Cleopatra I

Cleopatra I Syra was a queen of the Ptolemaic Dynasty who reigned from 180 BC to 176 BC, with dates uncertain by about a year. The daughter of the Seleucid ruler Antiochus III the Great and Laodice III, she came to Egypt to marry Ptolemy V Epiphanes as part of a formal peace treaty between the two empires. During her marriage she gave birth to three future monarchs: Ptolemy VI Philometor, Ptolemy VIII Physcon, and Cleopatra II.

Following the death of her husband in 180 BC, Cleopatra I assumed control of the government on behalf of her young son, Ptolemy VI. She ruled as senior monarch, a rare distinction highlighted by official documents and coins bearing her name ahead of her son's. Her brief tenure maintained peaceful relations with her Seleucid homeland. She died in 176 BC and was buried in Alexandria. Scholars know her reign primarily through administrative papyri, classical historians, and royal coinage struck in Alexandria.

Monuments

• Alexandria coinage series

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Try the name on the Cartouche Desk, or see where the reign falls on the timeline.