Berenice Syra
3rd-century BC Seleucid queen
Berenice (Ancient Greek: Βερενίκη, romanized: Berenikē) (c.275 BC–246 BC), also called Berenice Phernophorus ("Dowry Bearer") or Berenice Syra, was an Egyptian princess and a Seleucid queen regent. She was a Seleucid queen by marriage to Antiochus II Theos, and regent during the minority of her son Antiochus in 246.
Life
Berenice was the daughter of Ptolemy II Philadelphus and Arsinoe I of Egypt. She was named after her paternal grandmother, Berenice I of Egypt. The date of her birth is unknown, but most estimates are before 280, as her mother was exiled the following year.
Berenice Syra's relationship with her father remained positive after her mother's exile. When she moved upon her marriage, he provided her with bottled water from the Nile, so she would never have to drink from any other source.
Queen
Around 252 BC, following the peace agreement of 253 BC between Antiochus and Ptolemy to end the Second Syrian War, Berenice married the Seleucid monarch Antiochus II Theos, who divorced his wife Laodice I and transferred the succession to Berenice's children. Upon their marriage, she took the name "Syra," referencing Syria. Berenice was fairly old for a Ptolemaic princess to marry.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Berenice Syra” is 3rd-century BC Seleucid queen. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Berenice, Syra and 3rd-century, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “3rd-century BC Seleucid queen” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q237136. VIAF identifies the subject as 18033115. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank.
Later biographies can compress uncertainty and repeat inherited reputations, so apparently settled claims may still require comparison. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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Three-step research path
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This entry incorporates text from “Berenice Syra” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.