Denarius - Ptolemy Caesarea

Ptolemy of Mauretania was the son of Juba II and Cleopatra Selene II — daughter of the famous Cleopatra VII — making him one of the last living descendants of the Ptolemaic dynasty when these coins were struck. His kingdom existed entirely at Roman sufferance, a client state ruled by a man who was simultaneously a Berber king and a Roman citizen. The early years of his reign, roughly when this denarius was issued, represent a period of careful political positioning under Tiberius.

Ptolemy was eventually summoned to Rome by Caligula and executed around 40 AD, reportedly because his cloak drew more admiring attention than the emperor's at a gladiatorial game.