Arsinoe III

Arsinoe III was a queen of the Ptolemaic Dynasty, ruling as co-regent with her brother-husband Ptolemy IV Philopator from 220 BC until 204 BC, with dates uncertain by about a year. The daughter of Ptolemy III Euergetes and Berenice II, she was the mother of the future king Ptolemy V Epiphanes. Arsinoe played an unusually prominent public role, most notably by accompanying the royal army to the Battle of Raphia in 217 BC to encourage the troops prior to their victory over Antiochus III.

Her co-regency is celebrated on the trilingual priestly decrees erected across Egypt following the battle. Following the death of Ptolemy IV in 204 BC, she was murdered during court intrigues before her young son was publicly proclaimed king. She was buried in the dynastic tombs at Alexandria, though no trace of her burial survives. Historians know her through the Raphia decree stelae, surviving papyri, and classical literary accounts.

Monuments

• Raphia decree stelae

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