Co-regencies of Ptolemaic royalty have been indicated by names and dating formulas on papyri, from evidence on building decorations that denote joint building projects, and from names (cartouches) or figures on monuments and stelae. In early studies of Ptolemaic coins, the two eagles were taken to be symbolic of co-regency; however, this possibility is currently not generally accepted (see Part 3).
A wide variety of co-regencies occurred among the Ptolemaic royalty. The various and complex combinations include examples of two kings, two kings and one queen, two queens and a king, a queen and a son, a king and a daughter. Marriage alone did not qualify a king and queen as co-regents. These co-regencies were sometimes established in order to delineate a desired succession and to smooth the transition on the death of a senior regent. However, it has been pointed out that "the frequent co-regencies of the Ptolemaic house seem to have been more a response to exceptional conditions than a regular, well-established means of transmitting power - by which they often failed". Many of the Ptolemaic co-regencies were greatly troubled by difficult family relationships that definitely went contrary to a smooth transmission of power. The longer term co-regencies are given in the table below (click on the references in the last column for information on these reigns). The shorter co-regencies, even more turbulent, were often terminated by murder. ![Short term co-regencies Short term co-regencies](images/34bold.gif)
Move table up
|
|
|
|
Ptolemy I, Ptolemy II |
285 - 282 |
father, son
|
Ptolemy II, Ptolemy the
"son" |
267 - 259 |
adopted son ![Co-regency of Ptolemy the "Son" Co-regency of Ptolemy the "Son"](images/36bold.gif) |
Ptolemy IV, Ptolemy V |
209 - 204 |
father, son ![Short co-regencies before the death of a king Short co-regencies before the death of a king](images/35bold.gif) |
Cleopatra I, Ptolemy VI |
180 - 176 |
mother, son ![Co-regency of Cleopatra I with her son Ptolemy VI Co-regency of Cleopatra I with her son Ptolemy VI](images/37bold.gif) |
Ptolemy VI, Cleopatra II |
176 - 170 |
siblings ![Regency of Ptolemy VI and Cleopatra II Regency of Ptolemy VI and Cleopatra II](images/38bold.gif) |
Ptolemy VI, Cleopatra II, Ptolemy VIII
|
170 - 164 |
siblings ![Various regencies of Ptolemy VI, Cleopatra II, Ptolemy VIII Various regencies of Ptolemy VI, Cleopatra II, Ptolemy VIII](images/39bold.gif) |
Ptolemy VI, Cleopatra II |
164 - 145 |
siblings ![Various regencies of Ptolemy VI, Cleopatra II, Ptolemy VIII Various regencies of Ptolemy VI, Cleopatra II, Ptolemy VIII](images/39bold.gif) |
Ptolemy VIII, Cleopatra II, Cleopatra III |
145 - 132, 124-116 |
brother, sister, daughter of sister ![Triple regency of Ptolemy VIII, Cleopatra II, and Cleopatra III Triple regency of Ptolemy VIII, Cleopatra II, and Cleopatra III](images/40bold.gif) |
Cleopatra II, Cleopatra III, Ptolemy IX |
116 |
mother, daughter, son of daughter ![Triple regency of Cleopatra II, Cleopatra III and Ptolemy IX Triple regency of Cleopatra II, Cleopatra III and Ptolemy IX](images/41bold.gif) |
Cleopatra III, Ptolemy IX |
116 - 107 |
mother, son ![Co-regencies of Cleopatra III with her sons Ptolemy IX and Ptolemy X Co-regencies of Cleopatra III with her sons Ptolemy IX and Ptolemy X](images/42bold.gif) |
Cleopatra III, Ptolemy X |
107 - 101 |
mother, son ![Co-regencies of Cleopatra III with her sons Ptolemy IX and Ptolemy X Co-regencies of Cleopatra III with her sons Ptolemy IX and Ptolemy X](images/42bold.gif) |
Cleopatra VII, Caesarion |
44 - 30 |
mother, son ![Co-regency of Cleopatra VII with Caesarian, son of Caesar Co-regency of Cleopatra VII with Caesarian, son of Caesar](images/43bold.gif) |
Go to top
To determine whether or not two eagles might indicate shared regency, the times of various co-regencies given in the table should be compared to the times of production of two-eagle coinage.
Click Correlations to determine if there is relationship between two-eagle coinage and times of co-regency.
|