Ptolemy VIII, king of Egypt
Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II Tryphon (Greek: Πτολεμαῖος Εὐεργέτης Τρύφων, Ptolemaĩos Euergétēs Tryphon "Ptolemy the Benefactor, the luxurious"; c. 184 BC – 28 June 116 BC), nicknamed Physcon (Φύσκων "Fatty"), was a king of the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt. He was the younger son of Ptolemy V Epiphanes and Cleopatra I Syra. His reign was characterised by fierce political and military conflict with his older brother Ptolemy VI Philometor and his sister Cleopatra II.
Ptolemy VIII was originally made co-ruler with his older siblings in the run-up to the Sixth Syrian War. In the course of that war, Ptolemy VI was captured and Ptolemy VIII became sole king of Egypt. When the war ended and Ptolemy VI was restored to the throne in 168 BC, the two brothers continued to quarrel. In 164 BC Ptolemy VIII drove out his brother and became sole king of the Ptolemaic empire, but he was expelled in turn in 163 BC. As a result of Roman intervention, Ptolemy VIII was awarded control of Cyrenaica. From there he repeatedly tried to capture Cyprus, which had also been promised to him by the Romans, from his brother.
After Ptolemy VI's death in 145 BC, Ptolemy VIII returned to Egypt as co-ruler with his sister. His cruel treatment of opposition and his decision to marry his niece Cleopatra III and promote her to the status of co-regent led to a civil war from 132 to 126 BC, in which Cleopatra II controlled Alexandria and enjoyed the support of the Greek population of the country, while Ptolemy VIII and Cleopatra III controlled most of the rest of Egypt and were supported by the native Egyptians. During this war, native Egyptians were promoted to the highest echelons of the Ptolemaic government for the first time. Ptolemy was victorious and ruled alongside Cleopatra II and Cleopatra III until his death in 116 BC.
The ancient Greek sources on Ptolemy VIII are extremely hostile, characterising him as cruel and mocking him as fat and degenerate, as part of a contrast with Ptolemy VI, whom they present extremely positively. The historian Günther Hölbl calls him "one of the most brutal and at the same time one of the shrewdest politicians of the Hellenistic Age."