CLEOPATRA- The powerful queen
The best known woman who gained name and fame for her beauty, intellect and love affairs. She was born in 69 BC and was last pharaoh of the Egypt.She was the first Ptolemaic ruler to learn Egyptian language. She was although not Egyptian. She was from the Macedonian Greek dynasty. She studied at the Musaeum including the library of Alexandria.She learned Greek arts and philosophy in childhood from her tutor Philostratos. She had three siblings named Arsinoe IV, Ptolemy XIII, Ptolemy XIIV. She claimed herself as the goddess Isis and spoke 9 languages. She had an affair with her own brother, Julius Caesar, Mark Antony.
After the death of her father Ptolemy XII in 51 BC she with her brother in joint reign started to rule at that time Cleopatra was 18 year old and brother Ptolemy was 10 year old. When she started to rule she faced many issues of famine caused by drought and low level of annual flooding of Nile river. Inheriting the father’s debt Cleopatra owed 17.5 million Drachmas to the Roman Republic.She started ruling as sole ruler by rejecting his brother or probably married. The sibling marriage was introduced by Ptolemy II and his sister Arsinoe II.
She was the lover of Julius Caesar and they spend time in Alexandria with whom she had a son whose name was Caesarion. She also had affair and married Mark Antony with whom she had 3 children whose name were Alexander Helios,Cleopatra Selene and another son Ptolemy Philadelphus. Cleopatra had been exiled by her brother and was reinstalled as queen with Roman military support. She is believed to murdered his brother in a bid to make her son her co-ruler. She also killed her sister Arsinoe whom she considered a rival to throne. Julius Caesar was assassinated due to the conspiracy of several Roman senators. They stabbed Caesar to death in the Theater of Pompey.
Antony was defeated by Octavian’s forces at the Battle of Actium. Antony and Cleopatra fled to Egypt where they committed suicide. Cleopatra believed to have committed suicide by being bitten by an asp.After the death of Cleopatra Egypt became a part of Roman empire. Caesarion was murdered under Octavian’s orders after Cleopatra and his other three offspring from Antony were spared took to Rome and put under the care of octavian’s sister who was the former wife of Mark Antony.
