When Augustus married Cleopatra Selene to Juba and granted them Numidia and Mauretania, could he have given them Egypt? What if he gave her brother, Alexander Helios, Egypt?
Roman-Egyptian Client Kingdom?
- Thread starter Tempered Zen
- Start date
Egypt is too rich and populous to give it to a client king after it has become part of Rome. A scion of the Ptolemies is IMHO very unlikely to get any appointment in Egypt at all; after all they have an ancestral claim to the land and could easily cause problems for the Roman state.
True. So maybe he could appoint someone else, like he did in Judea with Herod.
Egypt is easily the wealthiest region of the empire. Judea and Mauretania are unimportant backwaters compared to the land on the banks of the Nile. I just can't see any Roman emperor giving the area independence.
Maybe with Ocatavian and Marc Anthony coming to an agreement you could have a Ptolemao-Antonian Egypt survive as a client state but after the downfall of Cleopatra and the outright annexation of Egypt there is little you can do.
Maybe with Ocatavian and Marc Anthony coming to an agreement you could have a Ptolemao-Antonian Egypt survive as a client state but after the downfall of Cleopatra and the outright annexation of Egypt there is little you can do.
I rather agree with @Pischinovski there : Lagid Egypt remained a client state up to Augustus because nobody really wanted an ambitious taking the control of the whole province and all its ressources, postponing its absorbtion within the Roman archê sine die. When Augustus got rid of his rivals, this caution became obsolete and the risk having a too powerful client king in Asia, possibly championing hellenism or regional causes, became the new priority.
At best, you'd need to maintain the situation that predominated in the last century of the Roman Republic (hoping really hard it wouldn't weaken its authority) to have Egypt as a client state for a longer time.
At best, you'd need to maintain the situation that predominated in the last century of the Roman Republic (hoping really hard it wouldn't weaken its authority) to have Egypt as a client state for a longer time.
You make a good point. Any other people Augustus might appoint as nominal king? Maybe a Herodian? Or a member of the Emesan royal family?
Egypt just seems too wealthy for the Romans not to want to integrate it into the Empire/republic once they have the power to do so(honestly pre-Caeser republic was still an Empire and imperialist IMHO).
Short of Augustus deciding to organise the Empire on Feudalistic, or Federal Stratocractic grounds, I can't see this happening for two reasons.
1) As listed above, why would Augustus let anyone else have Egypt? It is crazy wealthy.
2) If Augustus doesn't take it from the Ptolemeys, it is likely to go to Caesarion, which has a number of other political consequences. (Including one where he might be proclaimed a Roman citizen and adopted by a savvy Augustus).
Now, if you went with a Feudal Empire, then yeah, Augustus could want to ensure he has a friendly face in charge of Egypt, in which case why not someone like Alexander Helios? (Apart from it risks a highly powerful family in him and his relatives).
If you have a Federal Stratocracy (or something like this), you could have Alexander Helios being in place specifically to keep Egypt under control. Alexander Helios being the military authority in Egypt, in place to ensure that the political authority (Caesarion) is kept on a leash.
1) As listed above, why would Augustus let anyone else have Egypt? It is crazy wealthy.
2) If Augustus doesn't take it from the Ptolemeys, it is likely to go to Caesarion, which has a number of other political consequences. (Including one where he might be proclaimed a Roman citizen and adopted by a savvy Augustus).
Now, if you went with a Feudal Empire, then yeah, Augustus could want to ensure he has a friendly face in charge of Egypt, in which case why not someone like Alexander Helios? (Apart from it risks a highly powerful family in him and his relatives).
If you have a Federal Stratocracy (or something like this), you could have Alexander Helios being in place specifically to keep Egypt under control. Alexander Helios being the military authority in Egypt, in place to ensure that the political authority (Caesarion) is kept on a leash.