page_title: Ptolemy X Alexander I
section_title: King of Egypt (107-88 BC)
hierarchical_section_title: Ptolemy X Alexander I / King of Egypt (107-88 BC)
caption_attribution_description: English: Head of Ptolemy X, from Egypt, Ptolemaic period, 2nd century BCE. Neues Museum, Berlin, Germany. Pink granite, ÄM 14079.
context_page_description: Ptolemy X Alexander I was King of Egypt from 107 BC till his death in 88 BC, in co-regency with Cleopatra III as Ptolemy Philometor Soter until 101 BC, and then with Berenice III as Ptolemy Philadelphus. He was a son of Ptolemy VIII Physcon and Cleopatra III, and younger brother of Ptolemy IX. His birth name was probably Alexander.
  When Ptolemy VIII died in 116 BC, Ptolemy IX became king with Cleopatra III as his co-regent and Ptolemy X was sent to Cyprus to serve as governor. However, in 114/13 BC, he declared himself king. Cleopatra III quarrelled with Ptolemy IX and arranged for Ptolemy X to return to Egypt in 107 BC and replace his brother as co-regent. The pair fought a war against Ptolemy IX in the Hasmonean kingdom, in which Ptolemy X successfully prevented his brother from invading Egypt. In 101 BC, Ptolemy X had his mother murdered and appointed his niece-wife Berenice III as co-regent. An Egyptian uprising in 91 BC caused him to lose control of the south of the country. In 88 BC, the people expelled him from Alexandria, recalling Ptolemy IX to the throne. Ptolemy X raised an army with Roman help and invaded Cyprus, but was killed.
context_section_description: Accession
  While this conflict was taking place, Ptolemy X had left Cyprus and sailed to Pelusium. Cleopatra III had him brought to Alexandria and placed on the throne as her new co-regent in September 107 BC. Cleopatra III seems to have dominated the new government even more thoroughly than she had during the reign of Ptolemy IX. Because of the means by which he came to the throne, he was given the derisory nickname Pareisactus ('smuggled in').  Another nickname given to him ho Cocces (the son of Cocce), seems to refer to his mother's dominance, but the exact meaning of the name thereby given to his mother, Cocce, is unclear. It may mean cuckoo, in which case this nickname too refers to the way in which his mother had brought him to the kingship. Other interpretations are 'son of the scarlet lady' or 'son of the cunt'. In general, Ptolemy X was slotted into the role that his brother had previously held. He married his brother's wife, Cleopatra Selene, who was also his sister. He assumed the epithet that had previously been borne by his brother, Philometor Soter (Mother-loving Saviour) and took his brother's place in the dynastic cult, in which he and his mother were worshipped as the Theoi Philometores Soteres (Mother-loving Saviour Gods). Ptolemy X served as the annual Priest of Alexander and the Ptolemies for 107/106 BC and 106/105 BC - as his brother had for every year since 116 BC. In 105/104 BC, Cleopatra III assumed the priesthood for herself.
  War with Ptolemy IX and intervention in Judaea
  After his expulsion from Alexandria, Ptolemy IX had gone to Cyprus. Forces loyal to Cleopatra III and Ptolemy X expelled him, but he mounted another invasion of Cyprus in 106 BC, which succeeded in conquering the island. Cyrene had initially remained under Ptolemy IX's control, but some time after 105 BC and before 100 BC, a third brother, Ptolemy Apion gained control of the region. Justin claims that the territory had originally been left to Apion in Ptolemy VIII's will, but it is not clear whether this was true or a post facto invention. It is unclear whether Apion was aligned with either Ptolemy IX or Ptolemy X. One sign that he was a free agent may be the will which he published. This will left all his territories to Rome in the event that he died without heirs, a method which was often used by Hellenistic kings to prevent rivals from attempting to depose or assassinate them. He actually did die without heirs in 96 BC, meaning that Rome inherited the territory.
  In 103 BC, the new Hasmonean King of Judaea, Alexander Jannaeus, attacked Ptolemais Akko. Ptolemy IX responded by invading Judaea. Fearing that Ptolemy IX was planning to use Judaea as a springboard for an invasion of Egypt, Cleopatra III and Ptolemy X invaded Judaea themselves. Ptolemy X invaded Phoenicia by sea and then marched inland to Damascus, while Cleopatra III besieged Ptolemais Akko. Ptolemy IX attempted to slip past them and into Egypt, but Ptolemy X managed to rush back and stop him. Ptolemy IX spent the winter encamped at Gaza, before deciding to sail back to Cyprus in early 102 BC. During this conflict, Cleopatra III and Ptolemy X made an alliance with the Seleucid king Antiochus VIII Grypus. He was still waging his own civil war against his brother Antiochus IX Cyzicenus, who had previously received support from Ptolemy IX. To seal the alliance with Antiochus VIII, Cleopatra forced Ptolemy X to divorce his sister-wife, Cleopatra Selene, and remarried her to Antiochus.
  Reign with Berenice III
  In September 101 BC, Cleopatra disappears from official documents. Justin reports that Ptolemy X had her murdered, when he realised that she was intending to kill him. In October of the same year, Ptolemy married his niece Berenice III, daughter of Ptolemy IX and Cleopatra Selene and appointed her co-regent. Ptolemy X changed his own epithet to Philadelphos (Sibling-lover) and the couple were brought into the dynastic cult as the Theoi Philadelphoi (Sibling-loving gods).
  In 91 BC, a rebellion broke out in Upper Egypt. This rebellion was the latest in a series of nati
caption: Head of Ptolemy X, from Egypt, Ptolemaic period, 2nd century BCE. Neues Museum, Germany
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