Volume 7 (2024)

First page of the paper.


Bending the Arc: A Glance at the Historiography Surrounding Ptolemaios XII Neos Dionysos

Saint-David, Stewart Addington

Abstract:

Although he was certainly not a figure on the level of Ptolemaios I Sōtēr, visionary founder of the Dynasty, nor on that of Ptolemaios III Euergetēs I, arguably the Dynasty’s most genuinely successful expansionist, the reign of Ptolemaios XII Neos Dionysos —nevertheless— deserves a far more thoughtful assessment than it has generally received over the course of prior centuries, particularly given the quite perilous circumstances under which he ruled Egypt between 80-51 BC. Unrelenting Roman pressures, political, military and financial, were consistently brought to bear upon his kingdom, upon his family, and almost certainly, upon his own royal person. Naturally, this wide range of foreign pressures was to be responsible for shaping the conduct and tenor of his reign, but he nevertheless consistently maintained his desire to ensure the perpetuation of his Dynasty’s continued sovereignty over the Ptolemaic State. The aim of this paper is to briefly consider the evolution of the historical reputation of Ptolemaios XII among writers and scholars, beginning from the period of his own lifetime, down to the early 21st Century; and to further highlight this evolution following the publication of the pivotal work of Auguste Bouché–Leclercq on Ptolemaic royal history at the start of the 20th Century.

Citation:

Saint-David, S.A. 2024. «Bending the Arc: A Glance at the Historiography Surrounding Ptolemaios XII Neos Dionysos», JHIE 7: 133–148

DOI:

10.5281/zenodo.15301570

Language: en

Submitted on 2024-08-09; accepted on 2024-12-20

References

  • Baudelot de Dairval, C.: Histoire de Ptolémée Aulètes, Paris (Aubouin) 1698.
  • Bevan, E.: A History of Egypt under the Ptolemaic Dynasty, London (Methuen) 1927.
  • Bloedow, E.:Beiträge zur Geschichte des Ptolemaios XII (PhD Dissertaion), Würzburg (Universität Würzburg) 1963.
  • BouchÉ–Leclercq, A.: Histoire des Lagides 1-2, Paris (Ernest Leroux)
  • Budge, E.A.W.: Egypt under the Ptolemies and Kleopatra VII, New York (Frowde) 1902.
  • Burstein, S.: The Reign of Kleopatra, Westport (Greenwood Press) 2004.
  • Cary, E. & Foster, H.B. (eds): Dio Cassius. Roman History I: Books 1-11, Cambridge MA (Harvard University Press / Loeb Classical Library 32) 1914.
  • Chauveau, M.: L’Égypte au temps de Cléopâtre, 180-30 av. J.C. Paris (Hachette) 1997.
  • Freese, J.H. (ed.):Cicero. Pro Quinctio. Pro Roscio Amerino. Pro Roscio Comœdo. On the Agrarian Law,Cambridge MA (Harvard University Press / Loeb Classical Library 240) 1930.
  • Habachy, M.: «Le supposé deuxième protocole royal de Ptolémée XII Aulète à Kôm Ombo et à Dendara», BIFAO 118, 2018, 189-223 [DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/bifao.913 ].
  • Herklotz, F.: «Ptolemaios XII. Neos Dionysos – Versager oder siegreicher Pharao?», Das Ereignis: Geschichtsschreibung zwischen Vorfall und Befund (Fitzenreiter, M., Hrsg.), London (Golden House Publications / IBAES X) 2009, 137-154.
  • Hölbl, G.: A History of the Ptolemaic Empire, New York (Routledge) 2001.
  • Huss, W.: Ägypten in hellenistischer Zeit, 332-30 Chr.,München (C.H. Beck) 2001.
  • Huss, W.: Die Verwaltung des ptolemaiischen Reichs, München(C.H. Beck) 2011.
  • Jones, H.L. (ed.):Strabo.Geography VIII: Book 17. General Index, Cambridge MA (Harvard University Press / Loeb Classical Library 267)
  • = Helck, W. & Otto, E. (Hrsg.): Lexikon der Ägyptologie I-VII, Wiesbaden (Harrassowitz Verlag) 1975-1989.
  • Mahaffy, J.: A History of Egypt under the Ptolemaic Dynasty, New York (Scribner’s Sons) 1899.
  • Manning, J.: The Last Pharaohs: Egypt under the Ptolemies, 305-30 BCE, Princeton NJ (Princeton University Press).
  • Maravelia,: «Egyptian, Alexandrian and Arabic Medicine: Trans–Cultural Pathways of Disseminating Healing Knowledge», The 1st International Prof. Dr Fuat Sezgin Symposium on History of Science in Islam Proceedings Book (Başar, F., Kaçar, M., Kaya, M.C. & Furat, A.Z., eds), İstanbul (İstanbul University Press) 2020, 273-311 [DOI: 10.26650/PB/ AA08.2020. 001.021 ].
  • Perrin,(ed.):Ploutarchos.Lives VIII: Sertorius and Eumenes. Phocion and Cato the Younger, Cambridge MA (Harvard University Press / Loeb Classical Library 100) 1919.
  • PM = Porter, B. & Moss, R.L.B. (with Burney, E.W.): Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs and Paintings I-VIII, Oxford (Oxford at the Clarendon Press / Griffith Institute, Asmolean Museum) 1939-
  • Roller, D.: Kleopatra: A Biography, Oxford (Oxford University Press) 2010.
  • Saint–David, S.: Dazzling of Birth: The Turbulent Life and Tumultuous Times of Ptolemy XII, Father of Cleopatra VII, Beijing PRC (Editions Efjiad) 12024 [e–Book Preliminary Edition only].
  • Siani–Davies, M.: «Ptolemaios Auletes and the Romans», Historia XLVI3, 1997, 306-340.
  • Tyldesley, J.: Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt, London (Profile) 2008.
  • Westall, R.: «Date of the Testament of Ptolemaios XII», Ricerche di Egittologia e di Antichità Copte 11, 2009, 79-94.
  • Westall, R.: «The Loan to Ptolemaios XII, 59-48 BCE», Ricerche di Egittologia e di Antichità Copte 12, 2010, 23-41.
More papers from this issue