Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos 1st century BC
King of Egypt

Proclaimed king in 80BC by the Alexandrians, he earned the name Auletes ('flute-player') because he performed in public on the instrument. He was eager for the Roman senate's support for his title to the throne of Egypt, and it was only on the appointment of Julius Caesar to the consulship that he was able to purchase this by bribery. Ptolemy's over-taxed subjects forced him into exile (58-55BC) in Rome, where he asked the senate to restore him to his kingdom. Some members of a delegation from Alexandria were sent to Rome to plead their cause, but Ptolemy arranged for them to be intercepted and the majority were put to death. By further bribes, Ptolemy was again placed on the throne through the agency of the pro-consul of Syria. On his return, he executed his eldest daughter, Berenice IV, who had ruled Egypt during her father's exile. After his death in 51, he bequeathed the kingdom in his will to Cleopatra VII and her elder son, Ptolemy XIII, asking Rome to ensure the succession.

Bibliography: E R Bevan, The House of Ptolemy: A History of Egypt Under the Ptolemaic Dynasty (rev edn, 1968)