Roman interventionism in Egypt predated the reign of Cleopatra VII.[48][49][50] In 168 BC, after Antiochus IV invaded Ptolemaic Egypt, he obeyed the demands of the Roman Senate to withdraw and return to Seleucid territory instead of warring with the Roman Republic.[49][51] When Ptolemy IX Lathyros died in late 81 BC, he was succeeded by his daughter Berenice III.[52][53] With opposition building at the royal court against the idea of a sole female monarch, Berenice III accepted joint rule and marriage to Ptolemy XI Alexander II, the son of Ptolemy IX's brother Ptolemy X Alexander I. The match was arranged by the dictator Sulla, the first powerful Roman figure to intervene directly in the dynastic affairs of kingdoms east of the Roman Republic.[52][53]