Cleopatra IV Was the Fourth of Seven Ptolemaic Queens Named Cleopatra

Summary: Cleopatra IV was the fourth of seven queens named Cleopatra in Ancient Egypt's Ptolemaic Kingdom, which ended with Cleopatra VII's death in 30 BCE.

"Plaque of a Queen or Goddess (perhaps Cleopatra IV)" depicts feather garmented queen or goddess with feather headdress and engraved broad collar; figure probably served as part of incrustation for shrine or piece of furniture as indicated by small hole between upper left arm and body for attachment; ca. 305-30 BCE gold-plated repousse silver panel, 15 3/4 × 9 × 1 inches (40 × 22.9 × 2.5 centimeters); Brooklyn Museum, accession number 44.120: Brooklyn Museum, CC BY 3.0 Unported, via The Brooklyn Museum

Cleopatra IV was the fourth of seven queens named Cleopatra in Ancient Egypt's Ptolemaic Kingdom, an Ancient Greek state that ended with the death of the seventh Cleopatra in 30 BCE.

Cleopatra IV (Ancient Greek: Κλεοπάτρα, Kleopatra; ca. 138/135-112 BCE) was born ca. 138 to 135 BCE. Her parents were Cleopatra III Euergetis Philometor Soteira (Ancient Greek: Κλεοπάτρα Εὐεργέτις Φιλομήτωρ Σωτήιρα, Kleopatra Euerghetis Philometor Soteira; ca. 160/155-ca. September 101 BCE) and Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II Tryphon (Ancient Greek: Πτολεμαῖος Εὐεργέτης Τρύφων, Ptolemaios Euergetes Tryphon, "Ptolemy the Benefactor, the Opulent"; ca. 184/183-June 28, 116 BCE).

Cleopatra IV's mother, Cleopatra III, was the niece and stepdaughter of Cleopatra IV's father. Ptolemy VIII was the second brother and second husband of Cleopatra III's mother, Cleopatra II Philometor Soteira (Ancient Greek: Κλεοπάτρα Φιλομήτωρ Σωτείρα, Kleopatra Philometor Soteira; ca. 185-116 BCE).

Cleopatra II had married Ptolemy VI Philometor (Ancient Greek: Πτολεμαῖος Φιλομήτωρ, Ptolemaios Philometor; ca. 186–145 BCE) as the first of her two brother-husbands ca. March 175 BCE, according to American Egyptologist Christopher "Chris" John Bennett (1953-Jan. 10, 2014) in the "Cleopatra II" section of Ptolemaic Dynasty: The Genealogy on his Tynsdale House-provided website, Egyptian Royal Genealogy. A date of April 176 BCE for the sibling marriage was determined by English-Australian papyrologist and classicist John Whitehorne (July 2, 1944-March 5, 2020) in Cleopatras, published in 1994 (Chapter 8: Cleopatra II and Ptolemy VI, page 91).

Ptolemy VI died ca. July 145 BCE from injuries suffered during the Battle of the Oinoparas River in northwestern Syria. The battle was fought in northwestern Syria at the Oinoparas River (modern-day Afrin River in Syria and Türkiye). The battle had ended with Ptolemy VI's victory against his opponents, West Asia's Seleucid Empire (Ancient Greek: Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, Basileia ton Seleukidon, "Kingdom of the Seleucids"; 312-63 BCE).

Shortly thereafter, ca. 145/144 BCE, Cleopatra II had remarried, with her second brother, Ptolemy VIII, as her second husband. Yet, within four to five years, by January 140 BCE, Ptolemy VIII had dissolved his first marriage in order to marry Cleopatra III, who, as his first wife's daughter, also claimed relationship as his niece and stepdaughter. Ptolemy VIII and Cleopatra III's marriage took place between May 8, 141, and Jan. 14, 140 BCE (Chris Bennett, "Cleopatra III").

Including Cleopatra IV, Ptolemy VIII and Cleopatra III had five children. Cleopatra IV was born as the fourth child and second daughter. Her two older brothers were named dynastically as Ptolemy IX Soter II (Ancient Greek: Πτολεμαῖος Σωτήρ, Ptolemaios Soter, "Ptolemy the Saviour"; ca. 143-ca. December 81 BCE) and Ptolemy X Alexander I Philometor (Ancient Greek: Πτολεμαῖος Ἀλέξανδρος Φιλομήτωρ, Ptolemaios Alexandros Philometor; ca. 140-88/87 BCE). Her older sister was named Tryphaena (Ancient Greek: Τρύφαινα, Tryphaina; ca. 141/140-ca. 112/110 BCE).

Cleopatra IV and her younger sister both received their mother's Ptolemaic dynastic name. Cleopatra Selene (Ancient Greek: Κλεοπάτρα Σελήνη, Kleopatra Selene; ca. 135-69 BCE) was born as the uncle/stepfather and niece/stepdaughter marital couple's fifth child and third daughter.

Cleopatra IV married her parents' first-born son, Ptolemy IX, ca. 119-118 BCE. Ptolemy IX had two sons, Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysus (Ancient Greek: Πτολεμαῖος Νέος Διόνυσος, Ptolemaios Neos Dionysos, "Ptolemy the new Dionysus"; ca. 117-51 BCE), later known as Auletes (Ancient Greek: Αὐλητής, "the Flautist"), and Ptolemy (Ancient Greek: Πτολεμαῖος), later known as Ptolemy of Cyprus (Ancient Greek: Πτολεμαίος της Κύπρου, Ptolemaios tis Kyprou). Cleopatra IV may have birthed Ptolemy IX's two sons. Alternatively, an unknown female, "possibly a concubine," has been suggested as the children's mother (Chris Bennett, "PtolemyXII"; "Ptolemy of Cyprus").

After approximately three to four years of marriage, Cleopatra IV and Ptolemy XII were forced to divorce by Cleopatra III. The forced divorce probably occurred in 115 BCE (Chris Bennett, "Cleopatra IV"). Cleopatra IV's younger sister, Cleopatra Selene, became Ptolemy XII's second sister-wife.

Cleopatra IV subsequently remarried, ca. 114 BCE, with Antiochus IX Eusebes Cyzicenus (Greek: Ἀντίοχος Εὐσεβής Κυζικηνός, "Antiochus the Pious, the Cyzicene"; ?-96 BCE), Seleucid King of Syria, as her second husband. The couple's short marriage produced one son, Antiochus X Eusebes Philopator (Ancient Greek: Ἀντίοχος Εὐσεβής Φιλοπάτωρ, Antíochos Eusebes Philopator); ?-ca. 92/88 BCE).

Family ties abounded between Cleopatra IV and her second husband. Antiochus IX's mother was Cleopatra Thea Eueteria (Ancient Greek: Κλεοπάτρα Θεά Ευετηρια, Kleopatra Thea Eueteria, "Cleopatra the Goddess of Plenty"; ca. 164-121 BCE). As Cleopatra III's older sister, Cleopatra Thea was Cleopatra IV's aunt. Also, Cleopatra IV's older sister, Tryphaena, had been married to Antiochus IX's half-brother, Antiochos VIII Epiphanes Philometor Kallinikos (Ancient Greek: Ἀντίοχος Ἐπιφανής Φιλομήτωρ Καλλίνικος Antiochos Epiphanes Philometor Kallinikos; ca. 141/140-96 BCE), Seleucid ruler of Syria, since 124 BCE.

Antiochus IX Cyzicenus and Antiochus VIII, who was known as Antiochus VIII Grypus (Ancient Greek: Γρυπός Grypós, "Hook Nose"), unfortunately, were engaged in a civil war for control of the Seleucid Empire. In 112 BCE Antiochus VIII Grypus besieged the Seleucid capital of Antioch, known as Antioch on the Orontes (Ancient Greek: Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, Antiokheia he epi Orontou).

Cleopatra IV sought refuge in the Temple of Daphne near Antioch. Her victorious brother-in-law hesitated in invading the temple to sieze Cleopatra for punishment. Impatient with the delay in her sister's capture, Tryphaena sent soldiers to invade the sanctuary temple.

Circa second century Latin historian Justin (Latin: Marcus Junianus Justinus Frontinus) described Cleopatra IV's fate in Epitoma Historiarum Philippicarum (Epitome of the Philippic History of Pompeius Trogus). "They, going into the temple, and not being able to drag her away, cut off her hands while she was embracing the statue of the goddess. Soon after Cleopatra expired, uttering imprecations on her unnatural murderers, and commending the avenging of her fate to the outrage deities," as translated by British classical translator Reverend John Selby Watson (April 1804-July 6, 1884) in 1853 (Book XXXIX.3).

Antiochus IX Cyzicenus succeeded in avenging his wife's brutal murder. He had Tryphaena captured and executed ca. 112 or 110 BCE. "And not long after, another battle being fought, Cyzicenus, being victorius, took Tryphaena, the wife of Grypus, who had just before killed her sister, prisoner, and by putting her to death made atonement to the manes of his wife," Justin stated (Rev. John Selby translation, Book XXXIX.3).

Wednesday, Sep. 25, 2019, 14:14, image of sculpture probably depicting Antiochus IX Cyzicenus, Cleopatra IV's second husband, who avenged his wife's brutal execution ordered by Tryphaena, his wife's older sister and his half-brother's wife; Hatay Archaeology Museum (Turkish: Hatay Arkeoloji Müzesi), Antakya, Hatay Province, southernment Türkiye: Dick Osseman (Dosseman), CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

"Plaque of a Queen or Goddess (perhaps Cleopatra IV)" depicts feather garmented queen or goddess with feather headdress and engraved broad collar; figure probably served as part of incrustation for shrine or piece of furniture as indicated by small hole between upper left arm and body for attachment; ca. 305-30 BCE gold-plated repousse silver panel, 15 3/4 × 9 × 1 inches (40 × 22.9 × 2.5 centimeters); Brooklyn Museum, accession number 44.120: Brooklyn Museum, CC BY 3.0 Unported, via The Brooklyn Museum @ https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/3464

Wednesday, Sep. 25, 2019, 14:14, image of sculpture probably depicting Antiochus IX Cyzicenus, Cleopatra IV's second husband, who avenged his wife's brutal execution ordered by Tryphaena, his wife's older sister and his half-brother's wife; Hatay Archaeology Museum (Turkish: Hatay Arkeoloji Müzesi), Antakya, Hatay Province, southernment Türkiye: Dick Osseman (Dosseman), CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Antakya_Archaeological_Museum_Antiochus_X_Eusebes_Philopator_head_sept_2019_5835.jpg

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