Cleopatra Thea
Encyclopedia
Seleucid Empire
The Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.The Seleucid Empire was a major centre...
. She ruled Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
from 125 BC after the death of Demetrius II Nicator. She eventually ruled in co-regency with her son Antiochus VIII Grypus
Antiochus VIII Grypus
Antiochus VIII Epiphanes/Callinicus/Philometor, nicknamed Grypus , was crowned as ruler of the Greek Seleucid kingdom in 125 BC. He was the son of Demetrius II Nicator and Cleopatra Thea.-Biography:...
, who poisoned her in 121 or 120 BC.
Family
Cleopatra Thea was a daughter of Ptolemy VI of EgyptPtolemaic Egypt
Ptolemaic Egypt began when Ptolemy I Soter invaded Egypt and declared himself Pharaoh of Egypt in 305 BC and ended with the death of queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt and the Roman conquest in 30 BC. The Ptolemaic Kingdom was a powerful Hellenistic state, extending from southern Syria in the east, to...
and Cleopatra II
Cleopatra II of Egypt
Cleopatra II was a queen of Ptolemaic Egypt.-Family:Cleopatra II was the daughter of Ptolemy V and likely Cleopatra I. She was the sister of Ptolemy VI and Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II Tryphon. She would eventually marry both of her brothers.Her first marriage was with her brother Ptolemy VI in ca....
. She had two brothers named Ptolemy Eupator and Ptolemy respectively. Her sister Cleopatra III was Queen of Egypt and married to Ptolemy VIII, an uncle. It is possible that Berenice, the fiancee of Attalus III, king of Pergamum is another sister.
Cleopatra Thea married three times:
- She married Alexander BalasAlexander BalasAlexander Balas , ruler of the Greek Seleucid kingdom 150-146 BC, was a native of Smyrna of humble origin, but gave himself out to be the son of Antiochus IV Epiphanes and Laodice IV and heir to the Seleucid throne...
(Greek: Αλέξανδρος Βάλας) in about 150 BC. This union produced Antiochus VI DionysusAntiochus VI DionysusAntiochus VI Dionysus , king of the Hellenistic Seleucid kingdom, was the son of Alexander Balas and Cleopatra Thea, daughter of Ptolemy VI of Egypt....
. Alexander Balas was, neither popular, nor efficient ruler. The marriage was dissolved by her father. Alexander Balas died in battle against Demetrius II of Syria in 145 BC. - Cleopatra Thea married Demetrius II Nicator, (Greek: Δημήτριος Νικάτωρ) in 145 BC. Cleopatra bore him two sons, who later grew up to be kings: Seleucus V PhilometorSeleucus V PhilometorThe Seleucid king Seleucus V Philometor , ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid kingdom, was the eldest son of Demetrius II Nicator and Cleopatra Thea. The epithet Philometor means mother-loving and in the Hellenistic world usually indicated that the mother acted as co-regent for the prince.In 126 BC...
, Antiochus VIII GrypusAntiochus VIII GrypusAntiochus VIII Epiphanes/Callinicus/Philometor, nicknamed Grypus , was crowned as ruler of the Greek Seleucid kingdom in 125 BC. He was the son of Demetrius II Nicator and Cleopatra Thea.-Biography:...
, and possibly a daughter Laodice. Demetrius became a captive of the Parthians from 139-129 BC. He was assassinated in Tyre in 125 BC at the orders of his wife Cleopatra Thea. - Cleopatra Thea married Demetrius' younger brother, Antiochus VII SidetesAntiochus VII SidetesAntiochus VII Euergetes, nicknamed Sidetes , ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire, reigned from 138 to 129 BC. He was the last Seleucid king of any stature....
in 137 BC after Demetrius was captured by the Parthians. Cleopatra and Antiochus VII had several children: Antiochus IX CyzicenusAntiochus IX CyzicenusAntiochus IX Eusebes, ruler of the Greek Seleucid kingdom, was the son of Antiochus VII Sidetes and Cleopatra Thea. Upon the death of his father in Parthia and his uncle Demetrius II Nicator's return to power , his mother sent him to Cyzicus on the Bosporus, thus giving him his nickname...
and likely Antiochus, Seleucus and one or two daughters named Laodice.
Biography
Cleopatra Thea grew up in Egypt as the daughter of Ptolemy VI and Cleopatra II. She was probably born ca. 164 BC. She may have been engaged to her uncle Ptolemy VIII king of Cyrene in 154, but he eventually married her sister Cleopatra III. In 150 BC she married Alexander BalasAlexander Balas
Alexander Balas , ruler of the Greek Seleucid kingdom 150-146 BC, was a native of Smyrna of humble origin, but gave himself out to be the son of Antiochus IV Epiphanes and Laodice IV and heir to the Seleucid throne...
and had a son named Antiochus VI Dionysus
Antiochus VI Dionysus
Antiochus VI Dionysus , king of the Hellenistic Seleucid kingdom, was the son of Alexander Balas and Cleopatra Thea, daughter of Ptolemy VI of Egypt....
. In 145 BC Alexander Balas was killed in battle against Demetrius II. Demetrius set himself up as co-ruler with the young boy Antiochus VI, but may have killed him in 142 BC.
In 139 BC Demetrius II was captured fighting against the Parthia
Parthia
Parthia is a region of north-eastern Iran, best known for having been the political and cultural base of the Arsacid dynasty, rulers of the Parthian Empire....
ns and was held prisoner by them until 129 BC.
After Demetrius' captivity, his younger brother, Antiochus VII Sidetes
Antiochus VII Sidetes
Antiochus VII Euergetes, nicknamed Sidetes , ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire, reigned from 138 to 129 BC. He was the last Seleucid king of any stature....
, who was raised in the city of Sidon of Pamphylia (hence his last name), returned and claimed the throne. He married Cleopatra Thea in 138 BC and became king. Cleopatra Thea bore him at least one son, Antiochus IX Cyzicenus
Antiochus IX Cyzicenus
Antiochus IX Eusebes, ruler of the Greek Seleucid kingdom, was the son of Antiochus VII Sidetes and Cleopatra Thea. Upon the death of his father in Parthia and his uncle Demetrius II Nicator's return to power , his mother sent him to Cyzicus on the Bosporus, thus giving him his nickname...
. The names of any other children are uncertain.
In 129 BC, the Parthians released Demetrius II, as a political manoeuvre against Sidetes, to claim his throne and his wife.
That same year Sidetes was killed fighting the Parthians. Cleopatra had taken the precaution of sending Antiochus IX (her son by Antiochus VII) to Cyzicus
Cyzicus
Cyzicus was an ancient town of Mysia in Anatolia in the current Balıkesir Province of Turkey. It was located on the shoreward side of the present Kapıdağ Peninsula , a tombolo which is said to have originally been an island in the Sea of Marmara only to be connected to the mainland in historic...
in Asia Minor
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
(hence his surname). Demetrius returned home and regained his throne, taking Cleopatra Thea as his wife by his side.
In 132/131 BC Cleopatra Thea's mother, Cleopatra II of Egypt rebelled against her brother Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II Tryphon. In 127 BC Cleopatra II fled to her son-in-law Demetrius' court in Syria.
Demetrius' elder son, Seleucus, became king with the name Seleucus V in 125 BC. However, shortly after, his mother Cleopatra Thea, had him murdered. From 125 BC to 121 BC, Cleopatra ruled Syria and to legitimize her reign, she shared the throne with her son, Antiochus VIII Grypus
Antiochus VIII Grypus
Antiochus VIII Epiphanes/Callinicus/Philometor, nicknamed Grypus , was crowned as ruler of the Greek Seleucid kingdom in 125 BC. He was the son of Demetrius II Nicator and Cleopatra Thea.-Biography:...
. Antiochus VIII was married to Tryphaena, the daughter of Ptolemy VIII and Cleopatra III.
Grypus became less controllable as he grew up and in 121 BC Cleopatra Thea decided to eliminate him. As he returned from a hunt one day, she offered him a cup of wine. Since this was not common behavior for her, Grypus was suspicious and forced her to drink the wine, which killed her.
Grypus re-organised the state and for the next eight years he provided stability and financial recovery. This period would end ca. 114 BC, when Cleopatra Thea's other son, Antiochus IX Cyzicenus, returned to Syria to claim the throne and civil war started again.