Queen Cleopatra
Queen Cleopatra VII is one of history’s most well-known, attractive, clever, and powerful female monarchs. She was the final queen of the Macedonian Ptolemaic dynasty. She was the daughter of King Ptolemy XII and was born about 69 B.C. Ptolemy XII died in 51 B.C., leaving the kingdom to 18-year-old Cleopatra and her 10-year-old brother, Ptolemy XIII. The two siblings likely married to perpetuate the lineage, as was usual at the time.
Cleopatra’s Rise to Power
Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIII experienced complications soon after they came to power. In 49 B.C., Cleopatra escaped to Syria. She gathered an army there to fight her brother for control of the kingdom. She returned to Egypt with her army in 48 B.C. and confronted her brother at Pelusium, on the empire’s eastern edge.
At the same time, Rome was in the midst of a civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompey. Pompey sought refuge in Egypt, but Ptolemy had him assassinated. Ptolemy hoped to gain Caesar’s favor and defeat his sister. However, Cleopatra was able to sneak into Caesar’s royal palace and win his favor. She made him fall in love with her. Cleopatra now had the military power to depose her brother and become the sole ruler of Egypt.
Caesar defeated Ptolemy’s troops and chased him to Alexandria, where Ptolemy was killed. Caesar restored Cleopatra to the throne because he loved her. He also wanted to control Egypt’s wealth and treasures to continue his rise to power in Rome.
When was Queen Cleopatra?
After defeating Ptolemy’s soldiers in the Battle of the Nile, Caesar restored Cleopatra to the throne. Ptolemy XIII escaped and soon died in the Nile. In 47 B.C., Cleopatra gave birth to Caesar’s son, Ptolemy Caesar, also known as Caesarion. She followed Caesar to Rome but returned to Egypt after his death in 44 B.C. She ruled as queen with her son as co-regent.
Cleopatra began identifying herself with Isis, the goddess of motherhood, to establish herself as a divine queen. People called her the “New Isis.”
Cleopatra and Marc Antony
In 41 B.C., Marc Antony, a member of the Second Triumvirate, summoned Cleopatra. He wanted her to answer questions about her loyalty to the late Caesar. Queen Cleopatra accepted his request. She made a grand entrance into Tarsus to capture his attention.
Antony fell in love with Cleopatra. They had three children together, including twins named Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene. In 34 B.C., Antony sent a letter to Cleopatra, urging her to prove her devotion. Cleopatra returned triumphantly to Alexandria.
Crowds flocked to the Gymnasium to see the couple. They sat on golden thrones on silver platforms with their children beside them. That year, Antony angered his rival, Octavian. He declared Caesarion to be Caesar’s true son and legitimate heir, not Octavian, Caesar’s adopted son.
Octavian fought back. He claimed he had stolen Antony’s will and told the Roman people that Antony had given Cleopatra Roman lands. He also claimed Antony planned to make Alexandria the Roman capital.
War and Defeat
In 32 B.C., the Roman Senate stripped Antony of his titles. They declared war on Cleopatra and her supporters. Cleopatra and Antony joined forces in 31 B.C. They tried to defeat Octavian in a fierce naval battle off the coast of Greece at Actium.
The Egyptians suffered a costly loss. Antony and Cleopatra were forced to retreat to Alexandria, Egypt.
The Death of Queen Cleopatra
Antony returned to the battlefield soon after, where he was told that Cleopatra had perished. The distraught Roman commander died by suicide by stabbing himself after receiving the news. Following her lover’s death, Cleopatra took her own life by being bitten by an Egyptian Cobra.
On August 12, 30 B.C., she died. Egypt became a part of the Roman Empire, and the two were buried together, as they had desired. Her son Cameron was caught and killed shortly after she died at the age of 39. So, in 30 B.C., Caesar Augustus annexed Egypt to Rome, renaming it Aegyptus, and making it a province of the Roman Empire under his control. They were in charge of the entire province’s administration, security, and finances.
The Color of Queen Cleopatra’s Skin
Cleopatra’s ancestors were Macedonian Greeks of Persian and Syrian heritage. Historians and scientists have investigated Cleopatra’s appearance. They have determined that she was a pale, olive-skinned woman with dark hair. This aligns with the eastern Mediterranean type shown on her official coinage. She had a black grandmother.
Cleopatra’s Tomb
Cleopatra and Antony’s tomb has been lost since 30 BC. However, many academics believe it lies near Alexandria. Numerous expeditions are currently looking for it.
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