The Cleopatra Series: Part 5
When Ptolemy XII was restored to the Egyptian throne in 55 BC, it was largely due to Roman intervention.
Officially, the Roman Senate was reluctant to become involved. In practice, powerful individuals often mattered more than official institutions. Pompey, Caesar and Crassus, the men who dominated Roman politics through the informal alliance known as the First Triumvirate, wielded enormous influence throughout the Mediterranean world.
With Roman assistance, Ptolemy regained his kingdom.
Cleopatra was now the heir to Egypt.
When Ptolemy died in 51 BC, his will named Cleopatra and her younger brother Ptolemy XIII as joint rulers. The arrangement followed Ptolemaic custom, but there was an obvious problem.
Cleopatra was around eighteen years old.
Ptolemy XIII was only about ten.
At first, Cleopatra appears to have been the dominant ruler. Coins, official documents and royal decrees suggest that she was exercising authority in her own right.
The Men Behind the Boy King
But powerful men soon gathered around the young king.
Three figures emerge from the historical record:
Pothinus, the royal adviser.
Achillas, the senior military commander.
Theodotus of Chios, the king’s tutor.
Together, they became the driving force behind opposition to Cleopatra.
The result was a struggle for power that rapidly pushed Egypt towards civil war.
Cleopatra Raises an Army
By 50 BC, Cleopatra had been forced from Alexandria.
Yet what happened next is one of the most remarkable episodes of her life.
She went to Syria.
Not just to seek refuge.
But to raise an army!
This is worth remembering because later portrayals of Cleopatra often focus almost exclusively on her relationships with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony.
Before either Roman entered her life, Cleopatra was already fighting for a throne.
She returned to Egypt at the head of her own forces, determined to confront her brother and the advisers who controlled him.
History and Fiction
What was Ptolemy XIII really like?
The truth is that we know very little.
Ancient sources tell us far more about the people around him than about the boy himself. Most of what survives was written by authors who were far more interested in Cleopatra, Caesar and the dramatic events that followed.
That uncertainty gives the historical novelist room to speculate.
In my novel, Ptolemy XIII is portrayed as the younger brother many families would recognise: obnoxious, spoiled, impulsive, irritating and entirely convinced of his own importance.
Whether the historical Ptolemy was anything like that, we cannot know.
But history often leaves us with names and events while withholding personalities.
That is where the novelist steps in.
History gives us Cleopatra raising an army and returning to challenge her brother.
Fiction allows us to imagine what it might have been like to face him.
Further Reading
Readers interested in learning more about Cleopatra VII, Ptolemy XIII and the struggle for the Egyptian throne may find the following resources useful.
Historical Resources
World History Encyclopedia: Cleopatra VII
https://www.worldhistory.org/Cleopatra_VII/
World History Encyclopedia: Ptolemy XIII of Egypt
https://www.worldhistory.org/Ptolemy_XIII_of_Egypt/
World History Encyclopedia: Ptolemaic Dynasty
https://www.worldhistory.org/Ptolemaic_Dynasty/
Encyclopaedia Britannica: Cleopatra
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Cleopatra-queen-of-Egypt
Perseus Digital Library: Plutarch’s Life of Caesar
https://catalog.perseus.org/catalog/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0019.tlg013
Recommended Non-Fiction Books
- Adrian Goldsworthy, Caesar: Life of a Colossus
- Stacy Schiff, Cleopatra: A Life
- Duane W. Roller, Cleopatra: A Biography
- Michael Grant, Cleopatra
- Barry Strauss, The Death of Caesar
- Philip Freeman, Julius Caesar
Recommended Historical Fiction
- Colleen McCullough, The October Horse
- Margaret George, The Memoirs of Cleopatra
- Stephanie Dray, Lily of the Nile
- Michelle Moran, Cleopatra’s Daughter
- Conn Iggulden, Emperor: The Gods of War
- Allan Massie, Caesar