Predecessor Ptolemy VI Name Ptolemy Neos Uncles Ptolemy VIII Physcon Mother Cleopatra II of Egypt Parents Ptolemy VI Philometor | Father Ptolemy VI Philometor Died 145 BC Successor Ptolemy VIII Role King Aunts Cleopatra II of Egypt | |
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Grandparents Cleopatra I Syra, Ptolemy V Epiphanes Cousins Cleopatra III of Egypt, Cleopatra Thea, Cleopatra Selene I, Cleopatra IV of Egypt, Ptolemy IX Lathyros Similar People Ptolemy VI Philometor, Ptolemy VIII Physcon, Ptolemy V Epiphanes, Cleopatra III of Egypt, Cleopatra I Syra | ||
Ptolemy VII Neos Philopator (Greek: Πτολεμαῖος Νέος Φιλοπάτωρ, Ptolemaĩos Néos Philopátōr ≈ Ptolemy the New Beloved of his Father) was an Egyptian king of the Ptolemaic period. His reign is controversial, and it is possible that he did not reign at all, but was only granted royal dignity posthumously.
His identity is unclear. According to one reconstruction, he was the son of Ptolemy VI Philometor and Cleopatra II of Egypt, he reigned briefly with his father in 145 BC, and for a short time after that, and was murdered by his uncle, Ptolemy VIII Physcon, who succeeded him. Alternatively, some scholars identify Ptolemy Neos Philopator with Ptolemy Memphites, a son of Ptolemy VIII and Cleopatra II who was murdered by his father about 132/131 BC after his mother had tried to depose Physcon and proclaim their son king; yet others point to a number of minor co-regents – all of whom were named Ptolemy as was the tradition in the dynasty. By tradition, though, the numbering of the Ptolemies is kept intact.
Occasionally, the numbering is reversed, and Ptolemy VIII Physcon is numbered as Ptolemy VII, with a boy-king – the one named Ptolemy Memphites, most likely – numbered Ptolemy VIII; in some older sources, Ptolemy VII is omitted altogether. This lowers the numbering of all the later Ptolemies, until Caesarion is Ptolemy XIV; the nicknames are unaffected.