Ptolemy VIII Physcon - Marriage To Cleopatra II

Marriage To Cleopatra II

When Philometor died on a campaign in 145 BC, Cleopatra II quickly had her son proclaimed King Ptolemy VII. Physcon, however, returned from battle and proposed joint rule and marriage with Cleopatra II, both of which she accepted. He had the younger Ptolemy assassinated during the wedding feast, and claimed the throne himself, as "Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II" (a name deliberately recalling his ancestor Ptolemy III Euergetes), and had himself proclaimed pharaoh in 144 BC.