Berenice III (Greek: Βερενίκη; 120–80 BC), also known as Cleopatra, ruled between 101 and 80 BC. Modern scholars studying Berenice III refer to her sometimes as Cleopatra Berenice. She was co-ruling queen of Ptolemaic Egypt with her uncle/husband Ptolemy X Alexander I, from 101 to 88 BC and again in 81 BC with her father Ptolemy IX Soter, before reigning as sole monarch of Egypt from 81 to 80 BC.
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Background and early life
Berenice's father was Ptolemy IX Soter, who became king of Egypt in 116 BC, with his mother Cleopatra III as his co-regent and the dominant force in government. He was initially married to his sister Cleopatra IV, but his mother forced him to divorce her and marry another sister, Cleopatra Selene, probably in early 115 BC. It is not certain which of these wives was Berenice's mother. Cleopatra Selene has been favored by some modern scholarship.
Historian Christopher Bennett notes that Berenice III's legitimacy was never questioned by ancient historians, unlike her brothers, Ptolemy XII and Ptolemy of Cyprus, and that Ptolemy IX's marriage to Cleopatra IV seems to have been considered illegitimate—making it more probable that Berenice III was the result of the legitimate marriage to Cleopatra Selene. In this case, she was probably born in late 115 or early 114 BC.
