1186: Cleopatra Thea
Queen of the Seleucid Empire
Born: c165 BCE, Ancient Egypt (Present-day Egypt)
Died: c121 BCE, Ancient Seleucid Empire (Present-day Syria)
Also Known As: Cleopatra Euteria
Greek Alphabet: Κλεοπάτρα Θεά
Cleopatra Thea was the daughter of Ptolemy VI and Cleopatra II of Egypt. She was most likely the older sister of Cleopatra III. Because of her, the Ptolemaic and Seleucid empires were linked through blood and marriage bonds both. Her three husbands were back-to-back rulers of the Seleucid Empire, and by the end of her life she ruled as both queen regnant in her own right, as well as co-monarch of the empire with her son.
Cleopatra Thea was first married to Alexander Balas, her second husband was Demetrius II Nicator, and her third was Antiochus VII Sidetes. As mentioned, her husbands ruled as successive kings to the Seleucid throne, largely because of Cleopatra’s help (or her family’s in any case). Also important to note is the fact that her second and third husbands, Demetrius and Antiochus, were brothers.
Cleopatra was given to Alexander Balas as a wife by her own father, Ptolemy VI. However, within a few years it was clear Alexander would rather drink, party, and be irresponsible than actually rule his empire. As a result, Cleopatra’s father dissolved their marriage and gave her instead to Demetrius, who was a few years younger than Cleopatra but was much more popular and a better ruler. A war over the Seleucid Empire followed this decision. The war eventually led to the death of Cleopatra’s father, who died after falling from his horse after a battle.
Right before Ptolemy VI died, he learned that his former son-in-law, Alexander, had been murdered by his own troops. Unfortunately, despite both Ptolemy and Alexander now being dead, the war continued between Demetrius (Cleopatra’s new husband) and her son Antiochus (whom she had had with Alexander). Antiochus was able to secure the Seleucid throne for a time, but a few years later Demetrius was able to have Antiochus (who was technically his stepson) murdered.
Unsurprisingly, Cleopatra was not too enthused by the fact that her second husband had helped kill her first husband and her firstborn child. While Demetrius was busy causing trouble, Cleopatra moved against him. She married his younger brother (also named Antiochus—confusing I know) and that third husband was finally able to restore some peace and stability to the Seleucid throne.
While this relative stability lasted for a few years, it eroded fairly quickly. To explain all of the political mumbo-jumbo from the time would make this article way too long and confusing, so all you really need to know is that Cleopatra’s second and third husbands continued to fight over the Seleucid throne (and remember, they were also brothers which didn’t help the situation either). In the midst of the fighting, Antiochus (hubby number three) was killed, leaving control of the Seleucid throne up in the air again.
As a result, Cleopatra and her second husband, Demetrius, both tried to claim control of the throne and kingdom, sparking yet another war. Normally, one or both sides of a war happening around that part of the world at the time would seek help from Ancient Egypt, one of the most powerful players on the world stage. Egypt did indeed get involved in the Seleucid struggle for the throne, but not in the way one would think.
After all, Cleopatra was originally from Egypt, and her mother was still queen of that empire. But instead of taking her daughter’s side, Cleopatra II sided with her former son-in-law, Demetrius, because of her own dynastic struggle for the Egyptian throne.
That’s right. At the same time Cleopatra Thea was trying to take the Seleucid throne, her own mother was fighting with her brother/husband, Ptolemy VIII, for control of the Egyptian throne.
And you thought world politics today were confusing.
But wait—it gets even MORE confusing. Soon after our Cleopatra’s mother sided against her, her husband Demetrius was murdered by a local governor for the town he was staying in (the governor killed him after Cleopatra ordered the governor to do so). Once Cleopatra’s son learned his own mother had had his own father murdered, he decided he wasn’t too jazzed with his mom anymore. As a result, this son claimed the Seleucid throne for himself.
Cleopatra then decided she wasn’t all that maternally attached to her son after all and had him killed. (According to Encyclopedia.com, Cleopatra actually killed him with her own hands). For a little less than a year, Cleopatra ruled the Seleucid Kingdom as queen regnant, but realizing that yet another man was vying for her throne, she quickly raised one of her other sons to the position of co-monarch. Soon after, she married her son to her own, Egyptian, niece (Cleopatra Tryphaena)*.
Her son was able to kill off the other man jockeying for control of the Seleucid throne, and for a few years there was peace, albeit a strenuous one. Cleopatra’s son soon grew tired of his mother having equal control of the empire and he—you guessed it—had her murdered, poisoned more specifically. Her son claimed that he had forced his mother to drink the cup of poison that she had intended for him. If that’s true, it meant Cleopatra was actually attempting to kill another of her sons, only this one got the drop on her first.
After Cleopatra’s death, her son continued to rule for a time, bringing peace and prosperity to the empire. However, once again, this would not last. After eight years, another of Cleopatra’s sons would return to fight for the throne, and a new civil war was sparked.
For those interested in the names of her children, Cleopatra had the following: a son named Antiochus VI with her first husband, sons Antiochus VIII Philometor Grypus and Seleucus V, and a daughter Laodice Epiphanes with her second husband, and another son named Antiochus IX Philopator Cyzicenus with her third husband.
She may not have been the world’s greatest wife or mother, but Cleopatra was Thea was definitely a cunning, politically savvy monarch to say the least. While not nearly as famous as the later Cleopatra VIII, Cleopatra Thea made her own impact on the world two hundred years earlier.
*In case you’re wondering, in the ancient world parents were even less creative when naming their children than some parents today. Looking at a family tree of the Ptolemaic empire in Egypt is one long intertwining list of “Cleopatra” “Berenice” and “Ptolemy”, over and over again!
Sources: