PTOLEMY VIII EUERGETES II

( (Greek: Benefactor II), ) died 116 BC also called Physcon (Greek: Potbellied) Macedonian king of Egypt who played a divisive role in trying to win the kingship, making himself subservient to Rome and encouraging Roman interference in Egypt. Ptolemy VIII ruled jointly with his brother, Ptolemy VI Philometor, in 170164 BC and alone during the next year; he was king of Cyrenaica (in modern Libya) in 163145, and sole ruler of Egypt from 145 to his death in 116, except for a brief exile in 131129. Continuously quarreling with his queen, Cleopatra II, the widow of Philometor, he caused civil war and economic collapse in Egypt. Late in his reign (118) he instituted extensive reforms to restore the country. Around 117 an expedition sponsored by Ptolemy completed the first sea voyage to India via the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, beginning Egypt's interest in the spice trade.