Cleopatra VII Philopator was the last active ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt. Shrewd, powerful, and authoritative, she acquired the throne at the tender age of 18, following the demise of her father, and remained the ruler until her death. Cleopatra actively influenced Roman politics during a crucial period. Cleopatra not only managed to hold the country together but served as a powerful leader as any of her male counterparts.
Background
Ethnicity:
There is much speculation about Cleopatra's ethnicity. While it was believed that she had a Greek descent, some claim her to have a black African background. Although born in Egypt, Cleopatra can trace her family roots to Macedonian, Greece, and Ptolemy I Soter.
Cleopatra VII Philopator, popularly known as Cleopatra, is said to be the daughter of Cleopatra V Tryphaena of Egypt, sister, and wife of Ptolemy XII Auletes. She is reported to have been born in 69 B.C. in Alexandria, Ptolemaic Kingdom (now Alexandria, Egypt).
Like many royal houses, members of the Ptolemaic dynasty often married within the family to preserve the purity of their bloodline. More than a dozen of Cleopatra’s ancestors tied the knot with cousins or siblings, and it’s likely that her own parents were brother and sister.
Education
Cleopatra was an intellectual. Her native language was Koine Greek and she was the first Ptolemaic ruler to become familiar with the Egyptian language. Cleopatra was well educated and studied math, logic, debating, and science. She spoke no less than nine languages, and possibly upwards of 12. Because of this, she was able to address commanders and leaders of different nations without a translator or mediator which gave her an advantage.
Career
Daughter of King Ptolemy XII Auletes, Cleopatra was destined to become the last queen of the Macedonian dynasty that ruled Egypt between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C. and its annexation by Rome in 30 B.C. By the age of 14, Cleopatra had become the joint regent and deputy of her father, though with limited powers. The death of her father four years later in 51 B.C. automatically made Cleopatra, who was then 18, and her ten-year-old brother Ptolemy XIII joint monarchs.
It is likely that the two siblings married, as was customary at the time. However, she explicitly stated that she wanted to be the sole ruler and had no intention of sharing power. The first three years of her reign were tough for the two as it was marked by economic failure, famine, deficient floods of the Nile, and political conflicts. In no time, Cleopatra broke apart from Ptolemy and ruled out his name from the official documents.
Soon after the siblings’ ascension to the throne, Ptolemy’s advisers acted against Cleopatra, who was forced to flee Egypt for Syria in 49 B.C. She raised an army of mercenaries and returned the following year to face her brother’s forces in a civil war at Pelusium, on Egypt’s eastern border. Meanwhile, after allowing the Roman general Pompey to be murdered, Ptolemy XIII welcomed the arrival of Pompey’s rival, Julius Caesar, to Alexandria. In order to help her cause, Cleopatra sought Caesar’s support, reportedly smuggling herself into the royal palace to plead her case with him.
For his part, Caesar needed to fund his own return to power in Rome and needed Egypt to repay the debts incurred by Auletes. After four months of war between Caesar’s outnumbered forces and those of Ptolemy XIII, Roman reinforcements arrived; Ptolemy was forced to flee Alexandria and was believed to have drowned in the Nile River.
Entering Alexandria as an unpopular conqueror, Caesar restored the throne to the equally unpopular Cleopatra and her younger brother Ptolemy XIV (then 13 years old). Caesar remained in Egypt with Cleopatra for a time, and around 47 B.C. she gave birth to a son, Ptolemy Caesar. He was believed to be Caesar’s child and was known by the Egyptian people as Caesarion, or Little Caesar.
Sometime in 46-45 B.C., Cleopatra traveled with Ptolemy XIV and Caesarion to Rome to visit Caesar, who had returned earlier. After Caesar was murdered in March 44 B.C., Cleopatra went back to Egypt; Ptolemy XIV was killed soon after (possibly by Cleopatra’s agents) and the three-year-old Caesarion was named co-regent with his mother, as Ptolemy XV.
In the Roman Civil War, she assisted Italy and moved to the eastern side of the Roman Empire. She started building a military base for the Caesarian forces, led by Antony and Octavian but could not participate in the war as she had turned ill. In 41 B.C., Marc Antony, part of the Second Triumvirate that ruled Rome following the murder of Caesar, sent for Cleopatra so that she could answer questions about her allegiance to the empire's fallen, leader.
Cleopatra agreed to his request and made a lavish entrance into the city of Tarsus, Cicilia. Captivated by her beauty and personality, Antony plunged into a love affair with Cleopatra. Like Caesar before him, Antony was embroiled in a battle over Rome's control. His rival was Caesar's own great-nephew, Gaius Octavius, also known as Octavian (and later as Emperor Caesar Augustus). Octavian, along with Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, rounded out the Second Triumvirate.
After Fulvia took ill and died, Antony was forced to prove his loyalty to Octavian by making a diplomatic marriage with Octavian’s half-sister Octavia. Egypt grew more prosperous under Cleopatra’s rule and in 37 B.C. Antony again met with Cleopatra to obtain funds for his long-delayed military campaign against the kingdom of Parthia. In exchange, he agreed to return much of Egypt’s eastern empire, including Cyprus, Crete, Cyrenaica (Libya), Jericho, and large portions of Syria and Lebanon.
After a humiliating defeat in Parthia, Antony publicly rejected his wife Octavia’s efforts to rejoin him and instead returned to Egypt and Cleopatra. In a public celebration in 34 B.C. known as the Donations of Alexandria, Antony declared Caesarion as Caesar’s son and rightful heir (as opposed to his adopted son, Octavian) and awarded land to each of his children with Cleopatra.
This began a war of propaganda between him and the furious Octavian, who claimed that Antony was entirely under Cleopatra’s control and would abandon Rome and found a new capital in Egypt. In late 32 B.C., the Roman Senate stripped Antony of all his titles, and Octavian declared war on Cleopatra.
In 31 B.C., Cleopatra and Antony combined armies to try to defeat Octavian in a raging sea battle at Actium, off Greece’s west coast. The clash, however, proved to be a costly defeat for the Egyptians, forcing Antony and Cleopatra to flee back to Egypt.
After suffering a crushing defeat at the hands of Roman rival Octavian, Mark Antony, believing Cleopatra to be dead, killed himself. Cleopatra followed by also committing suicide, supposedly by being bitten by an asp, although the truth is unknown. After her death on August 12, 30 B.C., Cleopatra was buried alongside Antony in a yet to be discovered location. Following Cleopatra's death, Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire.
In the centuries since her reign, the life of Cleopatra has captivated historians, storytellers, and the general public. Her story resonates because of what she represented in such a male-dominated society; in an era when Egypt was roiled by internal and external battles, Cleopatra held the country together and proved to be as powerful a leader as any of her male counterparts.
Cleopatra actively influenced Roman politics at a crucial period, and she came to represent, as did no other woman of antiquity, the prototype of the romantic femme fatale. Her romantic liaisons and military alliances with the Roman leaders Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, as well as her supposed exotic beauty and powers of seduction, earned her an enduring place in history and popular myth.
Religion
In addition to being the first ruler to speak the language of the Egyptians, Cleopatra was also the first in 300 years to embrace Egyptian culture and customs. This included worshipping traditional Egyptian gods rather than those of the Greek religion Cleopatra was never one to be casual about anything, and she took this practice to extreme lengths. Cleopatra not only adopted the Egyptian religion and worshiped traditional Egyptian gods, she actually believed she was one of them. Cleopatra fancied herself the reincarnation of the Egyptian goddess Isis. This was seen amongst many Romans as sacrilege, which didn’t improve Cleopatra’s position.
Politics
Cleopatra sought to defend Egypt from the expanding Roman Empire. In doing so she formed relationships with two of Rome's most powerful leaders Marc Anthony and Julius Caesar. Egypt's queen was a brave and coolheaded political realist struggling to save herself and her country from Roman domination.
Despite her florid reputation, Cleopatra took only two lovers - both were rulers of Rome. Cleopatra recognized Rome as the leading power of the ancient world. Egypt, rich in gold and grain, provided the material resources to fuel that power. Both affairs had begun with a political agenda. They had enabled the queen to establish a secure and profitable union between Rome and Egypt.
Cleopatra and Mark Antony fell in love, embarking on a passionate and unpredictable relationship that brought both riches and remorse. Their partnership, as lovers and politicians, both immortalized and destroyed a dynasty - it brought to a close 3,000 years of pharaonic rule.
Personality
Cleopatra believed herself to be a living goddess, and she often used clever stagecraft to woo potential allies and reinforce her divine status. Cleopatra had a wonderful sense of humor. She and Mark Antony formed their own society known as the Inimitable Livers. The group engaged in nightly feasts and wine binges. The Queen and Mark Antony loved to wander the streets of Alexandria in disguise and play pranks on its residents.
Cleopatra was sure that scents could be used as a tool of persuasion and she even had her own perfume factory. It even had an early spa. According to legends, she’d take baths with warm donkey milk and honey for her complexion. When recreating Cleopatra’s makeup, most of our contemporaries use gold or nude colors. However, the queen painted her lips and cheeks bright red. For this, she used red ochre which was finely ground and mixed with water. To keep her skin soft and clear, Cleopatra may have used rose water as a toner.
There are several stories about the fortuitous death of Cleopatra. While the ancient Roman sources claim that she killed herself by being bitten by an Egyptian cobra, Strabo, the man who was alive at the time of the event, claims that either she applied a toxic ointment or was bitten by an asp on her breast. German historian, Christoph Schaefer claimed that she had drunk a mixture of poisons which led her to the death bed.
Quotes from others about the person
"Her beauty, as we are told, was in itself not altogether incomparable, nor such as to strike those who saw her; but converse with her had an irresistible charm, and her presence, combined with the persuasiveness of her discourse and the character which was somehow diffused about her behavior towards others, had something stimulating about it. There was sweetness also in the tones of her voice; and her tongue, like an instrument of many strings, she could readily turn to whatever language she pleased." - Plutarch
Connections
In order to preserve the purity of their bloodline and to consolidate power, royals of the Ptolemaic dynasty married within the family. Many of Cleopatra’s ancestors partnered with cousins or siblings, and it’s likely that her own parents were brother and sister. In keeping with this disturbing custom, Cleopatra married both of her adolescent brothers at different times during her reign, each of whom served as her spouse and co-regent.
There are no official records of a marriage between Caesar and Cleopatra but it is said that nine months after the first meeting between the two, Ptolemy Caesar, fondly called Caesarion, was born. Cleopatra and Mark Antony were blessed with twins, Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene II, on December 25, 40 B.C. The two married four years later following the customary Egyptian rites and rituals. They were blessed with a third child, Ptolemy Philadelphus.
Father:
Ptolemy XII Auletes
Ptolemy was a Macedonian king of Egypt, whose quasi-legitimate royal status compelled him to depend heavily upon Rome for support for his throne. During his reign, Egypt became virtually a client kingdom of the Roman Republic. He was the first Ptolemy to include Theos (God) in his formal title.
Mother:
Cleopatra V Tryphaeana
Cleopatra V Tryphaena is a shadowy figure throughout most of Auletes' reign because she maintained a low profile, unlike other women of her line. Since Auletes was a noted womanizer, there is no way to know how many children Cleopatra V Tryphaena had. In lieu of better evidence, it is possible that Cleopatra V was the mother of Cleopatra VII (the identity of whose mother is nowhere revealed), the most famous queen produced by the Ptolemaic dynasty.
Cleopatra first began her legendary love affair with the Roman general Mark Antony in 41 B.C. Their relationship had a political component - Cleopatra needed Antony to protect her crown and maintain Egypt’s independence, while Antony needed access to Egypt’s riches and resources - but they were also famously fond of each other’s company.
According to ancient sources, they spent the winter of 41-40 B.C. living a life of leisure and excess in Egypt and even formed their own drinking society known as the Inimitable Livers. The group engaged in nightly feasts and wine-binges, and its members occasionally took part in elaborate games and contests. One of Antony and Cleopatra’s favorite activities supposedly involved wandering the streets of Alexandria in disguise and playing pranks on its residents.
Son:
Ptolemy Caesar
Cleopatra and Julius Caesar were lovers for two years, during which Cleopatra gave birth to his son, Ptolemy Caesar, who was nicknamed Caesarion, or Little Caesar. In the days between Cleopatra's death and the Roman triumvir Octavian's formal annexation of Egypt, Caesarion was officially the sole ruler of Egypt at just 16 years old. His reign, however, didn't last long. He was tragically captured and executed shortly after his mother's suicide.
Son:
Alexander Helios
Alexander Helios was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, the second oldest son of Cleopatra VII and the twin brother of Cleopatra Selene II. He spent the majority of his life in Alexandria, not meeting his father Mark Antony until he was three years old.
In 34 B.C., Alexander Helios was proclaimed king of Armenia, Media, and Parthia, although his young age made him a king in name only. Alexander Helios' future took a turn after war broke out between his parents and Octavian in 32 B.C.
After Octavian's conquest of Egypt and the subsequent suicide of Antony and Cleopatra, Alexander Helios, his twin Cleopatra Selene II, and their younger brother Ptolemy Philadelphus were taken back to Rome. It is unknown what became of Alexander Helios after this point, but death by illness is likely.
Daughter:
Cleopatra Selene II
Cleopatra Selene and Alexander Helios were born later that year, some time during the autumn of 40 B.C. For the first ten years of her life, Cleopatra Selene had been raised in Egypt as an Egyptian princess at an Egyptian court; the fact that her father was a Roman citizen, former consul, and triumvir was virtually irrelevant at this stage of her life.
Cleopatra Selene was married to Juba, a minor king, and sent to rule with him over Mauretania. She gave birth to another Ptolemy - Cleopatra’s only known grandchild.
Son:
Ptolemy Philadelphus
During his father’s triumph at Alexandria in 34 young Ptolemy was proclaimed king of Syria and Asia Minor. When Octavian, later the Roman emperor Augustus, captured Alexandria in 30, the young boy fell into his hands. Octavia, Antony’s Roman wife, and Octavian’s sister adopted the child and took him to Rome. Nothing is known of his subsequent life.
Brother:
Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator
Within months of taking the throne, Cleopatra made it clear she had no interest in sharing power with her younger brother. Despite traditions of female rulers being subordinate to males, Cleopatra erased her brother Ptolemy XIII’s name from official documents, and only her face appeared on coins minted during their reign.
Sister:
Arsinoe IV
Cleopatra and her sister Arsinoe IV had a fraught relationship. Fearing Arsinoe was plotting to take over the throne herself, Cleopatra had Arsinoe assassinated on the steps of a temple in Rome.
This caused a massive scandal, not only because of its heinous nature but also because it was a gross violation of temple rules.
Cleopatra often used elaborate costumes and dramatic entrances to reinforce her elite status and win over potential allies. In 48 B.C., she wrapped herself in carpet and smuggled herself into Julius Caesar's personal quarters. Caesar was enchanted by the sight of the young queen, and the two soon became political allies and lovers.
References
Cleopatra: A Life From Beginning to End
One of the first independent female rulers of an ancient kingdom, Cleopatra was a gifted diplomat, efficient administrator, and accomplished linguist who ruled her kingdom with more courage than the majority of her male predecessors. Cleopatra’s death ended an era, but her life promised the dawn of a new age, one where women might dare to rule the world.
2017
Cleopatra
Queen of Egypt at the age of eighteen, Cleopatra's passion was to unite the world under Egyptian rule. Legendary leaders risked their kingdoms to win her heart, and her epic life has inspired countless tales throughout history. A timeless story of love, war, and ambition, this pictorial biography from acclaimed author/illustrator Diane Stanley is sure to entertain and educate.
1997
Cleopatra VII: Daughter of the Nile, Egypt, 57 B.C.
Written in a diary-style format, this work presents the experiences and feelings of the young queen-to-be while providing informative facts about her home life, family, and royal environment.
1999
Cleopatra: A Biography
Few personalities from classical antiquity are more famous - yet more poorly understood - than Cleopatra VII, queen of Egypt. In this major biography, Duane Roller reveals that Cleopatra was in fact a learned and visionary leader whose overarching goal was always the preservation of her dynasty and kingdom.
2010
Cleopatra
Cleopatra was the last active pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. Cleopatra originally ruled jointly with her father, Ptolemy XII Auletes, and later with her brothers, Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV, whom she married as per Egyptian custom, but eventually she became sole ruler. As pharaoh, she consummated a liaison with Julius Caesar that solidified her grip on the throne.
