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Ptolemy of Mauretania

Ptolemy of Mauretania

9 BC –40

Politician

Lived 48 years

Born in
Cherchell
Passed away in
Ancient Rome

Ptolemy of Mauretania (Ancient Greek: Πτολεμαῖος, Ptolemaîos; Latin: Ptolemaeus; c. 13/9 BC – AD 40) was the king of Mauretania, a client kingdom of the Roman Empire. He was the son of Juba II of Numidia and Cleopatra Selene II of the Ptolemaic dynasty. He was the grandson of Egyptian queen Cleopatra and Roman general Mark Antony through his mother, which made him a distant relative of the Julio-Claudian dynasty that ruled the Roman Empire.

During his reign, Mauretania became prosperous by exporting grain, oil, garum, and Tyrian purple dye to the Roman Empire. In AD 24, he helped Publius Cornelius Dolabella to defeat Tacfarinas, a rebel waging anti-Roman campaigns across North Africa. The Roman Senate honoured Ptolemy for his role in suppressing the revolt and named him a friend and ally of the Roman people.

He was later executed by the Roman emperor Caligula in AD 40 for unknown reasons. Although ancient sources said that Caligula was motivated by personal jealousy, modern historians have suggested that the emperor thought Ptolemy was a political threat. Upon Ptolemy's death, the Roman Empire annexed Mauretania and turned it into a Roman province. The kingdom rebelled against Roman control until it was subdued by emperor Claudius and separated into the provinces of Mauretania Tingitana and Mauretania Caesariensis.

Source: Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ptolemy_of_Mauretania