From 58 to 55 BC, Berenice IV ruled Egypt during the political exile of her father Ptolemy XII Auletes to Rome.

The loss of Cyprus, and the poor state of the Egyptian economy following the bribes to Caesar, triggered civil unrest in Ptolemy Auletes' capital Alexandria.

Unable to quash the unrest on his own, Ptolemy Auletes went in 58 BC to Rome to ask for military support, leaving his family behind in Egypt.

The Alexandrines then, thirdly, arranged a marriage with a man called Seleucus, connected to the Seleucid royal house.

Berenice, after a few days of marriage, found she was unable to bear his coarseness and vulgarity, and felt that he could not command the respect of the populace: she had him strangled.

Strabo instead says his father was Archelaus, one of the chief marshals of Mithridates VI in the First Mithridatic War[8] who defected to the Romans.

In the winter 56‑55 Archelaus came to Egypt, married Berenice, and was given a title of king,[9][10][11] although he is not known to be mentioned in documents as his wife's formal co-ruler,[12] and it's presumed she never allowed him to become one.