.
When he died, he left the throne to Cleopatra III
and one of her sons, whichever she preferred. She
would have chosen her younger son Alexander to have
reigned with her. However, the Alexandrians wanted
her older son Philometer Soter, governor of Cyprus,
to co-reign. She reluctantly complied, with
Philometer taking the name Ptolemy IX, though her
younger son would rule at one point.
Preceded by
Ptolemy VI (Philometor)
Succeeded by
Ptolemy VIII (Sotor)
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