Caesarion

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Ptolemy XV CaesarTemplate:Efn (Template:IPAc-en; Template:Langx, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}; 47 BC – late August 30 BC),<ref name="Ptolemy XV Caesarion">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> nicknamed Caesarion (Template:Langx, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, "Little Caesar"), was the last pharaoh of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, reigning with his mother Cleopatra VII from 2 September 44 BC until her death by 10 or 12 August 30 BC, then as sole ruler until his death was ordered by Octavian (who would become the first Roman emperor as Augustus).

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

Early lifeEdit

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Ptolemy Caesar was born in Egypt in mid to late 47 BC.<ref>Bennett, Chris. "Ptolemy XV Caesarion". Tyndale House. Retrieved 21.01.2025.</ref><ref>Tyldesley, Joyce (2009). Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt. Profile Books. pp. 136–137. ISBN 978-1861979018.</ref> His mother Cleopatra gave him the royal names Theos Philopator PhilometorTemplate:Efn (lit. 'father-loving, mother-loving God') and insisted that he was the son of Roman politician and dictator Julius Caesar.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> While he was said to have inherited Caesar's looks and manner,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Caesar did not officially acknowledge him.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Cleopatra 1996 by Green Robert p. 24 Template:ISBN?</ref> All accusations of bastardy against Caesarion were cast from a Roman perspective; their intention was not to portray Caesarion as inappropriate for the throne of Egypt, but rather to deny that he was Julius' heir by Roman law.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> One of Caesar's supporters, Gaius Oppius, even wrote a pamphlet which attempted to prove that Caesar could not have fathered Caesarion. Nevertheless, Caesar may have allowed Caesarion to use his name.<ref name = "roller">Duane W. Roller, Cleopatra: A Biography, Oxford University Press US, 2010, pp. 70–73 Template:ISBN?</ref> The matter became contentious when Caesar's adopted son, Octavian, came into conflict with Cleopatra.<ref name="Gray-Fow2014"/>

File:Cartouche Caesarion Dendera Temple.jpg

Cartouches of Caesarion in the Dendera Temple, Egypt

Caesarion spent two of his infant years, from 46 to 44 BC, in Rome, where he and his mother were Caesar's guests at his villa, Horti Caesaris. Cleopatra hoped that her son would eventually succeed his father as the head of the Roman Republic, as well as of Egypt. After Caesar's assassination on 15 March 44 BC, Cleopatra and Caesarion returned to Egypt. Caesarion was named co-ruler by his mother on 2 September 44 BC at the age of three,<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> although he was pharaoh in name only, with Cleopatra keeping actual authority. Cleopatra compared her relationship to her son with that of the Egyptian goddess Isis and her divine child Horus.<ref name="roller" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

There is no historical record of Caesarion between 44 BC until the Donations of Antioch in 36 BC. Two years later he also appears at the Donations of Alexandria. Cleopatra and Antony staged both "Donations" to donate lands dominated by Rome and Parthia to Cleopatra's children: Caesarion, the twins Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene II, and Ptolemy Philadelphus (the last three were his maternal half-siblings fathered by Mark Antony). Octavian gave public approval to the Donations of Antioch in 36 BC, which have been described as an Antonian strategy to rule the East making use of Cleopatra's unique royal Seleucid lineage in the regions donated.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

PharaohEdit

In 34 BC, Antony granted further eastern lands and titles to Caesarion and his own three children with Cleopatra in the Donations of Alexandria. Caesarion was proclaimed to be a god, a son of [a] god, and "King of Kings".<ref name="Meyer Reinhold 2002 58">Template:Cite book</ref> This grandiose title was "unprecedented in the management of Roman client-king relationships" and could be seen as "threatening the 'greatness' of the Roman people".<ref name="Meyer Reinhold 2002 58"/> Antony also declared Caesarion to be Caesar's true son and heir. This declaration was a direct threat to Octavian (whose claim to power was based on his status as Julius Caesar's grandnephew and adopted son). These proclamations partly caused the fatal breach in Antony's relations with Octavian, who used Roman resentment over the Donations to gain support for war against Antony and Cleopatra.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

DeathEdit

File:Roman Wall painting from the House of Giuseppe II, Pompeii, 1st century AD, death of Sophonisba, but more likely Cleopatra VII of Egypt consuming poison.jpg

Roman painting from Pompeii, early 1st century AD, most likely depicting Cleopatra VII, wearing her royal diadem, taking poison in an act of suicide, while Caesarion, also wearing a royal diadem, stands behind her<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

After the defeat of Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, Cleopatra seems to have groomed Caesarion to take over as "sole ruler without his mother".<ref name="roller" /> She may have intended to go into exile, perhaps with Antony, who may have hoped that he would be allowed to retire as Lepidus had. Caesarion reappears in the historical record in 30 BC, when Octavian invaded Egypt and searched for him. Cleopatra may have sent Caesarion, 17 years old at the time, to the Red Sea port of Berenice for safety, possibly as part of plans for an escape to India.<ref name="Gray-Fow2014">Template:Cite journal</ref> Plutarch does say that Caesarion was sent to India, but also that he was lured back by false promises of the kingdom of Egypt:

Caesarion, who was said to be Cleopatra's son by Julius Caesar, was sent by his mother, with much treasure, into India, by way of Ethiopia. There Rhodon, another tutor like Theodorus, persuaded him to go back, on the ground that [Octavian] Caesar invited him to take the kingdom.<ref>Plutarch, Life of Antony. As found in the Loeb Classical Library, Plutarch's Lives: With an English Translation by Bernadotte Perrin. Volume 9. p. 321.</ref>

Octavian captured the city of Alexandria on 1 August 30 BC, the date that marks the official annexation of Egypt to the Roman Republic. Around this time Mark Antony and Cleopatra died, traditionally said to be by suicide.

Octavian may have temporarily considered permitting Caesarion to succeed his mother and rule Egypt (though now a smaller and weaker kingdom), however, he is supposed to have had Caesarion executed in Alexandria in late August, possibly on 29 August 30 BC, following the advice of his companion Arius Didymus, who said "Too many Caesars is not good"<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> (a pun on a line in Homer).<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>David Braund et al, Myth, History and Culture in Republican Rome: Studies in Honour of T.P. Wiseman, University of Exeter Press, 2003, p. 305. The original line was "ουκ αγαθόν πολυκοιρανίη" ("ouk agathon polukoiranie"): "too many leaders are not good", or "the rule of many is a bad thing". (Homer's Iliad, Book II. vers 204–205) In Greek "ουκ αγαθόν πολυκαισαρίη" ("ouk agathon polukaisarie") is a variation on "ουκ αγαθόν πολυκοιρανίη" ("ouk agathon polukoiranie"). "Καισαρ" (Caesar) replacing "κοίρανος", meaning leader.</ref> Surviving information on the death of Caesarion is scarce.<ref name=":0" /> Octavian then assumed absolute control of Egypt. The year 30 BC was considered the first year of the new ruler's reign according to the traditional chronological system of Egypt.Template:Citation needed

DepictionsEdit

Venus and Cupid from the House of Marcus Fabius Rufus at Pompeii, most likely a depiction of Cleopatra VII.jpg

This mid-1st century AD Roman wall painting in Pompeii, Italy, showing Venus holding a cupid is most likely a depiction of Cleopatra VII of Ptolemaic Egypt as Venus Genetrix, with her son Caesarion as the cupid<ref>The wall-painting of Venus Genetrix is similar in appearance to the now-lost statue of Cleopatra erected by Julius Caesar in the Temple of Venus Genetrix, within the Forum of Caesar. The owner of the House at Pompeii of Marcus Fabius Rufus, walled off the room with this painting, most likely in immediate reaction to the execution of Caesarion on orders of Augustus in 30 BC, when artistic depictions of Caesarion would have been considered a sensitive issue for the ruling regime.</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Statue of Horus in Edfu Temple.jpg

One of two statues of the falcon god Horus behind a smaller depiction of Caesarion at the Temple of Edfu in Edfu, Upper Egypt<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
RPC-3901 Cleopatra VII with baby Ptolemy XV Caesarion son of Julius Caesar on coin of Cyprus 47BC displayed in the British Museum.jpg

A coin depicting Cleopatra VII with her son Caesarion as an infant, British museum.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Few images of Caesarion survive. He is thought to be depicted in a partial statue found in the harbour 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Egyptian namesEdit

In addition to his Greek name and nicknames, Caesarion also had a full set of royal names in the Egyptian language:<ref name = "clayton">Template:Cite book</ref>