‘Little Caesar’: Forgotten ‘King Of Kings’ Who Died Very Young

A. Sutherland – AncientPages.com – Caesarion was murdered on August 23, 30 BC only 17 years old. He was the last King of the Egyptian Ptolemies, most probably the son of Julius Caesar, and his mother was Cleopatra VII.

Caesarion was born in 47 BC in Egypt.

It is not certain but commonly thought that the Roman leader was actually his father. If he really was a child of Caesar, it was also his only son.

No documentation has been discovered about his death; because of his young age, it is believed that he died of strangulation.

Caesarion was said to have inherited Caesar’s appearance and manner and he was even allowed to use his name, but the boy was never officially acknowledged by Caesar.

In the years 46 – 44 BC he stayed with his mother in Rome. After the murder of Caesar by conspirators in 44 BC, Cleopatra and Caesarion returned to Egypt.

The three-year boy Ptolemy XV was proclaimed “King of Kings,” and reigned jointly with his mother from September 2, 44 BC.

He wasn’t aware of the power struggles around him and his mother. There were powerful men who wanted even more power; among them, there was Mark Antony, his mother’s lover, and a Roman General and Julius Caesar’s second cousin. The next one was the aristocratic Marcus Lepidus, who was earlier Caesar’s, a close ally.

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