Ptolemy VI Philometor

Ptolemy VI Philometor (Greek: Πτολεμαῖος Φιλομήτωρ, Ptolemaĩos Philomḗtōr, ca. 186–145 BC) was a king of Egypt from the Ptolemaic period. He reigned from 180 to 145 BC.

Ptolemy succeeded in 180 BC at the age of about 6 and ruled jointly with his mother, Cleopatra I, until her death in 176 BC, which is what 'Philometor', his epithet, implies; "he who loves his mother", φίλος (beloved,friend) + μήτηρ (mother). In 173 BC he married his sister, Cleopatra II, as it was customary for Pharaohs, for the Ptolemaic Greek kings had adopted many customs of the Pharaohs. He had at least four children with her: Ptolemy Eupator, Ptolemy Neos, Cleopatra Thea and Cleopatra III, and possibly Berenice.

The outbreak of the Sixth Syrian War in 170 BC saw Ptolemy VIII and Cleopatra II becoming co-rulers. The Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who vied with Ptolemy VI over the control of Syria, invaded Egypt in 169, leading to unrest and subsequent calls for Ptolemy VIII and Cleopatra II to ascend to the throne. A period of reconciliation followed, but the second invasion of Egypt in 168 created further unrest.

In 164 Ptolemy VI was driven out by his brother and went to Rome to seek support. The Romans partitioned the Ptolemaic land, granting Ptolemy VI Cyprus and Egypt, and Ptolemy VIII Euergetes Cyrenaica.

Around 150 BC he recognized Alexander Balas as the Seleucid king by marrying his daughter Cleopatra Thea to him in a ceremony at Ptolemais Akko. In 145 BC, however, while Alexander was putting down a rebellion in Cilicia, Ptolemy VI invaded Syria, securing safe passage through Judaea from Alexander's vassal Jonathan Maccabee, and capturing the city of Seleucia. He remarried his daughter to Alexander's rival Demetrius II, and went to Antioch, where he crowned himself King of Asia. Alexander was defeated by Ptolemy when he returned from Cilicia with his army and fled to Arabia, where he was killed. For the first time since the death of Alexander the Great, Egypt and Syria were united. However, Ptolemy died three days later, in unknown circumstances.

Ancestry