PTOLEMAIC EGYPT. Cleopatra VII Philopater Thea Neotera (51-30 BC) with Ptolemy XV Caesarion. AE (28mm, 14.77 gm, 12h). NGC XF 5/5 - 2/5, light smoothing. Cyprus, ca. 47 BC. Diademed, draped bust of Cleopatra VII right, as Aphrodite, cradling winged infant Ptolemy XV Caesarion, as Eros; scepter to left / ΚΛΕΟΠΑΤΡΑΣ ΒΑΣΙΛΙΣΣΗΣ, two cornucopias bound with fillet; ΚΥΠΡ monogram in right field. RPC 3901. Svoronos 1874. From the Coenen Collection. The last Ptolemaic ruler of Egypt, Cleopatra VII was born in 69 BC and succeeded her father Ptolemy XII Auletes in 51 BC. She soon faced a succession crisis: Her weak-willed younger brother and co-ruler, Ptolemy XIII, was dominated by a circle of courtiers who feared Cleopatra's keen intellect and resolute will. Consequently, they ousted and exiled her in 48 BC, shortly before the Roman general Pompey the Great arrived in Alexandria fresh from his defeat by Julius Caesar at the battle of Pharsalus. Ptolemy ordered Pompey's murder, but this only outraged Caesar, who showed up days later and occupied the royal palace. Cleopatra had herself wrapped in a carpet and smuggled into Caesar's presence for a meeting. This display of spunk by the nubile 20-year-old enchanted the dictator. The two likely became lovers that night, and Caesar's bitter Alexandrine War, which ended in the defeat and death of Ptolemy XIII, was fought on her behalf. Caesar tarried a while longer in Egypt while Cleopatra conceived and bore him a son, Ptolemy XV also known as Caesarion ("Little Caesar"). From the Coenen Collection HID09801242017 © 2023 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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