2021-08-23 Mon

Ptolemy XV Caesar also known as Caesarionwas the last pharaoh of ancient Egypt, reigning with his mother Cleopatra from 2 September 44 BC until her death by 12 August 30 BC, and as sole ruler until his death was ordered by Octavian, who would later become the first Roman emperor as Augustus.

Caesarion was the eldest son of Cleopatra and the only biological son of Julius Caesar, after whom he was named. He was the last sovereign member of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt.

After Cleopatra had begun her liaison with Mark Antony, the Roman triumvir of the East, Caesarion appeared at Alexandria in 34 with the title “King of Kings,” while his mother called herself “Queen of Kings.” Following Antony’s disastrous defeat at Actium in 31 during the war against his fellow triumvir Octavian, Cleopatra sent Caesarion to Berenice, a seaport on the Red Sea coast of Upper Egypt; but Octavian lured him back to Alexandria, where the young king was executed.

He is thought to be depicted in a partial statue found in the harbor of Alexandria in 1997 and is also portrayed twice in relief, as an adult pharaoh, with his mother on the Temple of Hathor at Dendera. His infant image appears on some bronze coins of Cleopatra.

Image Source: https://www.cngcoins.com/