1

Queen of Kings: Kleopatra VII and the Donations of Alexandria

Rolf Strootman



Introduction
The so-called Donations of Alexandria, a Ptolemaic royal ritual in 34 BCE, is an important but pulin!
landmar" in the de#elopment of the $oman %ear East& At this theatrical, public ceremony, of 'hich
relati#ely detailed accounts sur#i#e in Plutarch(s bio!raphy of Antonius and Dio Cassius( Roman History,
)

the triumvir *arcus Antonius solemnly promised to +leopatra ,-- Philopator and her infant children
rulership o#er the east .from the /ellespont to -ndia0, a domain that 'as lar!ely identical 'ith the
empires of both the Ptolemies and 1eleu"ids at their !reatest extent&
The celebrations lasted se#eral days& The "ey ceremony too" place in the gymnasion, the usual
location for coronations in Alexandria& 2i"e actors on a sta!e, Antonius and +leopatra and her four
childrenthree of 'hom 'ere also Antonius( childrenperformed on an ele#ated dais before the royal
household, the royal !uard and members of the Alexandrian citienry& +leopatra and her eldest son
Ptolemaios 3, Caesar 45Caesarion(6, 'ith 'hom she shared the Ptolemaic "in!ship, 'ere proclaimed
7ueen of +in!s and +in! of +in!s of the enormous empire outlined abo#e& Antonius( children by
+leopatraAlexandros /elios, +leopatra 1elene, Ptolemaios Philadelphosrecei#ed lesser, albeit still
ma!nificent royal titles& +leopatra 'as dressed as -sis, Antonius presumably as Dionysos8 Alexandros
/elios 'ore the attire of an -ranian "in!, and Ptolemaios Philopator the !eneric royal dress of a
/ellenistic "in!& The only participant, 'ho 'as not a'arded royal honours, 'as Antonius, the $oman&
The ceremony 'as fashioned as a coronation ritual& The ritual lan!ua!e employed 'as based on
/ellenistic, particularly 1eleu"id tradition, 'hile the material symbolism, the pomp and the re!alia,
2
came from contemporary Ptolemaic court culture, 'ith some important distinctions, notably the use of
-ranian re!alia for Alexandros and +leopatra(s appearance as -sis&
At first si!ht, +leopatra(s ne' empire appears to be some'hat ephemeral, as Antonius(
!enerosity ob#iously contained some catches& 9irst of all, *esopotamia and the countries further east
'ere controlled by the Parthians, 'ho had defeated Antonius( army t'o years earlier& 1econd, only part
of the remainin! territory 'as really $omanthe pro#inces 1yria, Asia and Bithynia'hereas the other
half consisted of autonomous cities and "in!doms, thou!h most of them 'ithin the $oman sphere of
influence& Third, many of the re!ions Antonius 5donated( to +leopatra had already been !i#en to her at
an earlier occasion&
/istorians ha#e seldom bothered to understand the meanin! of this enormous, non-existent
empire& The Donations of Alexandria are either explained as a fanciful blueprint for future con:uest, or
else dismissed as an unhistorical later in#ention&
;
-n this paper, - hope to demonstrate that the far-
stretchin! claims made in the Donations of Alexandria are fully intelli!ible 'hen examined in a
/ellenistic context& The empire en#isa!ed in the Donations 'as not an unhistorical topos de#ised by
<cta#ianus( supporters or by 'riters from the imperial period8 instead this propa!anda 'as firmly
rooted in /ellenistic royal ideolo!y& 9urthermore, - 'ill ar!ue that +leopatra(s claimsincludin! not only
the former empire of the Ptolemies but also the entire territory that 'as once under the s'ay of the
1eleu"ids'ere le!itimate from an eastern point of #ie'& 9inally, - 'ill ar!ue that +leopatra(s imperial
ambitions played a fundamental role in the creation of a $oman %ear East, instead of ha#in! temporarily
halted and frustrated this process&
Antonius( $oman enemies and later Au!ustean propa!anda-ma"ers ha#e successfully !i#en the
impression that ne's of the Donations came as a shoc" to the people and senate of $ome, 'ho
suddenly became a'are that Antonius had become a be'itched lo#e sla#e, betrayin! his o'n people by

)
Dio Cass& 4=&4>&;-4)&38 Plut&, Ant& ?4&3-@& The e#idence is cited and discussed belo'&
;
E&!& ,ol"mann 4)=?36, p& )4;-448 Bradford 4)=A)6, p& ;>>8 1outhern 4;>>>6, p& ))?8 /Blbl 4;>>>6, p& ;=;&
3
!i#in! a'ay $oman territory to his 5E!yptian( mistress& -n )=?3 ,ol"mann could still maintain that this
'as a reasonable explanation for Antonius( actions&
3
At present, most historians do not accept this
explanation& As a result, ho'e#er, the land !rants to +leopatra ha#e become e#en more pulin!& The
problem as it still stands today has been summarised by *ichael CrantD .Althou!h this Ere#i#edF
Ptolemaic empire(s special tas" of reinforcin! Antony(s fleet 'as clear enou!h, its status in relation to
the $oman empire had become increasin!ly hard to define& -t 'as dependent upon the $omans, but it
could not be described as their 5client(& G E!ypt 'as not so much a #assal as an autonomous, allied and
protected "in!dom, the li"e of 'hich had not appeared 'ithin the $oman orbit before&0
4
-n )==@
Thomas 1chrapel proposed a partial solution to this problem by ar!uin! that Ptolemaic po'er 'as
extended in the interest of Rome&
?


Prelude to the Donations of Alexandria
He "no' no' that the ceremony of the Donations could impossibly ha#e come as a surprise, as it 'as
the pinnacle of an on!oin! increase of Ptolemaic influence in the *editerranean, 'hich 'as part of
Antonius( reor!anisation of the eastern state system& This reor!anisation follo'ed arran!ements
initiated by Pompeius and mainly amounted to supportin! or installin! dependent, and thus loyal,
oli!archs and "in!s&
@
This policy 'as essential because Parthian po'er politics in the 'estern past of the
%ear East aimed at the same& Parthian armies had at se#eral occasions in#aded lands under $oman
protection, most recently and dan!erously in 4> BCE&

3
,ol"mann 4)=?36, p& )4?&
4
Crant 4)=A;6, p& )4)-;&
?
Cf& 1chrapel 4)==@6, p& ;A=D .Die ,erschmelun! hellenistischer und rBmischer 1itten 4G6 E'ar der ,oraussetun!F
fIr den Jber!an! #on der $epubli" ur *onarchie& 9Ir die Beurteilun! der politischen ,or!Kn!e in der letten
Phase der $Bmischen $epubli" ist daher nicht der Ce!ensat 'ischen $Bmern und Criechen 4G6 u betonen,
sondern deren 1ymbiose&0
@
9or Antonius( arran!ements see Buchheim 4)=@>6&
4
*any of the re!ions and cities presented to +leopatra in 34 'ere already under her rule& As
CInther /Blbl summarises this paradoxD

EThe Donations of AlexandriaF did not ma"e any fundamental chan!es to the status quo of the
administration& The area under Cleopatra(s control remained Lust as it 'as in 3@& The #assal-rulers
retained their positions& G The $oman proconsul continued to administer 1yria 'hile Armenia and Cyrene
remained !arrisoned by $oman le!ions&
A


Hith an extensi#e examination of all contemporary numismatic, epi!raphic and papyrolo!ic e#idence
related to the Donations of Alexandria, 1chrapel sho'ed that 'ith his !ifts to +leopatra, Antonius
continued a policy of the late Mulius Caesar& 9or instance, Cyprus 4included amon! the Donations in
Plutarch(s account6 had been returned to Ptolemaic rule already in the summer of 4N on the occasion of
Caesar(s arri#al in Alexandria& *ore surprisin!ly, 1chrapel 'as able to sho' that Antonius initially acted
'ith the consent of <cta#ianus&
N
9or instance 'estern +ili"ia 'as added to the Ptolemaic "in!dom
already in 4> BCE as part of the treaty of Brundisium, 'here Antonius and <cta#ianus di#ided the
*editerranean in a 'estern and eastern portion&
=
Thus, 1chrapel(s study pro#ides important
modifications of the communis opinio, as expressed for instance in the commentaries on the narrati#e
sources by $einhold and Pellin!&
)>

Antonius had on se#eral pre#ious occasions in#ol#ed +leopatra in his reor!anisation of the east,
particularly at his meetin!s 'ith the :ueen at Tarsos in 4) and at Antioch in 3AO@& These meetin!s 'ere
accompanied by pompous propa!anda comparable to that in 34&

A
/Blbl 4;>>)6, p& ;44&
N
1chrapel 4)==@6, p& ;A@-N@&
=
Ibidem, p& ;?=& Ptolemaic administration in +ili"ia is first attested for %o#ember 3N but the country probably had
been handed o#er in 4)O4>, see /Blbl 4;>>)6, p& ;4) n& =N&
)>
$einhold 4)=NA68 Pellin! 4)=NN6&
5
-n 4) +leopatra met Antonius for the first time& Plutarch 4Ant& ;@6 describes ho' she sailed up
the ri#er +ydnos to Tarsos in her fabled bar!e, dressed as Aphrodite& The carefully planned comin!
to!ether of :ueen and triumvir 'as celebrated in the entire east as a hiero!amy of Dionysos and
Aphrodite .for the benefit of Asia0 4Plut&, Ant& ;@&36&
))
+leopatra(s self-presentation as 5Aphrodite(
presumably 'as a renderin! of her association 'ith -sis in E!ypt but for a much 'ider audience&
);
1emi-
hellenised elites in the %ear East could subse:uently associate her 'ith Asian 5uni#ersal( !oddesses li"e
Atar!atis, Astarte and -shtar& Antonius, for his part, had earlier that year entered Ephesos in a bacchanal
procession as Neos Dionysos 4Plut&, Ant. ;4&46& -n the /ellenistic east, Dionysos, the con:ueror of Asia
and harbin!er of !ood fortune, 'as a !od of royalty par excellence&
)3


))
/Blbl 4;>>)6, p& ;44 'ith n& ))>& /Blbl claims that Antonius and +leopatra did not 5officially( marry before the
autumn of 34 BCE, and postulates that the ceremony of the Donations 'as also a celebration of their marria!e&
This seems stran!e, since in the years bet'een Tarsos and the Donations +leopatra !a#e birth to three children, all
of 'hom Antonius ac"no'led!ed as his& ,ol"mann 4)=?36, p& ))A, dates the marria!e to 3AO@ BCE& The statement,
encountered in most modern literature, that Antonius( marria!e 'ith +leopatra 'as not #alid under $oman la' is
!ratuitous8 Antonius( association 'ith +leopatra 'as part of his political actions in the east, 'here poly!amous
marria!e amon! royalty 'as normal& <n the hieros gamos of Antonius and +leopatra see PnieQe's"i 4)==N6, p& )34&
);
+leopatra and Antonius may ha#e been inspired by the !old statue of +leopatra placed inside the temple of
,enus Cenetrix on the 9orum -ulium in $ome by Caesar, and the simultaneous proclamation of +leopatra as Isis
Regina, cf& /Blbl 4;>>)6, p& ;=>& *any $omans, most of all Cicero 4Att& )4&N&), )?&)A&;6, did not li"e that8 but in the
/ellenistic east the association of royals 'ith !ods 'as only natural& 9or +leopatra(s appearance as -sis at Tarsos
see Crant 4)=A;6, p& ))A-;>&
)3
Tondriau 4)=?36& Antonius recei#ed cultic honours as Neos Dionysos in Athens 41o"rates of $hodes, 9Cr/ )=; 9 ;8
1en&, Suas& )&@&A6 and later in Alexandria, cf& /Blbl 4;>>)6, p& ;=)& Dionysos 'as the most prominent !od 'ith
'hom /ellenistic "in!s, notably the Ptolemies, associated themsel#es 'hen enterin! a city& Dionysos 'as der
ommende !ott, the epiphany deity par excellence, cf& Bur"ert )=N?, )@;, 'ith n& @ on p& 4);& ,ersnel 4)=A>6, p&
;?>-3&, ar!ued that Dionysos became such a suitable model for /ellenistic "in!ship because by defeatin! human
ad#ersaries instead of supernatural opponents, and by con:uerin! real territory, Dionysos( con:uest of Asia 'as
mythical and historical at the same time8 he 'as the #ictorious !od 'ho triumphed o#er man and 'orld, 'hose
return si!nalled the da'n of an a!e of !ood fortune& The notion of a hiero!amy 'ith +leopatra-Aphrodite follo'ed
from the fact that the Cree"s e:uated Aphrodite 'ith -sis and Dionysos 'ith <siris, -sis( di#ine consort 4Dio Cass&
?>&?&36&
6
-n the 'inter of 3AO@ +leopatra a!ain #isited Antonius, 'ho 'as no' at Antioch in 1yria, 'here
he had ta"en up residence in order to re-arran!e po'er relations in the %ear East and ma"e
preparations for 'ar a!ainst the Parthians 4Plut&, Ant& 3@&3-48 Dio Cass& 4=&3;-)-?6& A!ain, +leopatra 'as
at the centre of Antonius( propa!anda and plans& 1he recei#ed the city of +yrene in 2ibya, estates on
Crete, and se#eral stron!holds in the 2e#ant 4Mos&, A" )?&4&NN and =;6&
)4
At this occasion Antonius
ac"no'led!ed paternity of +leopatra(s t'ins Alexandros and +leopatra, 'ho 'ere !i#en the epithets
/elios and 1elene& The be!innin! of a ne' era in history 'as announced, complete 'ith a ne' year
rec"onin!, startin! 'ith 3AO@ BCE as year )&
)?
This 'as a ne' era for the entire east, replacin! the
existin! 1eleu"id Era& -n Antiochone of the capitals of the 1eleu"ids, ha#in! a similar status as a 5royal
city( as Alexandriaa ceremony li"e the Donations of Alexandria 'as sta!ed& 1ince in 3AO@ the ne'
imperial era be!an, the 5Donations of Antioch( must ha#e been of e:ual importance as those of
Alexandria& %o accounts ha#e sur#i#ed of this occasion, ho'e#er, presumably for the simple reason that
it has no place in pro-<cta#ian propa!anda because at that time Antonius and <cta#ianus had not yet
openly fallen out 'ith each other&
After 3AO@ Antonius and +leopatra appeared on coins more or less as Loint rulers of Asia&
Antonius struc" sil#er tetradrachms at Antioch 'ith the ima!e of +leopatra on the re#erse& +leopatra
mean'hile struc" brone coins in 1yria and Phoenicia 'ith Antonius( portrait& 1i!nificantly, the style of

)4
Mos& A" )?&4&=@ says that 1idon and Tyre 'ere the only coastal cities not !i#en to +leopatra, but she claimed them
nonetheless& After 3AO@ BCE, +leopatra issued coins in Arados, Tripolis, Berytos, Damascus, PtolemaRs-A"e and
As"alon8 see /Blbl 4;>>)6, p& ;4; 'ith n& )>;&
)?
E#idence for this ne' era 4'hich, as it turned out, lasted less than ten years6 is found on coins from 1yria and
else'here, as far as the city of Chersonesos at the northern Blac" 1ea8 the era is also attested on E!yptian papyri
and inscriptions, and confirmed by Porphyry 9Cr/ ;@> 9 ;&)A& 1ee ,ol"mann 4)=?36, p& ))@-;;8 1chrapel 4)==@6, p&
;>=-;3& /aard 4;>>>6, p& ;?-4@, ar!ues that in ;@; BCE Ptolemaios -- Philadelphos introduced a ne' era, too, a
5Sot#r Era(8 if so, this ma"es it all the more possible that the epithet !i#en to +leopatra(s youn!est child, Ptolemaios
Philadelphos, indeed referred to the prosperous days of Ptolemaios --, as is su!!ested by ,ol"mann 4)=?36, p& ))A-
A& /o'e#er, the ima!e of a 4ne'6 Colden A!e is a fundamental aspect of /ellenistic imperial ideolo!y8 see
1trootman 4;>>A6, p& 34N-?@&
7
both coin types is a mixture of /ellenistic and $oman influences& Thus it 'as made clear that the t'o of
them 'ould rule the east to!ether&
)@

<n her 'ay bac" to Alexandria, instead of ta"in! the short sea route, +leopatra made a royal
pro!ress throu!h the 2e#ant, in order to ritually mar" the area as hers, #isitin! 5royal cities( li"e Apameia,
Damascus, and finally Mericho, 'here she met her ne' #assal /erod in 3@ 4Mos&, A" )?&4&=@6& Antonius
mean'hile be!an his 'ar a!ainst the Parthians, 'hich ended in disaster& There follo'ed a more
successful but less pretentious campai!n a!ainst the Armenian "in! Arta#asdes in 34, a strate!ic
preparation for a second attempt at defeatin! the Parthian "in! rather than an act out of frustration&
9ollo'in! this #ictory, Antonius left his le!ions in Armenia and proceeded to Alexandria, 'here to!ether
'ith +leopatra he performed the royal ritual later "no'n as the Donations of Alexandria&

The Ceremonial of 34 C!
Antonius entered Alexandria in a splendid procession, paradin! the spoils and capti#es of his Armenian
campai!n, includin! the Armenian "in! himselfD

/e made them 'al" at the head of a "ind of triumphal ad#ent into Alexandria, to!ether 'ith the other
capti#es, 'hile he himself entered the city upon a chariot& And he presented to +leopatra not only all the
spoils that he had 'on, but e#en led the Armenian to!ether 'ith his 'ife and children before her, bound
in chains of !old& 1he herself 'as seated upon a !olden throne on a sta!e plated 'ith sil#er, amidst a
!reat multitude& 4Dio Cass& 4=&4>&;-36

Antonius made his ad#ent into the city in /ellenistic fashion, carryin! a thyrsos 'and and other
dionysian paraphernalia, but not a diadem& /e made offerin!s in the temple of 1arapis 4,ell& Pat& ;&N;6,

)@
/Blbl 4;>>)6, p& ;4;& Sntil 3@ Caesarion had not fi!ured prominently in Ptolemaic propa!anda8 after that date,
ima!es of, and inscriptions dedicated to him, foreshado'in! his inau!uration as Creat +in! in 348 see Heill
Coudchaux 4;>>)6, p& )3= 'ith fi!s& 3&; and 3&3&
8
the Ptolemaic !od of "in!ship 'ho could be identified 'ith both <siris and Dionysos 4Plut&, De Is. et $s&
;N6&
Antonius( enemies later accused him of ha#in! celebrated a $oman triumphus outside $ome, an
alle!ation that is usually accepted as truth in modern scholarship&
)A
-t is #ery unli"ely, ho'e#er, that
Antonius committed such a sacrile!ious deed, only to anta!onise $oman public opinion and offend the
Alexandrians to boot& -t is easy to see that this 'as in reality a /ellenistic royal parousia, reminiscent of
the 'ell-"no'n pomp# 4of uncertain date6 of Ptolemaios -- Philadelphos, described by +allixeinos of
$hodes 4%H! --- ?N ap. Ath& )=@a-)=Ac6, and the dionysian procession of Antiochos -, at Daphne in c& )@@
BCE 4Polyb&3>&;?&)-);8 Diod& 3)&)@6&
)N

The follo'in! day, or some days later, the Donations 'ere sta!ed, a royal ceremony 'hich
combined the a!e-old idiom of /ellenistic coronation ritual 'ith some ne' elements that 'ere uni:ue
for this occasion& This is Dio(s account of 'hat happened on that dayD

%ext Antonius or!anised sumptuous celebrations for the population of Alexandria& /e appeared before
the assembled people 'ith +leopatra and her children seated at his side& -n his speech to the people he
ordered them to call +leopatra 7ueen of +in!s, and the Ptolemaios, 'hom they named Caesarion, +in! of
+in!s& /e then made a ne' distribution of countries and !a#e them E!ypt and Cyprus& G Besides these
donations he !a#e to his o'n children by +leopatra the follo'in! landsD to Ptolemaios 1yria and the 'hole
re!ion to the 'est of the Euphrates as far as the /ellespont8 to +leopatra E1eleneF the country of +yrene
in 2ibya8 to her brother Alexandros E/eliosF Armenia and all of the other lands east of the Euphrates as far
-ndia8 and he besto'ed these re!ions as if they 'ere already in his possession& 4Dio Cass& 4=&4>&;-4)&36

)A
9or instance Bradford 4)=A)6, p& )=@-ND .a uni:ue spectacle, e#en in that ostentatious city G desi!ned to infuriate
the $omans and to proclaim that theirs 'as only a second-rate city&0 1o also ,ol"mann 4)=?36, p& )4)-;8 1outhern
4;>>>6, p& ))3-?8 Heill Coudchaux 4;>>)6, p& )3=&
)N
9or royal entries and processions in the /ellenistic "in!doms see 1trootman 4;>>@6, p& ;N=-3;?& <n the pomp# of
Philadelphos see ,ersnel 4)=A>6, p& ;?>-48 $ice 4)=N368 *oe#s 4)==368 Thompson 4;>>>68 and 1trootman 4;>>A6, p&

9

The account in Plutarch, 'ho used a different or additional source, pays more attention to ritual and
symbolic aspectsD

EAntoniusF assembled a !reat cro'd in the !ymnasion, 'here he had erected a sta!e co#ered 'ith sil#er,
'hereupon he had placed t'o !olden thrones, one for himself and one for +leopatra, as 'ell as t'o lo'er
thrones for the children& 9irst he proclaimed +leopatra :ueen of E!ypt, Cyprus, 2ibya and +oile 1yria and
named Caesarion her co-ruler& G %ext he !a#e his o'n sons by +leopatra the title +in! of +in!s& To
Alexandros he !a#e Armenia, *edia and Parthia, as soon as he 'ould ha#e con:uered it, and to
Ptolemaios Phoenicia, 1yria and +ili"ia& At the same time he presented Alexandros, dressed in a *edian
!arb 'ith a tiara and a itaris, and Ptolemaios in repides, chlamys, and a ausia encircled 'ith a diadem&
9or the latter 'as the attire of the "in!s 'ho had come after Alexander and the former that of the "in!s of
*edia and Armenia& And after the children had embraced their parents, one 'as !i#en a !uard of
Armenians, the other of *acedonians& +leopatra 'as on this occasion, as indeed she al'ays 'as 'hen
she appeared in public, dressed in a robe sacred to -sis and she 'as hailed as the %e' -sis& 4Plut&, Ant&
?4&3-@6

To sum upD Caesarion 'as made o#erlord of +oile-1yria, Cyprus and E!ypt8 Ptolemaios Philopator of
1yria, Phoenicia, +ili"ia and the rest of Asia *inor8 Alexandros /elios of Armenia, *esopotamia and the
Spper 1atrapies8 +leopatra 1elene of Cyrenaica& +leopatra and Caesarion recei#ed o#erlordship off all
this& Theirs 'as a dual monarchy of "in! and :ueen in accordance 'ith Ptolemaic tradition&
)=
The fact
that Caesarion(s throne 'as placed lo'er than +leopatra(s su!!ested that he 'as subLected to her until
his comin! of a!e& Antonius( place beside +leopatra and the e:ual status of his throne sho'ed that

3)4-3;?, 'ith further literature& /ellenistic royal ritual influenced the e#olution of the triumphus rather than the
other 'ay roundD ,ersnel 4)=A>6, cf& /oliday 4)==A6&
)=
<n the formal aspects of the !radual transformation of Ptolemaic :ueen into co-rulers see /aard 4;>>>6&
10
$oman he!emony in the East 'as still intact&
;>
-ndeed, Antonius possessed not only the authority of a
father o#er his o'n sons, but as +leopatra(s husband also 'as the !uardian of Caesarion, the +in! of
+in!s&
;)

The re!alia used in the ritual are meanin!ful as 'ell& Snfortunately, the attire of Caesarion is not
!i#en& As the Donations too" place in the Ptolemies( *editerranean capital Alexandria and not in
*emphis, the place 'ere they 'ere inau!urated in E!yptian style, Caesarion can not ha#e been dressed
as an E!yptian pharaoh& 2i"e'ise, +leopatra(s .robe sacred to -sis0 presumably presented her as the
culturally neutral, hellenised #ersion of -sis rather than a purely E!yptian !oddess& Explicit use of nati#e
E!yptian idiom 'as anathema to the Ptolemies( monarchical representation in Alexandria, and 'ould in
this case ha#e !i#en the impression that the east had come under the he!emony of E!ypt T
unacceptable for all non-E!yptian elites and rulers, and most Alexandrians& -nstead, the Donations 'ere
meant to con#ey the messa!e that the east had been united, in accordance 'ith royal traditions
acceptable to all eastern peoples& 9or this reason, Ptolemaios Philopator 'ore the costume of a
Ptolemaic or 1eleu"id "in!8
;;
his *acedonian body!uard also presented him as such& Caesarion may
ha#e 'orn similar attire as his youn!est half-brother& The -ranian attire of Alexandros /elios may ha#e
been a reference to the Achaimenids, but first of all had the immediate, specific rele#ance of his bein!

;>
Dio adds that after'ards .EAntoniusF sent a despatch to $ome in order that it mi!ht secure ratification also from
the people there0 4Dio Cass& 4=&4)&46&
;)
Accordin! to Dio Cass& 4=&4)&; Antonius made Caesarion +in! of +in!s because of his descent from Caesar, .and
he had arran!ed it so for the sa"e of Caesar0 4Plutarch(s statement that Antonius& sons 'ere +in!s of +in!s is
e#idently a mista"e6& 9urthermore, Caesarion(s cult title 7eo#U 9ilopa#t'r "ai8 9ilomh#t'r not only reflected his
mother(s 7ea# 9ilopa#t'r, but emphasised Caesar(s paternity as 'ell8 cf& /Blbl p& ;3=& <n +leopatra(s title of
9ilopa#t'r see 1chrapel 4)==@6, p& ;;3-?& The place of the re#i#ed Ptolemaic empire in a 'ider $oman system
found expression, too, in the presentation of +leopatra on official $oman coina!e8 the 'ell-"no'n coins
proclaimin! the con:uest of Armenia, issued at the time of the Donations, bore the portrait of +leopatra 'ith the
2atin 4V6 le!end C2E<PAT$AE $EC-%AE $ECS* 9-2-<$S* $ECS*&
;;
9or /ellenistic re!alia and royal costume see 1mith 4)=NN6 and 1trootman 4;>>A6, p& 3@>-N4&
11
inau!urated as successor of the capti#e Armenian "in! Arta#asdes 4'hose o'n son had fled to the
Parthians6 in addition to his o#erlordship o#er the lar!er area he recei#ed&
;3


Imperium sine fine
The 'orld empire !i#en to +leopatra 'as so #ast that it has al'ays been considered either an unrealistic
dream of empire or an unhistorical later in#ention, no more than a topos in Dio and Plutarch and best to
be discarded& But to ma"e sense of propa!anda it is not al'ays 'ise to separate fact from fiction&
-f one scrutinises the donations for their historical #eracity only, it 'ill become clear that all land
!rants controlled by +leopatra in actuality 'ere lands !i#en to her before the Donations& By the time
that the ceremony of the Donations too" place, +leopatra already 'as the formal ruler of an empire that
included 2ibya, E!ypt, +oile 1yria, Phoenicia, 1yria, +ili"ia, and Cyprus, and the ceremony merely
confirmed this& This means that the si!nificance of the Donations resides not in 'hat 'as actually
ac:uired by +leopatra, but in 'hat she claimed in addition& -t may be so that the historian(s tas" is to
disco#er the truth behind the myth, but the historian(s tas" is also to elucidate the myth as it is& Belo', -
'ill ar!ue that the claim to 'orld empire 'as topical in /ellenistic royal ideolo!y rather than an
eni!matic incident&
-t has become customary to assume that there existed a balance of po'er bet'een the
/ellenistic "in!doms, and to proLect this #ie' 'ith retrospecti#e effect on /ellenistic royal ideolo!y& But
ideolo!y qualitate qua does not yield to the limitations of reality, let alone to a modern reconstruction
of that reality& *ost ancient ideolo!ies of "in!ship contain a substantial amount of mythical thin"in!,
and 'e should better accept that in the eyes of the inhabitants of the ancient %ear East the mythical
character of "in!ship 'as as real as any myth&
There is o#er'helmin! e#idence that the ideal of imperium sine fine, to use ,ir!il(s rendition of
that notion for $oman use 4Aen& )&;A=6, 'as as characteristic for /ellenistic royal ideolo!y as it had been

;3
Crant 4)=A;6, p& )@4&
12
for the Assyrian and Persian empires, as 'ell as for %e' +in!dom E!ypt&
;4
The idea of limitless and
eternal monarchy 'as expressed by multifarious means in the monarchical rituals, court poetry, and
icono!raphy of both the 1eleu"id and the Ptolemaic empires& These included Panhellenic rhetoric,
heraldic emblems such as the omphalos or Weus <uranios, the accumulation of "no'led!e of the 'orld
at the royal courts, the symbolic attainment of the 'orld border by transferrin! obLects, animals and
plants from exotic lands to the imperial centre, et cetera& The most conspicuous /ellenistic uni#ersal
symbolism 'as the use, notably on coins, of cosmic emblemsD the odiac, the moon and, abo#e all, the
sun T symbol par excellence of almi!hty and eternal po'er&
;?

2i"e so many other /ellenistic monarchs, +leopatra abundantly a#ailed herself of solar
symbolism& 1he !a#e her t'ins Alexandros and +leopatra the epithets /elios and 1elene as reference to
the eternal lastin! po'er exercised in the uni#erse by the sun and the moon&
;@
-n the /ellenistic east,
the emblem of the sun 'as a symbol of the apocalyptic expectation of a Colden A!e&
;A
Another, e:ually

;4
/ellenistic uni#ersalist ideolo!y de#eloped partly from ideolo!ies of empire in the prehellenistic %ear East and
partly from pre-existin! Cree" conceptions and *acedonian monarchic traditions8 pace /Blbl 4;>>)6, p& ;=), 'ho
presumes that the Donations of Alexandria expressed the 'ish to .EcreateF a "in!dom 'hich 'ould unite
Achaemenid and ancient pharaonic traditions0 T as if the pre#ious three 4V6 centuries could suddenly be rendered
an irrele#ant interlude in the collecti#e memory of the inhabitants of the %ear East& 9or the /ellenistic influence on
,ir!il(s conception of a $oman 'orld empire consult /ardie 4)=N@6&
;?
9or the concept of 5symbolic attainment of the 'orld 4border6( see 2i#erani 4)=A=6& 1olar symbolism could also be
expressed e&!& by radiant cro'ns attached to a "in!(s diadem on coins, and perhaps also in reality durin!
ceremonial occasions& The type of Weus <uranios fi!ures on coins of Antiochos ,--- from c& );) to =@, 'here the
+in! of /ea#en holds the sun in his outstretched hand, 'hile a moon stands abo#e his head& The so-called 1tar of
,er!ina, used as an heraldic emblem by the Anti!onids and 1eleu"ids, is of course not a star but the sun& 9or solar
symbolism in royal propa!anda see 1trootman 4;>>A6, p& 3?;-3, 'ith literature&
;@
<n +leopatra(s 5solar propa!anda( see Crant 4)=A;6, p& )4;-4, and PnieQe's"i 4)==N6, esp& p& )3?-N& ,ol"mann
4)=?36, p& ))A, su!!ests that the children(s names 'ere chosen to ri#al Parthian "in!(s title 5Brother of the 1un and
the *oon(& <n the 'alls of the /athor temple at Dendera, i.e& in an E!yptian context, +leopatra had already
presented herself as the mother of the sun-!od $a 'hen Caesarion 'as bornD Crant 4)=A;6, p& ==&
;A
<n this aspect see Crant 4)=A;6, p& )43 and )A)-?&
13
important, association 'as 'ith the 1eleu"id practice of e:uatin! the "in! and the :ueen 'ith Apollo
and Artemis, 'ho could in turn be e:uated 'ith #arious eastern sun and moon deities&
The ideal of 'orld empire burdened /ellenistic rulers 'ith the obli!ation to permanently try to
expand their dominion by means of con:uest, and to ma"e their imprint on territories that 'ere
considered peripheral, such as Central Asia, -ndia and Ethiopia& /ellenistic "in!ship rested principally on
military force, and "in!s presented themsel#es as heroic champions safe!uardin! the ci#ilised 'orld
from chaos and !uaranteein! uni#ersal concord 4homonoia6&
;N
+in!s claimed to do so e#en 'hen their
po'er 'as in reality not that formidable at all& The notion of limitless rule found expression, too, in royal
titles& The /ellenistic title basileus and its female counterpart basilissa 4meanin! 5female "in!( rather
than 5royal consort(6 'ere used 'ithout any restricti#e addition and carried the connotation of uni#ersal
rulership& 1eleu"id and Ptolemaic "in!s ne#er publicly ac"no'led!ed other "in!s as their e:uals, e#en
thou!h they often dealt 'ith other "in!s on the basis of e:uality in diplomatic ne!otiations&
;=

The enumeration of countries in the Donations ceremony has many parallels in earlier royal
propa!anda& 9or example in line @ of the Behistun inscription Darius.the Creat +in!, +in! of +in!s,
+in! of Countries0 4line )6proclaimsD


;N
<n the importance of #ictory and 'ar for the le!itimisation of /ellenistic "in!ship see Cehr"e 4)=N;68 Chaniotis
4;>>46, p& ?A-AA, 'ith select biblio!raphy at p& A?-A8 and 1trootman 4;>>A6 3)-?3&
;=
Hhen Darius offered Alexander half his empire after the Battle of -ssos, Alexander is said to ha#e replied .that
the uni#erse 4osmos6 could not be !o#erned by t'o suns nor the 'orld 4oioumen#6 by t'o rulers0 4Diod& )A&?4&?8
cf& Plut&, Alex& 3=6 T an anecdote, of course, but a #ery meanin!ful one& Accordin! to Plut&, Demetr& ;?&4-?,
Demetrios Polior"etes'hom the Athenians once honoured 'ith a paintin! of the "in! standin! upon the
oioumen#.ridiculed all those 'ho !a#e the title of "in! to anybody other than his father and himself0, and
dran" toasts to .1eleu"os as *aster of the Elephants, Ptolemaios as Admiral, and 2ysimachos as Treasurer0, as if
they 'ere not "in!s but ma!istrates in the ser#ice of the one and only !reat "in! Demetrios& The paradox of, on the
one hand, acceptance of limited political and military influenceespecially in international diplomacyand, on
the other hand, ideolo!ical claims to !lobal dominance, has been brilliantly considered by 2i#erani 4)==>6 for the
%ear Eastern state system in the 2ate Brone A!e8 cf& Cundlach 4)==;6&
14
These are the countries 'hich are subLect unto me, and by the !race of Ahuramada - became "in! of
themD Persia, Elam, Babylonia, Assyria, Arabia, E!ypt, the countries by the 1ea, 2ydia, the Cree"s, *edia,
Armenia, +appado"ia, Parthia, Dran!iana, Aria, Chorasmia, Ba"tria, 1o!dia, Candhara, 1"ythia, 1atta!ydia,
Arachosia, and *a"a8 t'enty-three lands in all&

*ore rele#ant for the present discussion are the many examples from the /ellenistic empires, for
instance the encomiastic passa!e in +allimachos( Hymn to Delos, 'here it is said that Ptolemaios --
Philadelphos

G shall rule o#er the T'o Countries and o#er the lands that lie beside the sea, as far as the ed!e of the
earth, 'here the s'ift horses al'ays brin! the sun& 4Call& Hymn 4, )@=-A>6

-n another early Ptolemaic court poem, Theo"ritos( encomium for Ptolemaios Philadelphos, the "in! is
!lorified as a ne' brand of /omeric hero, and the poet s"etches both a realistic outline of his actual
empire and an ima!e of unlimited dominanceD

Health and !ood fortune are his in abundance8 and #ast is the territory he rules, #ast the sea& Countless
countries and numberless tribes har#est rich crops than"s to the rains sent by Weus& But none is as fruitful
as the broad plains of E!ypt, 'here floods of the %ile soa" and soften the soil, or has so many to'ns full of
s"illed labourers& 4G6 And o#er all of this Ptolemaios rules as "in!& And he also ta"es as his Phoenicia,
Arabia, 1yria and 2ibya, and the dar" Ethiopians8 he commands all the Pamphylians, the +ili"ian and 2y"ian
spearmen, and the 'arli"e +arians8 he e#en rules the isles of the Cyclades, for his fine ships control the
seas& The 'hole sea and all the land and the roarin! ri#ers are ruled by Ptolemaios& 4Theocr& Id. )A&AA-=;6&

The list of countries and peoples in this poem corresponds in part to the countries !i#en to +leopatra ,--&
There is also a noticeable difference bet'een Theo"ritos( description of the early Ptolemaic empire and
the empire described in the accounts of the DonationsD 'here Philadelphos( realm is depicted as a
15
maritime empire, incorporatin! the coastal areas of the eastern *editerranean and united by Ptolemaic
sea po'er, +leopatra in addition claimed the 'hole land empire once ruled by the 1eleu"ids, and
pre#iously by Alexander and the Achaimenids&
+leopatra 'as not the first of her dynasty to do so& The #ictory stele of Ptolemaios --- Euer!etes,
a Cree" inscription of c& ;4) BCE, copied in the sixth century CE from a no' lost ori!inal at Adoulis on
the $ed 1ea, !lorifies the achie#ements of Ptolemaios --- durin! the Third 1yrian Har 4;4@-;4)6D

Ptolemaios the Creat +in!, the son of +in! Ptolemaios and 7ueen Arsinoe the Brother-1ister Cods,
children of +in! Ptolemaios and 7ueen Bereni"e the 1a#iour Cods, descendant on his father(s side of
/era"les, the son of Weus, and on his mother(s side of Dionysos, the son of Weus, after inheritin! from his
father the "in!ship o#er E!ypt, 2ibya, 1yria, Phoenicia, Cyprus, 2y"ia, +aria, and the islands of the Cyclades,
marched out into Asia 'ith infantry, ca#alry, a fleet, and elephants from the land of the Tro!lodytes and
from Ethiopia& 4G6 /a#in! !ained possession of the 'hole land on this side of the Euphrates, of +ili"ia,
Pamphylia, -onia, the /ellespont, Thrace, and of all the forces in these countries and of the -ndian
elephants, and ha#in! made all the rulers of these lands his subLects, he crossed the ri#er Euphrates, and
ha#in! subdued *esopotamia, Babylonia, 1usiana, the Persis, *edia and the rest of the land as far as
Ba"tria, and ha#in! sou!ht out all the sacred obLects that had been carried out of E!ypt by the Persians,
and ha#in! brou!ht them bac" to E!ypt to!ether 'ith the booty ta"en from these pro#inces, he sent his
troops Ebac"F across the canals that had been du! out EGF 4<C-1 ?48 Austin ;;)6
3>


The historicity of Ptolemaios ---(s con:uests is doubtful, althou!h Appian(s claim that his armies
ad#anced as far as Babylonia 4Syr& @?6 may no' ha#e found contemporary confirmation in a ne'ly

3>
This document is in part reminiscent of prehellenistic pharaonic rhetoric, notably the assertion that stolen
5sacred obLects( ha#e been returned8 cf& <C-1 ?@, a decree of E!yptian priests in honour of Ptolemaios --- and
Bereni"e --, 'hich states that 5the "in! on a campai!n abroad brou!ht bac" to E!ypt the sacred statues that had
been ta"en out of the country by the Persians and restored them to the temples( 4line ))6& <n this aspect see

16
published cuneiform document from Babylon 4BC/P ))6&
3)
1till, Ptolemaios --- definitely did not con:uer
the 'hole of Asia .as far as Ba"tria0, and 'hate#er con:uests he made, these 'ere of short duration as
he 'ithdre' from 1eleu"id territory in ;4) BCE on the pretext of a rebellion in E!ypt 4Must& ;A&)&=6& But
Ptolemaios is probably not at all boastin! that he really subdued so #ast a territory 'ith all its peoples&
/e merely claims that he considered the entire 1eleu"id empire dorit#tos ch'ra 45spear-'on land(, i.e&
'ar booty6, meanin! that the 'hole of Asia had become his o'n by ri!ht of #ictory o#er its pre#ious
master, the 1eleu"id "in!& This is reflected in Mustin 4;A&)&=6 'ho says that Ptolemaios con:uered .the
'hole "in!dom of 1eleu"os0& Ptolemaios( propa!anda resonates in se#eral later 'ritersD Catullus 4@@&3@6
says that Ptolemaios .con:uered Asia0, and Polyaenus 4N&?>6 spea"s of con:uest .from the Tauros
*ountains to -ndia0& 1uch phraseolo!y lin"s the #ictory stele of Ptolemaios --- to the Donations of
Alexandria, 'here Alexandros /elios 'as made "in! of Armenia and all the lands east of the Euphrates
.as far as -ndia0&
As far as India T As far as (atria ) As far as *thiopia& These are standard claims, meanin! no
less than 5as far as the ends of the 4ci#ilised6 earth(& The idea that the aim of con:uest is reachin! a final
frontier 'as also central in the propa!anda of Alexander, 'ho set up altars alon! the -ndus Lust li"e the
Assyrian "in!s erected statues and steles at the shores of the *editerranean and in the hi!hlands of
Armenia& -ndeed, Alexander(s determination to reach the limits of the "no'n 'orld stands in a lon!
tradition 'hich did not die out 'ith him& He see it, too, in Appian(s account of the con:uests of the first
1eleu"id "in!, 1eleu"os %i"atorD

/e con:uered *esopotamia, Armenia, Anatolia, the Persians, the Parthians, the Ba"trians, the Arabs, the
Tapyri, the 1o!dians, the Arachosians, the /yr"anians, and all the other peoples that had before been
con:uered by Alexander, as far as the ri#er -ndus& 4App&, Syr& ??6&

Hinnic"i 4)==46& /o'e#er, other aspects, notably the openin! lines, are typically Cree", and ta"en as a 'hole this
text is, if anythin!, a !eneric imperialist text, typically /ellenistic rather than E!yptian or Cree"&
3)
B* 344;N X BC/P ))&
17

Concernin! another 1eleu"id monarch, Antiochos ---, Appian 'ritesD

/e in#aded *edia and Parthia, and also the other countries that had re#olted a!ainst his ancestors8 and
he performed so many !lorious deeds that he 'as called Antiochos the Creat& Elated by his success and
the presti!e that had !i#en him, he in#aded +oile-1yria and +ili"ia, and too" those lands a'ay from
Ptolemaios Philopator& 4G6 9illed 'ith limitless ambition he ad#anced to the lands of the /ellespontines,
the Aiolians, and the -onians, as if these already belon!ed to him as "in! of Asia because they had al'ays
been ruled by the "in!s of Asia& Then he crossed o#er to Europe, subdued Thrace, and defeated e#eryone
'ho 'ould not obey him& 4App&, Syr& ))&)&)6
3;


Appian(s narrati#es reflect official 1eleu"id propa!andaD as the direct heir of 1eleu"os %i"ator, Antiochos
the Creat 'as heir of his ancestor(s entire empire, e#en if that empire had not remained intact in the
inter#enin! century& -n this #ein the royal pro!ress "no'n as the so-called 5%ile cruise( of Caesar and
+leopatra may be understood as 'ellD 'hen in 4A the t'o of them sailed up the ri#er %ile, 1uetonius
comments that .they 'ould ha#e sailed G as far as Ethiopia had not his soldiers refused to !o on0 41uet&,
Iul& ?;&)8 cf& App&, (+iv& ;&=>6 T an allusion to Alexander(s retreat from -ndia before ha#in! reached the
<cean&
33
Another interestin! testimony concernin! +leopatra ,-- in this respect is Plutarch(s report on
her lin!uistic talentD

1he also had a #ery pleasant #oice8 and her ton!ue 'as li"e a many-strin!ed instrument, for she could
readily spea" in 'hate#er lan!ua!e she 'ished, so that in her dealin!s 'ith barbarians she seldom had

3;
Cf& "udith ;&4-A, reflectin! Antiochos ---(s propa!anda&
33
1ailin! up and do'n the %ile, ma"in! offerin!s in ri#erside temples alon! the 'ay, 'as a Ptolemaic practice
adapted from pharaonic tradition8 it 'as meant to appease the E!yptians population and at the same time ritually
ma"e territorial claims& Perhaps the real final destination of +leopatra and Caesar 'ere the temples of /athor and
-sis at Dendera 4Tentyris6& <n Ptolemaic #isits to E!ypt in !eneral see Clarysse 4;>>>6&
18
need of an interpreter& 1he replied to most of them herself and unassisted, for instance in inter#ie's 'ith
Ethiopians, Tro!lodytes, /ebre's, Arabians, 1yrians, *edes and Parthians& They say that she "ne' the
lan!ua!es of many other peoples as 'ell, althou!h the "in!s before her had not e#en bothered to learn
E!yptian and some of them e#en had !i#en up their o'n *acedonian lan!ua!e& 4Plut&, Ant& ;A&3-46

+leopatra(s "no'led!e of E!yptian may be accepted as historical fact, but the other lan!ua!es are
pulin!& As :ueen of the Ptolemaic empire, +leopatra naturally had dealin!s 'ith Arabs, 1yrians and
5/ebre's(, but she did not rule o#er *edes and Parthians& -t also remar"able that the lan!ua!e of the
principal con#ersation partners in +leopatra(s diplomatic relations, the $omans, is absent& <f course,
+leopatra needed not spea" 2atin because the $omans she met spo"e Cree"& But 'hy then are the
other lan!ua!es includedY Parthian en#oys at the Ptolemaic court 'ould ha#e spo"en Cree", too& -n
Palestine and 1yria Cree" 'as still the lingua franca of the upper classes as 'ell as the lan!ua!e of
diplomacy& And 'hy 'ould she bother to learn the lan!ua!e of the Ethiopians, let alone 5Tro!lodytes(Y
As Plutarch ma"es clear that +leopatra utilised her 5forei!n( lan!ua!es in official situations, it is
possible that the ima!e of +leopatra as a lin!uistic !enius 'as ultimately deri#ed from the context of a
court ceremonial in 'hich the :ueen ritually 'elcomed ambassadors in their respecti#e nati#e
ton!ues&
34
Plutarch(s brief catalo!ue of lan!ua!es is #ery similar to the land catalo!ues in /ellenistic
propa!anda 'e sa' abo#e& Ci#en Plutarch(s statement that his listin! of lan!ua!es is all but complete, it
is possible to descry the outlines of the *editerranean dominion !enuinely claimed by the Ptolemaic
dynasty 41yria, Palestine, E!ypt, %abatea6, 'ith references to the Spper 1atrapies of the former 1eleu"id
"in!dom& Ethiopia and the land of the 5Tro!lodytes(ultra-barbaric 5others( 'ho d'elled beside the $ed
1ea in the southernmost part of Arabiaser#e as symbolic 'orld border& -f this explanation is correct, it
is also ob#ious 'hy 2atin is so conspicuously absent from the list&

34
<ne may consider the possibility of a sin!le 4repetiti#e6 ritual in 'hich the :ueen addressed her audience in
#arious lan!ua!es, not unli"e pope Mohn Paul -- pronouncin! his Christmas blessin! in #irtually all national
lan!ua!es of the 'orld as a ritualised act amountin! to the uni#ersality of the $oman Catholic church&
19
+leopatra(s status as .Empress of the Horld0
3?
'as also inherent in her self-presentation as the
ne' -sis& The Ptolemaic dynasty had more often inte!rated nati#e E!yptian reli!ious idiom in their
imperial ideolo!y by translatin! it into Cree" forms 4and vice versa6& -dentification 'ith -sis had been
crucial for +leopatra(s rule in E!ypt& %o' she ele#ated this po'erful ima!e to a 'ider *editerranean
context by lin"in! up 'ith the popular cult of the /ellenistic -sis, the supreme hea#enly :ueen, .the ruler
of all countries G E'hoF sho'ed the stars their path EandF ordered the course of the sun and the
moon&0
3@


Kleopatra and Asia
The sin!le most important aspect of the Donations of Alexandria 'as the assumption of the titles 7ueen
of +in!s and +in! of +in!s by the royal couple +leopatra and Caesarion& Belo' - 'ill ar!ue that the use of
these epithets 'as intended to capitalise upon the presti!e of the 1eleu"ids&
Creat +in! and +in! of +in!s once formed the core of the Achaimenid complex of royal titles&
There seems not to ha#e been any formal difference bet'een the t'o titles, both ha#in! the same
connotation of unlimited po'er and o#erlordship&
3A
The e#idence for 1eleu"id usa!e is #ery une#en, at
least until the rei!n of Antiochos ---& The 1eleu"ids sporadically employed Creat +in! 4basileus megas6 in
their Cree" propa!anda& Particularly in the third century 'e see the title in the 1eleu"ids(
correspondence 'ith Babylonian cities& -n cuneiform royal texts, #arious A""adian titles pertainin! to the
same could be added, in accordance 'ith Babylonian practice, for instance in the openin! lines of an
inscription of Antiochos - 1oter from the temple Eida in Borsippa, near Babylon 4;@N BCE6D


3?
Be#an 4)=;A6, p& 3AA&
3@
9rom the +yme Aretolo!y 4)st Century CE6, Burstein 4)=N?6, no& ));8 for the rele#ance of the /ellenistic -sis for
/ellenistic "in!ship see ,ersnel 4)==>6&
20
Antiochos the Creat +in!, the *i!hty +in!, +in! of the Horld, +in! of Babylon, +in! of Countries,
careta"er of Esa!ila and Eida, first son of +in! 1eleu"os, the *acedonian, +in! of Babylon, am -&
4A%ET 3)A8 Austin )N=6
3N


Besides Creat +in!, 1eleu"id "in!s presented themsel#es as +in!s of Asia& This epithet of Cree" ori!in
had been introduced by Alexander to mar" the be!innin! of a ne' imperial era 4Arr&, Anab& ;&)4&N-=8
Curt& 4&)-)48 Plut&, Alex& 34&)6&
3=
The Ptolemies, on the other hand, rarely used Creat +in! as a title,
presumably because it belon!ed to the Asian cultural sphere& Ptolemaios --- called himself Creat +in! in
relation to his #ictories in *esopotamia durin! the Third 1yrian Har, as an outri!ht challen!e to the

3A
Both titles 'ere *esopotamian in ori!inD va,-a .ah, Creat +in!, 'as the *iddle Persian e:ui#alent of the
common A""adian title lugal gal/0 'hereas the *iddle Persian .1h1n .ah, +in! of +in!s, 'as ta"en o#er from
Srartu& 9or the Persian titles see HiesehBfer 4)==36, cf& Criffiths 4)=?36&
3N
9or a full discussion of this text see +uhrt Z 1her'in-Hhite 4)==)68 cf& +uhrt Z 1her'in-Hhite 4)==36&
9urthermore, Antiochos - 1oter and Antiochos -- Theos are both called 5Creat +in!( in the Babylonian "in! list B*
3?@>3, published by 1achs and Hiseman in Iraq 4)=?46& The use of the epithet Creat +in! 4lugal gal/6 for 1eleu"id
"in!s in Babylonian sources appears not to ha#e been structural, and the title is not used for later 1eleu"id "in!s& -t
is remar"able that there seems to be no record of Antiochos --- the Creat as lugal gal/ in the cuneiform
documents, since notably he appears as such in the Cree" e#idence&
3=
1ee 9redric"smeyer 4;>>>6, p& )3@-@& Besides establishin! the Cree" ori!in of this title, 9redric"smeyer ar!ues
that it 'as meant to replace the Achaimenid title +in! of +in!s O Creat +in! in order to !i#e the impression that
Alexander 'as not the successor of Darius ---& That Alexander 'ould present his con:uests as the be!innin! of a
ne' era of imperial rule is e#ident from e&!& the introduction of the diadem to express the ne' rule, but since 5+in!
of Asia( 'as a Cree" title, he probably only used it vis232vis his *acedonian and Cree" follo'in!& Hhether or not
Alexander at the same time presented himself as +in! of +in!s O Creat +in! vis232vis the -ranian elite is impossible
to establish for lac" of contemporary Persian sources, pace Brosius 4;>>36, p& )A3-@& The use of indi!enous royal
titles and ceremonial in specific cultural contexts 'as common practice in the /ellenistic monarchies, and it is #ery
li"ely that Alexander did so too, since he appears as 5+in! of the Horld( in the Babylonian astronomical diary B*
3@3=>O3@A)@ 4X 1/ -, no& 33>6 and as 5+in! of Countries( in the astronomical diary 1/ -, no& 3;=& Anti!onos
*onophthalmos 'as a'arded royal honours by the Persian aristocracy 'hen he entered the Persis in 3)@ BCE
4Diod& )=&4N&)68 althou!h Diodoros says that the nati#e Persians accepted him as 5+in! of Asia(, this probably meant
that he 'as proclaimed +in! of +in!s O Creat +in!8 cf& Bos'orth 4;>>;6, p& )@; 'ith n& ;;)& 1ee Brosius 4;>>36, p&
)A4 n& =, for a summary of rele#ant literature&
21
1eleu"ids( reputation as the rulers of Asia8 Ptolemaios -, used the title in +oile 1yria&
4>
+leopatra li"e'ise
used the title 7ueen O +in! of +in!s to challen!e the Parthians and to present herself as successor to the
"in!ship of Asia&
A mere ten years before +leopatra(s accession to the throne the last 1eleu"id "in!s had
disappeared from the political scene&
4)
-n the #ie' of the $omans, the 1eleu"id "in!dom had ceased to
exist 'ith the creation of the provincia 1yria& But from an eastern perspecti#e, the le!itimacy of $oman
rule in the east 'as :uestionable, and indeed may ha#e been unpopular 'ith eastern elites& -n the
course of half a millennium of continuous Persian and *acedonian imperialism, citiens and country-
fol" ali"e had become accustomed to the reassurin! certainty of the constant presence of a 'orld "in!&
The eastern idea of the 'orld as empire did not simply disappear 'ith the comin! of the $ome& $ather,
the ne' po'er 'ill ha#e sou!ht after means to inte!rate its presence in the pre-existin! political and
ideolo!ical order&
-ndeed, $oman policy in the east initially 'as a continuation of a!e-old political practices rather
than an attempt to transform the /ellenistic 'orld into a $oman east& $ome(s so-called client states
'ere mostly pre-existin! "in!doms, former #assals of the 1eleu"ids& 1ince 1eleu"id po'er had rapidly
declined after the death of Antiochos 1idetes in );= BCE, the number of #assal "in!doms had multiplied

4>
An E!yptian e:ui#alent of +in! of +in!s 4ns4t ns4546 existed mainly as a title for <siris8 the title has been
attested for Ptolemaios 3-- in Philai, cf& /Blbl 4;>>>6, p& ;=)-;, 'ith further literature&
4)
A precise date for the end of the 1eleu"ids cannot be established& -n @4 BCE Pompeius deposed Antiochos 3---
Philadelphos 5Asiati"os( and annexed 1yria 4App&, Syr& 4= and A>68 Asiati"os 'as soon after murdered, but he 'as
sur#i#ed by Philippos -- Philorhomaios, a "in! from a ri#al branch of the 1eleu"id family 'ho claimed the diadem as
late as ?@ BCE, cf& Be#an 4)=>;6 --, p& ;@N and Bellin!er 4)=4=6& 9urthermore, the 1eleu"id claimant 1eleu"os
4+ybiosa"tes6, perhaps a youn!er brother of Asiati"os, sur#i#ed until ?N BCE 4see belo'6& <ther descendants of
1eleu"os %i"ator capitalised upon their status as heirs as 'ell& thus, 'hen *ithradates - +allini"os of +omma!ene
married 2aodi"e Thea Philadelphos, dau!hter of the 1eleu"id "in! Antiochos ,--- +allini"os 45Crypos(6, this marria!e
'as .endlessly celebrated in the dynasty(s inscriptions0D her epithet Philadelphos .reminded contemporaries EthatF
the marria!e also Loined to this dynastic house her fi#e brothers, all of 'hom rei!ned in the final years of 1eleucid
po'er0D 1ulli#an 4)==>6, p& @>-)& 1e#eral "in!s of +omma!ene thereafter styled themsel#es basileus megas on their
coins&
22
and their relati#e autonomy increased, ma"in! the 1eleu"ids imperial o#erlords in name only& But these
independent states remained, at least ideolo!ically, part of the same imperial fabric nonetheless&
%either Pompeius nor Caesar nor Antonius, nor indeed <cta#ianus, endea#oured to fundamentally
chan!e this system8 instead they sou!ht after acceptance of $ome(s position as the ne' he!emonic
po'er by ta"in! o#er the role of the 1eleu"ids as suerains !uaranteein! peace and order, protectin!
local dynasts and "in!s, and championin! ci#ic autonomy& But ho' can a republic be a "in!Y
E#en before the extinction of the 1eleu"id line, the Armenian Ti!ranes the Creat and #arious
Parthian "in!s had claimed the title of Creat +in! attemptin! to ta"e o#er the role of the 1eleu"ids as
imperial o#erlords and to rally support amon! ci#ic elites and local aristocracies&
4;
The Parthian empire-
builder *ithradates -- 4);3-NA6 'as portrayed 'earin! a diadem on coins, 'ith Cree" le!ends callin!
him alternately Creat +in! and +in! of +in!s, to!ether 'ith a #ariety of other /ellenistic epithets&
Apparently, 1eleu"id royal idiom inspired confidence e#en after the dynasty had disappeared from the
scene in most parts of the %ear East&
Hhen the 1eleu"id line became extinct, the ri!ht to the 1eleu"id diadem passed to the nearest
"in, and that 'as the Ptolemaic family&
43
+leopatra ,-- and her children 'ere the direct descendants of
Antiochos the Creat, 'hose dau!hter +leopatra 4-6 had married Ptolemaios , Epiphanes in )=3&
Con#ersely, of the last t'el#e 1eleu"id "in!s, ten had Ptolemaic mothers&
44
These mothers 'ere
+leopatra Thea 4dau!hter of Ptolemaios ,-6, +leopatra Tryphaina and +leopatra 1elene 4dau!hters of

4;
/uss 4)=AA68 Bi#ar 4)=N36, p& 4;8 1ulli#an 4)==>6, p& 44 and @)& Cf& HiesehBfer 4)==@6&
43
Central to 1eleu"id and Ptolemaic succession practice 'as the *acedonian custom to accept all male a!nates in
the patriline as e:ually le!itimate claimants to the inheritance, thou!h only one 'ould become the ne' yrios of
the oios and recei#e the title of basileus& The inheritance could also be transmitted #ia female a!natesboth
mothers, sisters and dau!htersand could conse:uently end up in another family& <n succession in the /ellenistic
"in!doms see 1trootman 4;>>A6, p& )>N-)))& The lac" of uni#ocal rules for the succession 'as a constant source of
dynastic instability and conflict, 'hich in turn 'as a maLor cause for the demise of the 1eleu"id "in!dom, cf& <!den
4)===6&
44
The only exception is Antiochos 3 Eusebes, son of an un"no'n 'ife of Antiochos -3, 'ho himself 'as the son of
the +leopatra Thea&
23
Ptolemaios ,--- and +leopatra --- 5+o""e(6& T&,& Buttrey ar!ued that the 5elder( !oddess implicitly referred
to by +leopatra ,--(s epithet 6hea Ne'tera, The [oun!er Coddess, on coins minted in 1yria, Phoenicia
and +yrene 'as +leopatra Thea, 'ho had been the only other :ueen to use that title&
4?
-t seems
probable that the name +leopatra 1elene for the dau!hter of Antonius and +leopatra li"e'ise referred
to the 1eleu"id-Ptolemaic :ueen of that name8 as re!ent for her sons 1eleu"os ,-- and Antiochos 3---,
+leopatra 1elene struc" coins in +ili"ia as the le!itimate 1eleu"id ruler durin! the period of usurpation by
Ti!ranes the Creat 4N3-@=6&
4@
Thus, +leopatra seems to ha#e propa!ated her "inship 'ith the 1eleu"id
family&
An attempt to fuse the Ptolemaic and 1eleu"id royal houses had already been made shortly
before the rei!n of +leopatra, 'hen her elder sister, Bereni"e 4-,6, 'ho ruled in Alexandria durin! the
exile of Ptolemaios Auletes bet'een ?N and ??,
4A
married a 1eleu"id called 1eleu"os, 'hom the
Alexandrians nic"named +ybiosa"tes, 59ish Peddler(8 he may ha#e been the same person as the 1eleu"id
"in! 1eleu"os ,-- Philometor, son of +leopatra 1elene&
4N
,ia his mother, this 1eleu"os presumably 'as a
!randson of Ptolemaios ,---& 1i!nificantly, Cicero 47err. ;&4&;A&6 reports on t'o 1eleu"id princes, 1eleu"os
4,--Y6 and Antiochos 43---6, 'ho appealed to the 1enate in A?-A3 BCE to be reco!nised as heirs of both

4?
Buttrey 4)=?36, p& ?4-N@8 cf& Crant 4)=A;6, p& )@N-=& The le!end 8leopatra 6hea Ne'tera could also be read as
5The %e' +leopatra Thea(& +leopatra Thea 'as the most imposin! female fi!ure in 1eleu"id history, 'ho struc" her
o'n coins and ruled the "in!dom for many years as re!ent8 on her rule see *acurdy 4)=3;6, p&=3-)>>8 Bellin!er
4)=4=6, Hhitehorne 4)==46, p& )4=-@3& The epithet 6hea is also attested for her dau!hter, 2aodi"e Thea, 'ho 'as
married to the 1eleu"id #assal *ithradates - of +omma!ene& A sli!htly earlier date for these coins, vi,& the
celebration of the 5Donations of Antioch( in 3AO@ BCE, is also possible, and perhaps more probable& %oc" 4)=?36
reacted to Buttrey by su!!estin! that 6hea Ne'tera can also be read as a separate cult name, and supposed that
this referred to a 1yrian or Phoenician 5[oun!er Coddess(, for 'hose cult *oretti 4)=?36 then pro#ided e#idence8
cf& 1chrapel 4)==@6, p& ;;?-34& /o'e#er, %oc"(s interpretation does not exclude Buttrey(s, as it 'as in essence
similar to 'hat Buttrey had su!!ested, namely that the epithet lin"ed +leopatra to Asia& Cf& Bin!en 4)===6, 'ho
also ar!ued that +leopatra presented herself as a 1eleu"id&
4@
Bur!ess 4;>>468 cf& +ritt 4;>>;6&
4A
After the death of her sister +leopatra ,- Tryphaina in ?A, Bereni"e became sole ruler 'ith the throne name
+leopatra Bereni"e8 on her short rei!n see Bloedo' 4)=@36, p& @N-A)8 /Blbl 4;>>)6, p& ;;A-=&
24
the 1eleu"id and Ptolemaic thrones 4the latter re:uest 'as turned do'n6& Bereni"e(s husband fell ill,
ho'e#er, and died soon after the marria!e had been arran!ed, as Porphyry informs us, or 'as
murdered by Bereni"e because of his bad manners, as 1trabo and Cassius Dio prefer&
4=
-n c& ?@ Bereni"e
in#ited yet another 1eleu"id successor to become her consort, this time Philippos -- Philorhomaios, 'ho
had more Ptolemaic than 1eleu"id blood in his #eins& But the $oman proconsul of 1yria, Aulus Cabinius,
pre#ented the marria!e&
?>

+leopatra ,-- became sole ruler in 44 BCE, a mere ten years after the fall of her elder sister
Bereni"e& As durin! her rei!n no direct descendants of the 1eleu"id genos in the patriline 'ere ali#e
anymore, +leopatra could maintain that no' she, or at least her male offsprin!, 'as entitled to the
1eleu"id inheritance T a herita!e includin! #arious royal titles as 'ell as hereditary claims to all the lands
that had once belon!ed to 1eleu"os %i"ator, or had been claimed by him as his dorit#tos ch'ra& -t 'as
exactly this 'hich 'as proclaimed at the Donations of Alexandria 'hen mention 'as made of .all the
countries east of the Euphrates as far as -ndia0, and by the use of the Asian title +in! of +in!s 4Dio Cass&

4N
+ritt 4;>>;6&
4=
Bereni"e(s first husband turns up as a nameless 1eleu"id in Porphyry 9Cr/ ;@> f ;&)4 ap& Euseb&, +hron. )&)@A-N,
as 51eleu"os( in Dio Cass& 3=&?A, and as 5+ybiosa"tes( in 1trabo )A&)&))& -n the past it has sometimes been
heldnotably by *acurdy 4)=3?6, p& )N;, and Bellin!er 4)=4=6, p& N@, and accepted by /Blbl 4;>>)6, p& ;;Athat
Porphyry(s anonymous 1eleu"id is a different person than 1trabo(s +ybiosa"tes and Dio(s 1eleu"os, 'hich 'ould
brin! Bereni"e(s attempts to marry a 1eleu"id to a total number of three& -t is more li"ely, ho'e#er, that Porphyry,
1trabo and Cassius Dio spea" about one and the same person& The identification of +ybiosa"tes as a son of
Antiochos Eusebes and +leopatra 1elene !oes bac" to Babelon 4)N=>6, p& ccxxii, and has been defended by /einen
4)=@N6, but is not 'ithout problems&
?>
Porphyry 9/C --- A)@8 cf& Be#an 4)=>;6 --, p& ;@N8 Bellin!er, p& N?8 +ritt 4;>>;6, p& ;@& Bereni"e thereafter married
a certain Archelaos, a !uest-friend of *arcus Antonius 'ho claimed to be a son of *ithradates the Creat, 4Plut&,
Ant& 3&?-@6, and thus a descendant of 1eleu"os %i"ator in the matriline& Hhen Aulus Cabinius #iolently restored
Ptolemaios Auletes to the throne in ??, Bereni"e and Archelaos 'ere "illed8 Antonius, 'ho commanded Cabinius(
ca#alry, sa' to it that Archelaos 'as buried in royal style, so that he .left a !reat name amon! the people of
Alexandria0 4Plut&, Ant& 3&@6&
25
4=&4)&) and 36& Snli"e Bereni"e, +leopatra needed not marry an heir to the 1eleu"id throne to ma"e
such claims, as no such heir sur#i#ed beyond herself and her offsprin!&
?)


Kleopatra and "ome
As 'e ha#e seen, the empire en#isa!ed at the Donations of Alexandria 'as not an ephemeral dream of
'orld con:uest& %either 'as it an unhistorical topos de#ised by au!ustean propa!anda-ma"ers or
'riters from the imperial period& -nstead, +leopatra(s mythical empire 'as firmly rooted in /ellenistic
royal ideolo!y& The pomp and circumstance of this ritual of inau!uration, and the claims to territory that
'ere made, 'ere typical of /ellenistic "in!ship&
2i"e Pompeius and Caesar before him, Antonius had appointed minor rulers throu!hout the
east& But his rearran!ements lac"ed a unifyin! ideolo!y& The $oman patron-client system 'ould not do&
$oman senators could use the patron-client metaphor to ma"e sense of $ome(s role in the east only for
the sa"e of domestic ideolo!y8 in the east, it could ne#er replace the a!e-old faith in uni#ersal "in!ship
as the 'orld(s sin!le most important principle of order& Thus, the most formidable tas" faced by
Antonius 'as not the incorporation of the east in the $oman Empire, but the incorporation of
republican $ome in the east, permeated as it 'as by monarchical beliefs& Hhat +leopatra had to offer
$ome in return for a re#i#ed *acedonian empire 4under $oman protection6, 'as exactly 'hat $ome
needed most to become the ne' master in the eastD royalty&
The ne' imperial order 'as not created by the introduction of a $oman system of patrona!e& -t
'as essentially a re#i#al of /ellenistic practice& -n part it 'as also inno#ati#e& The inno#ation 'as the
amal!amation of the Ptolemaic and 1eleu"id empires, 'hich in turn 'ere amal!amated 'ith $oman rule
by means of Caesar(s paternity of Caesarion and Antonius( paternity of +leopatra(s other children, as
'as emphasised at both Antioch in 3AO@ and Alexandria in 34& There could be no doubt 'ho really 'as

?)
The only le!itimate ri#al claim came from the small "in!dom of +omma!ene, 'here Antiochos - Epiphanes 4c& @=-
3@6 emphasied his direct descent from the 1eleu"ids on %emrut Da\ and carried the title of Creat +in!8

26
in char!e& Antonius 'as not himself a "in! but he 'as the father of no less than three eastern monarchs,
as 'ell as stepfather and re!ent of the minor +in! of +in!s, Ptolemaios 3,, Caesar(s son& The fact that
Antonius donated land to the Ptolemaic "in!dom in the name of $ome also made this clear&
Antonius acted in the interest of $ome& /e did not foolishly !i#e a'ay $oman possessions to
5E!ypt(& <n the contrary, he aimed at brin!in! eastern royalty into the $oman sphere of influence& The
status of +leopatra as 7ueen of +in!s 'as meant to !i#e coherence to the complex of #assal states&
Thus, Antonius aimed at unitin! the east to secure $oman he!emony and ri#al Parthian claims to
imperial o#erlordship in the same area& By re#i#in! Ptolemaic and notably 1eleu"id presti!ealso
implicit in his o'n cult name Neos DionysosAntonius presented the Parthian "in! as an ille!itimate
usurper and hoped to mobilise support for his campai!n a!ainst him&
Despite Antonius( defeat by <cta#ianus his reor!anisation of the east pro#ed to be successful&
After Actium, <cta#ianus did not replace the #assal "in!s installed by Antonius, nor support ne' ci#ic
oli!archies& Hith the Ptolemaic "in!dom abolished, and Ptolemaios 3, murdered, the problem of
republican rule o#er a monarchical 'orld 'as no' sol#ed by the !radual monarchisation of <cta#ianus(
o'n person, ta"in! place more rapidly and explicitly in E!ypt and the east than in the 'est, a process for
'hich the ideolo!ical foundations had been laid by Antonius, 'ho had been "in! in all but title& Hith all
ri#als out of the 'ay, <cta#ianus 'as able to ta"e the last step, replacin! +leopatra and Caesarion as the
formal o#erlord of the #assal state system that 'ould later become the $oman %ear East&

Strecht ;>>>?




+omma!enian "in!s, notably Antiochos -,, styled themsel#es Creat +in!&
27
A##re$iations

ABC A&+& Crayson, Assyrian and (abylonian +hronicles 42ocust ,alley, )=A?6&
A%ET M&B& Pritchard 4ed&6, Ancient Near *astern 6exts Relating to the $ld 6estament 43rd edn8
Princeton )=@=6&
Austin *&*& Austin 4ed&6, 6he Hellenistic 9orld %rom Alexander to the Roman +onquest.
A Selection ofAncient Sources in 6ranslation 4Cambrid!e, )=N)6&
BC/P $&M& #an der 1pe" and -&2& 9in"el, (abylonian +hronicles of the Hellenistic :eriod 4forthcomin!8
preliminary online at '''&li#ius&or!&
C/- +ambridge History of Iran
M/1 "ournal of Hellenic Studies
1/ A&M& 1achs and /& /un!er, Astronomical Diaries and Related 6exts from (abylonia. 43
#ols8 ,ienna, )=NN, )=N=, )==@6&

i#liograph%

Aymard, 52e protocole royal Crec(, in idem, *tudes d;histoire anciennes 4Paris, )=@A6, p& A3-==&
E& Babelon, +atalogue des <onnaies !recques de la (ibliotheque Nationale. =es Rois de Syrie0 d&Armenia et
de +ommagene 4Paris, )N=>6&
A&$& Bellin!er, 5The End of the 1eleucids(, 6ransactions of the +onnecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences 3N
4)=4=6, p& ?)-)>;&
E&$& Be#an, 6he House of Seleucus 4; #olumes8 2ondon, )=>;6&
E&$& Be#an, A History of *gypt under the :tolemaic Dynasty 42ondon, )=;A6&
M& Bin!en, 52a politi:ue dynasti:ue de Cl]op^tre ,--(, +omptes Rendues de l&Acad>mie des Inscription et
(elles2=ettres 4)===6 4=-@@&
A&D&/& Bi#ar, 5The political /istory of -ran under the Arsacids(, in C/- 3&) 4)=N36, p& ;)-==&
E& Bloedo', (eitr?ge ,ur !eschichte des :tolemaios& @II 4HIrbur!, )=@36&
A&B& Bos'orth, 6he =egacy of Alexander. :olitics0 9arfare0 and :ropaganda Ander the Successors 4<xford
;>>;6&
E& Bradford, +leopatra 4)=A)8 ;nd ed&, 2ondon, ;>>>6&
*& Brosius, 5Alexander and the Persians(, in M& $oisman 4ed&6, (rills& +ompanion to Alexander the !reat
42eiden, ;>>36, p& )@=-=3&
/& Buchheim, Die $rientpoliti des 6riumvirn <. Antonius. Ihre 7orausset,ungen0 *nt4iclung und
Busammenhang mit den politischen *reignissen in Italien 4/eidelber!, )=@>6&
*& Bur!ess, 5The *oon -s A /arsh *istressD The $ise and 9all of Cleopatra -- 1elene(, in 6he +elator )N&3
4;>>46, p& )N-;?&
28
1&*& Burstein, 6he Hellenistic Age. %rom the (attle of Ipsus to the Death of 8leopatra 7II. 6ranslated
Documents of !reece and Rome 3 4Cambrid!e, )=N?6&
T&,& Buttrey, Studies in the +oinage of <arc Antony 4Princeton, )=?36&
Chaniotis, 9ar in the Hellenistic 9orld. A Social and +ultural History 4<xford, ;>>46&
H& Clarysse, 5The Ptolemies #isitin! the E!yptian Chora(, in 2& *ooren 4ed&6, :olitics0 Administration and
Society in the Hellenistic and Roman 9orld 42ou#ain, ;>>>6, p& ;=-?3&
Eilers, 5A $oman eastD Pompey_s settlement tot the death of Au!ustus(, in A& Ers"ine 4ed&6, A +ompanion to
the Hellenistic 9orld 4*alden, <xford, Carlton, ;>>36, p& =>-)>;&
E&A& 9redric"smeyer, 5Alexander the Creat and the +in!dom of Asia(, in A&B& Bos'orth and E&M& Baynham
4eds&6, Alexander the !reat in %act and %iction 4<xford, ;>>>6, p& =@-)3?&
/&-M& Cehr"e, 5Der sie!reiche +Bni!& Jberle!un!en ur hellenistischen *onarchie(, A8! @4&; 4)=N;6, p& ;4A-
AA&
*& Crant, +leopatra 42ondon, )=A;6&
M&C& Criffiths, 5basileu#U basile'#nD $emar"s on the history of a title(, +l:hil 4N 4)=?36 )4?-?4&
$& Cundlach, 5Heltherrscher und Heltordnun!& 2e!itimation und 9un"tion des K!yptischen +Bni!s am
Beispiel Thutmosis ---& und Amenophis ---&(, in $& Cundlach and /& Heber 4eds&6, =egitimation und %untion
des Herrschers 41tutt!art, )==;6, p& ;3-?>&
P&$& /ardie, 7irgil&s AeneidC +osmos and Imperium 4<xford, )=N@6&
$&A& /aard, Imagination of a <onarchy. Studies in :tolemaic :ropaganda 4Toronto, Buffalo, 2ondon,
;>>>6&
/& /einen, 51]leucus Cybiosact`s et le probl`me de son identit](, inD 2& Cerfaux et al& 4eds&6, Antidorum 9.
:eremans sexagenario ab alumnis oblatum& 1tudia /ellenistica )@ 42ou#ain, )=@N6, p& )>?-))4&
P& /i!!s and 1& Hal"er 4eds&6, +leopatra of *gypt. %rom History to <yth 4Princeton, ;>>)6&
T&H& /illard, 5The %ile cruise of Cleopatra and Caesar(, in +D ?;&; 4;>>;6, p& ?4=-?4&
C& /Blbl, A History of the :tolemaic *mpire 42ondon and %e' [or", ;>>)6&
P&M& /oliday, 5$oman triumphal paintin!D its funtion, de#elopment, and reception(, 6he Art (ulletin 4*arch
)==A6&
H& /uss, 5Der .+Bni! der +Bni!e0 und der ./err der +Bni!e0(, BD:7 =3 4)=AA6, p& )3)-4>&
C&C& Mohnson, 5Ptolemy , and the $osetta DecreeD The E!yptianiation of the E!yptian +in!ship, Ancient
Society ;@ 4)==?6, p& )4?-??&
+ritt, 5%umismatic E#idence 9or A %e' 1eleucid +in!D 1eleucus 4,--6 Philometor(, 6he +elator )@&4 4;>>;6,
p& ;?-N and 3@&
+uhrt and 1& 1her'in-Hhite, 5Aspects of 1eleucid royal ideolo!y& The cylinder of of Antiochus - from
Borsippa(, "HS ))) 4)==)6, p& A)-N@&
+uhrt and 1& 1her'in-Hhite, %rom Samarhand to Sardis. A Ne4 Approach to the Seleucid *mpire 42ondon,
)==36&
29
*& 2i#erani, 5The -deolo!y of the Assyrian Empire(, in *&T& 2arsen 4ed&6, :o4er and :ropaganda. A
Symposium on Ancient *mpires 4Copenha!en, )=A=6, p& ;=A-3)A&
*& 2i#erani, :restige and Interest. International Relations in the Near *ast ca. EFGG2EEGG 4Padua, )==>6&
C&/& *acurdy, Hellenistic Dueens. A Study of 9oman2:o4er in <acedonia0 Seleucid Syria0 and :tolemaic
*gypt 4Baltimore, )=3;6&
*oretti, 2&, 5%ote e!ittolo!iche& A proposito di %eotera(, in Aegyptus 3N 4)=?N6, p& )==-;>=&
A&D& %oc", 5%eoteraD 7ueen or CoddessY(, in Aegyptus 33 4)=?36, p& ;N3-=@&
<!den, :olygamy0 :rostitutes and Death. 6he Hellenistic Dynasties 42ondon, )===6&
C&B&$& Pellin!, =ife of Antony 4Cambrid!e, )=NN6&
*& $einhold, %rom Republic to :rincipate. An Historical +ommentary on +assius Dio&s Roman History0
(oos HI2JK LMF2KI (+N 4Atlanta, )=NA6&
E&E& $ice, 6he !rand :rocession of :tolemy :hiladelphus 4<xford, )=N36&
A&M& 1achs and D&M& Hiseman, 5A Babylonian +in! 2ist of the /ellenistic Period(, Iraq )@ 4)=?46, p& ;>;-);&
T& 1chrapel, Das Reich der 8leopatra. Duellenritische Antersuchungen ,u den O=andschenungen& <ar
Antons 4Trier, )==@6&
$&$&$& 1mith, Hellenistic Royal :ortraits 4<xford )=NN6&
1& PnieQe's"i, 5Di#ine connections of *arcus Antonius in the years 43-3> BC(, in !ra,er (eitr?ge ;; 4)==N6,
p& );=-44&
P& 1outhern, +leopatra 42ondon, ;>>>6&
1te'art, %aces of :o4erC Alexander;s Image and Hellenistic :olitics 4Ber"eley, )==36&
$& 1trootman, 6he Hellenistic Royal +ourt. +ourt +ulture0 +eremonial and Ideology in !reece0 *gypt and the
Near *ast0 MMF2MG (+* 4diss& Strecht, ;>>A6&
$&D& 1ulli#an, Near *astern Royalty and Rome EGG2MG (.+& 4Toronto and Buffalo, )==>6&
D&M& Thompson, 5Philadelphus( Procession& Dynastic Po'er in a *editerranean Context(, in 2& *ooren 4ed&6,
:olitics0 Administration and Society in the Hellenistic and Roman 9orld& 1tudia /ellenistica 3@ 42ou#ain,
;>>>6, p& 3@?-NN&
M& Tondriau, 5Dionysos, dieu royale& Du Bacchos tauromorphe primitif aux sou#erains hell]nisti:ues %eoi
Dionysoi(, in <>langes H. !r>goire 4 4Brussels, )=?36, p& 44)-@@&
/&1& ,ersnel, 6riumphus. An Inquiry into the $rigin0 Development and <eaning of the Roman 6riumph
42eiden )=A>6&
/&1& ,ersnel, 5-sis, una :uae es omnia& Tyrants a!ainst tyrannyD -sis as a paradi!m of /ellenistic rulership(,
in id&, 6er Anus. Isis0 Dionysos0 Hermes. 6hree Studies in Henotheism& 1tudies in Cree" and $oman $eli!ion
) 42eiden, )==>6, p& 3=-=?&
/& ,ol"mann, 8leopatra. :oliti und :ropaganda 4*unich, )=?36&
C& Heill Coudchaux, 5Cleopatra(s subtle reli!ious strate!y(, inD 1& Hal"er and P& /i!!s 4eds&6, +leopatra of
*gyptC %rom History to <yth 4Princeton ;>>)6, p& );N-4)&
M& Hhitehorne, +leopatras 42ondon and %e' [or", )==46&
30
M& HiesehBfer, Das antie :ersien 4)==38 ;nd edn DIsseldorf and WIrich, )==N6&
M& HiesehBfer, 5.+in! of +in!s0 and .Philhellan0D +in!ship in Arsacid -ran(, in P& Bilde et al& 4eds&6, Aspects of
Hellenistic 8ingship 4Aarhus, )==@6, p& ??-@@&
M& Hinnic"i, 5Carryin! off and brin!in! home the statues of the !odsD <n an aspect of reli!ious policy of the
Ptolemies to'ards the E!yptians(, "": ;4 4)==46, p& )4=-=>&