PTOLEMY APION

flourished c. 116, 96 BC ruler of Cyrenaica who separated it from Egypt and in his will bequeathed the country to Rome. Son of Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II, king of Egypt, by a concubine, Ptolemy Apion, according to classical sources, received Cyrenaica as his portion of his father's will. Contemporary documents, however, suggest that as late as 109108 BC Cyrenaica was at least nominally under the suzerainty of the main Ptolemaic house. The King's motives for the donation of his realm to Rome at his death remain obscure. His two half brothers were still ruling at the time in Egypt and Cyprus, but there is no evidence of hostility between them and Apion. He may have been without an heir. Rome, after it accepted the bequest, did not administer the region for another 22 years.