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Case file s600 · Egypt and Africa · 51 BCE
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51 BCE
Ptolemy XII Auletes: Ptolemy XII Auletes Louvre Ma3449
Ptolemy XII Auletes. Marie-Lan Nguyen. Public domain, Wikimedia Commons.
Died
before 22 March 51 BC
Place
Alexandria, Egypt
Field
Monarchy · Royalty and nobility on the timeline
Legal tradition
Ptolemaic royal testament with the Roman people as executor · Roman law · Royal and church law
Historical event
Roman Civil War between Caesar and Pompey; Alexandrian War
Egypt and AfricaCrowns and successionAncient worldMiddle EastEgyptPtolemaic dynasty

Ptolemy XII's will named Cleopatra VII and Ptolemy XIII joint heirs under Roman protection, and the heirs went to war

Ptolemy XII Auletes held Egypt with Roman backing. His will named two heirs to rule together: the elder of his two sons, Ptolemy XIII, and the elder of his two daughters, Cleopatra VII. Caesar records that the king called on the Roman people, by all the gods and by his treaty with Rome, to see the will carried out. Two copies were made. His envoys took one to Rome for the state treasury; because of unrest in Rome it was lodged with Pompey. The other was kept sealed in Alexandria. The king died in early 51 BC. The Senate accepted the role of executor and named Pompey guardian of the boy king. Three years later the heirs were at war. Cleopatra was driven out in 48 BC, raised an army in Syria and faced her brother's forces at Pelusium. Pompey, defeated by Caesar, landed in Egypt and was killed on the orders of the king's ministers Pothinus and Achillas. Caesar came to Alexandria and was besieged there by the king's army. Ptolemy XIII drowned in the Nile while fleeing after his defeat. Cleopatra kept the throne. Neither copy of the will survives; the terms are known from Caesar's Civil War, Book 3, chapter 108.

What the law took from it

Naming co-heirs who must share control, and an outside guarantor to enforce it, gives the guarantor the deciding vote when the heirs fall out.

Record vs. record

Smith's Dictionary says the Senate accepted the will and made Pompey guardian ( Wikipedia says the Senate was occupied and Pompey alone approved it ( Smith dates Ptolemy XIII's drowning to late 48 BC or early 47 BC (same Smith URL).

cts.perseids.orgWikipedia (English)
Sources
  1. classics.mit.eduScholarship
  2. cts.perseids.orgPress
  3. Wikipedia (English)Encyclopedia
  4. Wikipedia (English)Encyclopedia

Cite as: celebrity.estate, “Ptolemy XII's will named Cleopatra VII and Ptolemy XIII joint heirs under Roman protection, and the heirs went to war,” story s600, https://www.celebrity.estate/ptolemy-xii-51-bc, updated 30 October 2026.

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Where this case sits

Egypt and AfricaCrowns and successionAncient worldMiddle EastRoman lawRoyal and church lawEgyptPtolemaic dynasty