Who is Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt?
Queen Cleopatra VII is one of history’s most well-known, attractive, clever, and powerful female monarchs. Queen Cleopatra 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. It’s likely that the two siblings married to perpetuate the lineage, as was usual at the time.
Queen Cleopatra’s Biography
Complications developed between Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIII soon after they acquired power. Cleopatra eventually escaped to Syria in 49 BC, where she gathered an army to fight her rival brother and claim the kingdom for herself. She returned to Egypt with her military power in 48 B.C. and confronted her brother in Pelusium, on the empire’s eastern outskirts. At the same time, Rome was engulfed in a civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompey. Pompey finally sought shelter in Egypt, but he was assassinated on Ptolemy’s instructions so that Ptolemy could gain Caesar’s favor and capture him like an infant so that he might beat his sister Cleopatra. She was, however, able to penetrate his royal castle and gain his favor, as well as make him fall in love with her. Cleopatra now had the military might to depose her brother and establish herself as Egypt’s only ruler. Caesar defeated Ptolemy’s troops and pursued him all the way to Alexandria, where he was murdered. Cleopatra was returned to the throne by Caesar because he loved her and wanted to possess Egypt’s wealth and treasures so he could continue his rise to power in Rome.
When was Cleopatra the Queen of Egypt?
Caesar restored Cleopatra to the throne after defeating Ptolemy’s soldiers in the Battle of the Nile. Ptolemy XIII escaped and perished on the Nile shortly after. Cleopatra gave birth to Caesar’s son, Ptolemy Caesar, often known as Caesarion, in 47 B.C. Cleopatra finally followed Caesar back to Rome, but after his death in 44 B.C., she returned to Egypt. She was the queen of Egypt, and her son was the co-regent. Cleopatra became associated with Isis, the goddess of maternity and the wife of Osiris, the king of the underworld, and the mother of the sky deity Horus, in order to declare herself a holy queen, and she was dubbed the New Isis. Marc Antony, a member of the Second Triumvirate that controlled Rome after Caesar’s assassination, summoned Cleopatra in 41 B.C. to answer concerns regarding her devotion to the empire’s dead emperor. Cleopatra complied with his request and made a grand entry into Tarsus. Antony fell in love with Cleopatra because of her beauty and charm, and they had three children together, including twins called Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene. Marc Antony, Caesar’s general, sent a letter to Cleopatra in the year 34 B.C., urging her to prove her devotion, and Cleopatra returned triumphantly to Alexandria. Cleopatra accepted his invitation and traveled to Rome to see him, where she made a lavish entrance into Tarsus to catch Anthony’s attention. Enchanted by her beauty and captivating personality, Antony began a love affair with Cleopatra, giving birth to three children, including twins named Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene. Crowds flocked to the Gymnasium to see the pair, who were sitting on golden thrones raised on silver platforms. Their children sat beside them. In 34 BC, Antony enraged his adversary by proclaiming Caesarion to be Caesar’s own son and legitimate successor, rather than Caeser’s adopted son Octavian, whom the respected Roman leader had adopted. Octavian, on the other hand, fought back, saying that he had stolen Antony’s will and informing the Roman people that Antony had given Cleopatra Roman properties and that preparations were in the works to make Alexandria the Roman capital. The Roman Senate stripped Antony of all his titles and declared war on Cleopatra and her supporters in 32 BC as a result of Octavian’s actions. Cleopatra and Antony joined forces in 31 B.C. to try to defeat Octavian in a fierce maritime battle off the coast of Greece at Actium. The Egyptians, on the other hand, suffered a costly loss, forcing Antony and Cleopatra to retreat to Alexandria, Egypt.
When And How Did Queen Cleopatra Pass Away?
Antony returned to the battlefield soon after, where he was told that Cleopatra had perished. The distraught Roman commander committed 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 Cleopatra’s Skin
Cleopatra’s ancestors were Macedonian Greeks of Persian and Syrian heritage. After much investigation, both history and science have determined that, despite having a black grandmother, she was a pale olive-skinned woman with dark hair, similar to the eastern Mediterranean type depicted on her official coinage.
Queen Cleopatra’s Tomb
The tomb of Cleopatra and Antony has been lost since 30 BC, although many academics think it lies near Alexandria, and numerous expeditions are currently looking for it. You may know all the historical facts, but if you want to put yourself in the shoes of those who witnessed this incredible history and feel what they felt, “Egypt Fun Tours” is the place to go. So have a look at our Egypt tour packages or Nile river cruises to go on a fantastic vacation that encompasses all of Egypt’s attractions and activities.
