Arsinoe IV (d. 41 BCE)
Arsinoe IV (d. 41 bce)
Queen of Egypt. Pronunciation: Ar-SIN-o-ee. Birth date unknown; killed at Miletus in 41 bce; youngest daughter of Ptolemy XI Auletes; sister of Cleopatra VII, Ptolemy XII, and Ptolemy XIII.
In the year 51 bce, Ptolemy XI Auletes left his throne to be ruled jointly by his older children Cleopatra VII and Ptolemy XII. When Ptolemy XII expelled Cleopatra, Julius Caesar decided to force her restoration. During Caesar's siege of Alexandria (48 bce) and the subsequent capture and death of young Ptolemy, Cleopatra's sister Arsinoe IV was looked on as sole queen by the Egyptians (47 bce). As a precaution, Caesar captured Arsinoe and led her triumphantly through Rome. Though Arsinoe was eventually allowed to return to Alexandria, her years were brief. After the battle of Philippi, she was put to death at Miletus (or in the temple of Artemis at Ephesus) by order of Marc Antony, at the request of her sister Cleopatra.