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Queen/Pharaoh Cleopatra’s Rule Write-Up Queen Cleopatra of Egypt is the most well known of all the ancient Egyptian queens and was part of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Cleopatra was a very popular name in her family, as her mother had the name as well as an older sister of hers, making her Cleopatra the Seventh, although she is rarely referred to as such. Cleopatra and her family were not Egyptian, but rather Greek, descended through a general of Alexander the Great, Cleopatra would become the first ruler of her family who could actually speak the Egyptian language. Cleopatra VII was born near 69-70 B.C.E in Alexandria to Ptolemy XII Auletes and, although her mother is unknown they believe it is Cleopatra V of Egypt. Cleopatra was cast to co-rule when she was 17 with her 12 year old brother Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator, who of which she also married to keep with tradition, The marriage was not truly legitimate, however and considering the young age of her new husband and co-inheritor of the throne, Cleopatra ruled Egypt independently and as she wished because she was the eldest of the two. Cleopatra was a highly intelligent woman and a very good politician, who brought prosperity to Egypt and peace to a country that was bankrupt and split by civil war. This lasted for only three short years before Cleopatra received the same fate as her father and was exiled, along with another younger sister of hers, her thirteen year old brother and husband remained to rule Egypt. Cleopatra escaped to Syria, however she did not intend to give up without a fight. Caesar was about 30 years older than Cleopatra, and his arrival in Egypt was something of an accident. He had been fighting a civil war against the Roman general Pompey. After a series of defeats, Pompey fled to Egypt in 48 B.C., hoping to win support from Ptolemy XIII. The young pharaoh decided that Pompey was more trouble than he was worth and had him executed. When Caesar entered Alexandria with a small body of troops, he was presented with Pompey’s head — something that he was said to be unhappy about, for reasons lost to history, Caesar decided to stay in Egypt and deal with the dispute between Ptolemy XIII and Cleopatra. It could be because Rome depended on Egypt for its grain supplies and a stable Egypt was seen by Caesar as being in Rome’s interest. Ptolemy XIII tried to convince Caesar to acknowledge him as sole ruler of Egypt and barred Cleopatra from seeing him. Cleopatra, however, managed to sneak into the palace by letting herself be rolled up in a carpet and presented to Caesar, she then later presented her cause to get back into full leader ship and persuaded him to help her in her get back to the throne and exile Ptolemy XIII. Ptolemy was shocked to find that his sister had somehow arrived at the palace. She was already on the most intimate of terms with Caesar and had managed to persuade him to support her cause,” she writes. “It was all too much for a thirteen-year-old boy to bear. Rushing from the palace he ripped off his diadem and, in a wellorchestrated public display of anger, the crowd surged forward, intent on mobbing the palace.” However, “Caesar would not be intimidated. Before a formal assembly he read out Ptolemy XII’s will, making it clear that he expected the elder brother and sister to rule Egypt together.” Caesar had saved Cleopatra and returned her to power, Ptolemy XIII reportedly drowned in 47 BC while attempting to cross the Nile. Whether he was attempting to flee or was seeking negotiations remains uncertain from sources of the time. Cleopatra VII remained the unchallenged ruler of Egypt, although she named their younger brother Ptolemy XIV of Egypt (40 BC) her new co-ruler. Cleopatra and Julius Caesar became intimate and had a son known as Caesarion (although Caesar was said to have been hesitant to acknowledge that the child was his). Cleopatra eventually followed Caesar back to Rome, but returned to Egypt in 44 B.C., following his assassination. Cleopatra found herself in an awkward position. A civil war broke out between forces led by Antony and Octavian (Octavian is Julius Caesar’s great nephew) against those who had organized Caesar’s assassination. After they prevailed, Octavian who of which was renamed Augustus Caesar, ruled the western half of the empire while Antony controlled the east. In the years leading up to the Battle of Actium, Antony and Cleopatra forged a close bond and had three children together, including the twins Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene in 40 B.C. The Battle of Actium was the decisive confrontation of the Final War of the Roman Republic, a naval engagement between Octavian and the combined forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra in 31 BC, on the Ionian Sea near the city of Actium, in the Roman province of Epirus vetus in Greece. Octavian's naval army was commanded by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, while Antony's naval army was supported by the ships of Queen Cleopatra of Ptolemaic Egypt. What happened during the battle is a mystery. Ancient sources claim that Octavian and Antony were at a standstill when Cleopatra, for some reason, fled the battle, leading to Antony’s forces being routed. Whether this is true or not is unknown. The battle sealed Antony and Cleopatra’s fate. With Octavian in control of the sea, he landed troops in Egypt and marched on Alexandria, the capital of Egypt. Although Antony managed to win a minor battle on land, he and Cleopatra were essentially trapped. Antony, hearing falsely that Cleopatra had killed herself, decided to kill himself. He apparently fell on his sword but no one really knows if he fell on it or just deliberately stabbed himself. Reporters and archeologists say that he was taken to Cleopatra but others say he just died on the spot so no one really knows and most people think it was just lost to history. Cleopatra later locked herself in a room with two of her female servants, so no one really knows what happened but Plutarch (a Greek historian) believes that she let an asp bite her and let her die as if she was going to sleep. Her body was buried with Antony’s, leaving Octavian (later Emperor Augustus I) to celebrate his conquest of Egypt and his consolidation of power in Rome. Cleopatra’s legacy has lived on throughout the years and has been showcased in many movies and plays including one by Shakespeare called Antony and Cleopatra, many archaeologists have searched for her burial site but have failed and has been ruled as “lost to history”. She lived a very eventful life, she was the last ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty and was one of the best female rulers of Ancient Egypt. Cleopatra’s daughter named Cleopatra Selene, later ruled in Cyrenaica and Libya with her husband Juba II of Numidia and had three children but later died to a date that is unknown. Cleopatra 69 B.C.E-30 B.C.E Bibliography April 23, 2015 http://www.livescience.com/44071-cleopatra-biography.html By Owen Jarus, Live Science Contributor April 5,2015 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleopatra (Other information NOT provided) April 30 ,2015 http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/cleopatra/a/Cleopatra.htm By N.S. Gill Ancient/Classical History Expert April 24, 2015 http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/cleopatra (Other information NOT provided) May 3, 2015 http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/cleopatra.shtml (Other information NOT provided)