Ptolemy XII

Ptolemy XII Auletes
Ptolemy XII smashing his enemies with a royal mace. Relief from the first pylon in the temple at Edfu
Ptolemaic King of Egypt
Reign	ca. 80–58 BC and 55–51 BC
Predecessor	Ptolemy IX (First Reign) Berenice IV (Second Reign)
Successor	Cleopatra VI & Berenice IV (First Reign) Ptolemy XIII & Cleopatra VII (Second Reign)
Born	c. 117 BC
Died	c. 51 BC Alexandria
Spouse	Cleopatra V of Egypt (cousin & niece)
Issue	Cleopatra Tryphaena (possibly) Berenice IV Cleopatra VII Arsinoe IV Ptolemy XIII Ptolemy XIV
Full name Ptolemy Neos Dionysos Theos Philopator Theus Philadelphos
Dynasty	Ptolemaic
Father	Ptolemy IX Lathyros
Mother	Cleopatra IV of Egypt

Ptolemy Neos Dionysos Theos Philopator Theos Philadelphos (117–51 BC; Ancient Greek: Πτολεμαῖος Νέος Διόνυσος Θεός Φιλοπάτωρ Θεός Φιλάδελφος, spoken Ptolemaios Néos Diónysos Theós Philopátōr Theós Philádelphos ≈ New Dionysus, God Beloved of his Father, God Beloved of his Brother), more commonly known as "Auletes" (Αὐλητής, Aulētḗs = the Flutist) or "Nothos" (Νόθος, Nóthos = the Bastard), was an Egyptian king of Macedonian descent. Auletes means pipes-player, referring to the king's love of playing the pipes.

Ptolemy reigned during the Hellenistic period. He is assumed to have been an illegitimate son of Ptolemy IX Soter, perhaps by an Alexandrian woman. But he may instead be the son of Ptolemy IX by Cleopatra IV.

His reign as king was interrupted by a general rebellion that resulted in his exile from 58 to 55 BC. Thus, Ptolemy XII ruled Egypt from 80 to 58 BC and from 55 BC until his death in 51 BC. Ptolemy XII was generally described as a weak, self-indulgent man, a drunkard, and a music lover.

Ptolemy may have had two wives. He married Cleopatra Tryphaena (referred to as Cleopatra V or Cleopatra VI in the literature), who may have been either a sister or a cousin. Cleopatra Tryphaena is not mentioned after 69 BC and it is not clear who the mother of Ptolemy's three youngest children is. His children include:

In 80 BC, Ptolemy XII's predecessor Ptolemy XI was removed by the Egyptian population from the throne of Egypt after the king had killed his coregent and step mother Berenice III. When Ptolemy XI died without a male heir, the only available male descendents of the Ptolemy I lineage were the illegitimate sons of Ptolemy IX by an unknown Greek concubine. The boys were living in exile in Sinope, at the court of Mithridates VI, King of Pontus. As the eldest of the boys Ptolemy XII was proclaimed king as Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos and married his sister, Tryphaena. Ptolemy XII was coregent with his daughter Cleopatra VI Tryphaena and his wife Cleopatra V Tryphaena.