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The story of Cleopatra, the Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, and Marc Anthony, Roman general under Julius Caesar, was not the last tragedy of their family. The famous couple’s grandchild, who would later become the king of Mauretania, an ancient Roman client state comprising present-day Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, would face an even more tragic end.
When Cleopatra, the last pharaoh of Egypt, married Marc Anthony, they had three children together. One of them was Cleopatra Selene, who married King Juba II of Numidia, an ancient kingdom in northwest Africa, modern-day Algeria.
Coin of Juba II. / Ph. DR
In his mid-20s, Juba II was granted kingship of Numidia by the Romans. Then he became ruler of Mauretania, which also comprised northern Morocco. In Numidia, Juba II «settled in the capital lol (Cherchell in Algeria), which he renamed Caesarea», wrote Ethel Davies in North Africa: The Roman Coast. «He then built his dream city, Volubilis, in Morocco», the writer and photographer wrote. The city, now in ruins situated near the city of Meknes, «has been continuously inhabited since ancient days».
Juba II ruled Morocco and Algeria, Mauretania, with his wife Cleopatra for 20 years, until she died in 6 BC. He then continued alone for 30 years. By the end of his rule, Juba II ruled jointly with his son, Ptolemy.
A loyal ruler of North Africa
It wasn’t until AD 23 that Ptolemy became king of Mauretania. And as the ruler of a client Kingdom, Ptolemy was raised and educated in Rome. He was sent by his parents for schooling, a common practice for princes of client kingdoms annexed to Rome.
When he became king, Ptolemy stood the test of the Romans as a loyal ally. In AD 24, he suppressed a serious revolt in Mauretania, earning acclaim from the Roman Senate. The young ruler defeated rebellions led by a former Roman soldier called Tacfarinas the Berber.
«And now that this war had proved the zealous loyalty of Ptolemy, a custom of antiquity was revived, and one of the senators was sent to present him with an ivory scepter and an embroidered robe, gifts anciently bestowed by the Senate, and to confer on him the titles of king, ally, and friend», the Sotheby's catalog quotes the Roman orator Tacitus, writing in his Annals.
However, this amity did not last forever. Sixteen years later, Ptolemy returned to the Roman Empire following the invitation of its emperor Caligula. The latter is one of the most controversial and notorious figures of the Roman Empire: bloody, crazy, vindictive. He did it all.
Killed over a purple cloak
Suetonius, a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire, reported on Ptolemy’s visit to Rome. After he was received with great honors by Caligula, Ptolemy was suddenly executed, Suetonius said. And the reason? Jealousy.
The Roman historian reports that in AD 40, Caligula ordered the execution of the Mauretanian king for «no other reason than when giving a gladiatorial show, he noticed that Ptolemy, on entering the theater, attracted general attention by the splendor of his purple cloak».
Yes, purple—because it was a color worn by imperial rulers only, a sign of wealth and royalty. But ruling over the Atlantic coast of Morocco explains everything. The dye substance is a mucous secretion from sea snails found in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, namely off the Atlantic coast of Morocco.
Tyrian purple also known as royal purple. / Ph. DR
«Ptolemy, as a king in his own right, deigned to wear the purple produced from the murex shells from his own land, to which he felt entitled», justified Davies.
But the death of Ptolemy was more political than about a color or a piece of clothing. This is explained by the step taken by Caligula following Ptolemy’s death. With no heir left to ascend the throne in Mauretania, Caligula took the client state’s autonomous status.
Caligula absorbed the client kingdom into the Roman Empire, tightening control on the region in an attempt to curb local rebellion. This resulted in the creation of borders between Morocco and Algeria, with Mauretania split into two provinces: northern Morocco in what is known as Mauretania Tingitana and northern Algeria in Mauretania Caesariensis.
By killing Ptolemy, out of jealousy over his wealth or for political reasons in Mauretania, Caligula also ended the story of the last known living descendant of Cleopatra VII of Egypt and of the Ptolemaic royal family.
