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After Antiochus left ( 169), Euergetes agreed to a joint rule with his older brother Ptolemy VI Philometor and Cleopatra II. This arrangement led to continuous intrigues, lasting until October 164, when Philometor went to Rome to angle for support from the Senate, who were little helpful, but Physcon's sole rule was not popular, and in May 163 the two brother agreed to a partition that left Physcon in charge of Cyrenaica.
Although the arrangement lasted until Philometor's death in 145Centuries: 3rd century BC 2nd century BC 1st century BC Decades: 190s BC 180s BC 170s BC 160s BC 150s BC 140s BC 130s BC 120s BC 110s BC 100s BC 90s BC Years: 150 BC 149 BC 148 BC 147 BC 146 BC 145 BC 144 BC 143 BC 142 BC 141 BC 140 BC Events In the Battl, it did not end the sparring. Physcon convinced the Senate to back his claim on CyprusCyprus (in Greek Kypros Κυπρος; and in Turkish Kibris is an island in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, 113 kilometres (70 miles) south of Turkey and around 120 km west of Syrian coast. Name and position The English-langua, but Philometor ignored this, and after Physcon's attempt to conquer the island failed, in 161Centuries: 3rd century BC 2nd century BC 1st century BC Decades: 210s BC 200s BC 190s BC 180s BC 170s BC 160s BC 150s BC 140s BC 130s BC 120s BC 110s BC Years: 166 BC 165 BC 164 BC 163 BC 162 BC 161 BC 160 BC 159 BC 158 BC 157 BC 156 BC Events Battle of A the Senate sent Philometor's ambassadors home. Sometime around 156Centuries: 3rd century BC 2nd century BC 1st century BC Decades: 200s BC 190s BC 180s BC 170s BC 160s BC 150s BC 140s BC 130s BC 120s BC 110s BC 100s BC Years: 161 BC 160 BC 159 BC 158 BC 157 BC 156 BC 155 BC 154 BC 153 BC 152 BC 151 BC Births Gaius Mariu/155 Philometor tried to have Physcon assassinated, but this failed, and Physcon went to Rome, displayed the scars of wounds he received in the attempt, and despite the opposition of Cato the ElderMarcus Porcius Cato ( Latin: M·PORCIVS·M·F·CATO) ( 234 149 BC), Roman statesman, surnamed "The Censor," Sapiens, Priscus or Major (the Elder), to distinguish him from Cato the Younger (his great-grandson), was born at Tusculum. He came of an ancient plebe, received the Senate's support and some resources for another attempt on Cyprus. (An inscriptionInscriptions are words or letters written, engraved, painted, or otherwise traced on a surface and can appear in contexts both small and monumental. Coin texts and monumental carvings on buildings are both included by historians as types of inscriptions. records that Physcon had bequeathed Cyrenaica to Rome if he died childless, an act not mentioned by any literary source.)
The second attempt on Cyprus also failed, and Philometor captured Physcon, but spared him, offered him the hand of his daughter Cleopatra TheaCleopatra Thea (c. 164 BC 121 BC) surnamed Euergetes (i. Goddess of Plenty") was a daughter of Ptolemy VI of Egypt. She ruled Seleucid Syria from 125 BC to 121 BC. She married Alexander Balas in about 150 BC. This union produced Antiochus VI Dionysus., and sent him back to Cyrenaica.
When Philometor died on campaign in 145, Cleopatra II had her son proclaimed Ptolemy VIIPtolemy VII was an Egyptian king of the Ptolemaic period. Son of Ptolemy VI, he reigned briefly with his father in 145 BC, and for a short time after that. He was murdered by his uncle, Ptolemy VIII, who succeeded him. Pharaohs., but Physcon returned, proposed a joint rule and marriage to Cleopatra II, then had the unlucky youth assassinated during the wedding feast. He then took the throne as "Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II", the name deliberately recalling his ancestor Ptolemy III, and had himself proclaimed as pharaoh in 144.
Physcon took his revenge on the Jews and intellectuals of Alexandria who had opposed him, engaging in mass purges and expulsions that included Aristarchus and Apollodorus, leaving Alexandria a changed city.
He then seduced and married Cleopatra III without divorcing Cleopatra II, who was infuriated, and by 132 or 131, the people of Alexandria rioted and set fire to the royal palace. Physcon, Cleopatra III, and their children escaped to Cyprus, while Cleopatra II had his 12-year-old son, Ptolemy Memphitis acclaimed as king - Physcon was however able to get hold of the boy, killed him, and sent the dismembered pieces to Cleopatra.
The ensuing civil war pitted Cleopatra's Alexandria against the countryside, who supported Physcon. Cleopatra offered the throne of Egypt to Demetrius II Nicator , but he got no further than Pelusium, and by 127 Cleopatra left for Syria, leaving Alexandria to hold out for another year.
After further intrigues, Cleopatra II ended up back in Egypt in 124 BC, and about this time Physcon sent his second daughter by Cleopatra III, Cleopatra Tryphaena , to marry Antiochus VIII Philometor. A formal amnesty decree followed in 118 BC, but it was insufficient to improve government, and the Romans would soon be forced to intervene after his death in 116.