Ptolemy XV, also known as Caesarion, was the last pharaoh of the Lagide dynasty in Egypt. Born in 47 BC. He was the son of Cleopatra VII, the famous queen of Egypt, and Julius Caesar, the Roman ruler. His exceptional lineage and mixed Greek and Roman heritage helped shape his destiny and that of Egypt.
Caesarion acceded to the throne in 44 BC. AD, when Julius Caesar died when he was only three years old. His mother, Cleopatra, assumed the regency in his name, as co-regent, and strove to maintain the independence of Egypt from the growing power of Rome. She allied with Marc Antony, another influential Roman general, in the hope of preserving the sovereignty of his country.
The reign of Ptolemy XV was marked by political turmoil and wars that shook the eastern Mediterranean. The rivalry between Cleopatra and Octavian, the future Emperor Augustus, escalated, culminating in the Roman Civil War which culminated in the Battle of Actium in 31 BC. AD Cleopatra and Mark Antony were defeated, and the fate of Ptolemaic Egypt was sealed.
In 30 BC. AD, as Roman forces invaded Egypt, Cleopatra and Marc Antoine committed suicide. Ptolemy XV, then aged 17, found himself alone against the Roman power. Octavian, fearing that Caesarion would become a rival for the throne of Rome due to his parentage with Julius Caesar, ordered his execution. Thus ended the life of the young pharaoh, and with it the long and complex history of the Ptolemaic dynasty.
Ptolemy XV, although he did not really exercise power, remains an emblematic figure in Egyptian history. His reign symbolizes the end of an era and the beginning of Roman rule in Egypt.
📋 LIST OF EGYPTIAN SOVEREIGNS 📋
Hotepsekhemwey / Sneferka / Nebra / ninetjer / Senedj / Noubnefer / Horus Ba / Peribsen / Sekhemib / Khasekhemwy / Neferkasokar / | |||
Djoser / Sanakht / Sekhemkhet / Spoon / Huni | |||
Sekhemre-Khutaouy Amenemhat-/Sobekhotep I/Sekhemkare Amenemhat-Senbef/Sekhemkare Amenemhat V/Ameny-Qemaou/Hotepibre Qémaou-Sa-Hornejhéritef/Ioufeni/Séânkhibrê Amény-Antef-Amenemhat (or Amenemhat VI)/Semenkarê Nebnoun/Sehotepibrê Sousekhtaouy | |||
Sekhaenre Yakbim/Nebuuserre Yaammou/Khauserre Qareh | |||
Semqen/Aper-Anat/Sakir-Har/Khyan/Apophis I/Apophis II?/Khamoudy | |||
/Sekhemre-Sementaouy Djehouty/Sekhemre-Sousertaouy Sobekhotep VIII | |||
Twenty-first dynasty | |||
Twenty-second dynasty | |||
Twenty-third dynasty | |||
Twenty-fourth dynasty | |||
1st Persian Dynasty | |||
Thirty-first dynasty (Achaemenid) | 2nd Persian Dynasty | ||