Ptolemy VII Neos Philopator

Who was Ptolemy VII Neos Philopator?

Ptolemy VII Neos Philopator 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.

Even 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 unchanged, of course.