By 117 BC, the dramatic life of Ptolemy VIII (‘Potbelly’) was slowly but surely ebbing away. His character had become calmer, and he was less given to outbursts of violence. He tried to live up his godly title Euergetes, ‘the Beneficent’, by building temples and generally doing good works. A building inscription from Edfu Temple tells us that he died, aged 65, on 26 June 116 BC. Outlived by his rival sister-queen Cleopatra II (which must have brought her some wry satisfaction), he was succeeded as ruler by his niece-wife Cleopatra III. The king’s will permitted Cleopatra III to choose whichever of their two sons she thought the most suitable for the role of king. She appointed Ptolemy Alexander, the younger of her boys, in place of his elder brother. Potbelly’s last joke was a masterstroke of mischief, and the Ptolemaic dynasty would reel from it for decades to come.
Chickpea
Cleopatra III quickly moved to make Ptolemy Alexander her co-regent, but the army and the Alexandrian mob demanded that the older Ptolemy be appointed as their ruler. Cleopatra, fearing a full-scale riot, was forced to acknowledge her elder son as Ptolemy IX. But Cleopatra seems to have had no love for the older Ptolemy: even his nickname, ‘Chickpea’, may have been an invention of Cleopatra’s, given to him ‘in sarcastic mockery’, as the Greek author Pausanias (writing some 300 years later) noted. In fact, Pausanias stated categorically that, ‘I know of no other king who was so hated by his mother’ (even though, as a Greek himself, he was likely to have been less hostile than other Roman sources). Cleopatra’s reluctance in accepting her elder son’s co-rule might be explained by the presence of Chickpea’s dangerously strong-willed sister-wife Cleopatra IV, the eldest daughter of Potbelly and Cleopatra III. In many respects she was her mother’s equal in terms of ambition, and Cleopatra III rightly feared her daughter would demand her own place on the throne as wife and queen. Besides which, Chickpea and Cleopatra IV were very much in love, which made the situation all the more threatening for his mother.
Cleopatra III still had to deal with her ageing and increasingly cantankerous mother, Cleopatra II, who at almost 70 years old still clung on to life and the throne. A ruling triad was created consisting of Cleopatra III, Cleopatra II, and Ptolemy IX (Chickpea). Ptolemy Alexander, with his mother’s agreement, became the Tropheus (governor) of Cyprus, a Ptolemaic territory. However, in 114 BC, the ambitious prince would proclaim himself ‘Ptolemy X Alexander, King of Cyprus’. It was as egregious an action as had ever been committed by Potbelly, but, in Egypt, Cleopatra III let it pass.
