Once Rome and the Italians had dominion over the region of Greece, it allowed for influence from a particularly well-known figure in history—Cleopatra. In fact, although Cleopatra is most associated with Egypt. She was Greek in origin.
Cleopatra was the daughter of Ptolemy XII Auletes. He ruled over Egypt for a time before being ousted. He reclaimed the Egyptian throne in 55 BC, by invading Alexandria. This made Egypt part of the Roman Empire. Toward the end of his term, Ptolemy named Cleopatra as his co-regent. When he died, he decreed she and her brother (Ptolemy XIII) should rule Egypt together. The two were married to enforce the arrangement. Then, they were both co-regents, although Cleopatra tended to rule alone.
Early in her reign, Cleopatra faced challenges as the country endured deficient floods of the Nile, famine, economic failures, and political conflicts. Simultaneously, Cleopatra further established herself as an independent ruler. Due to a poorly run conflict with the Gabiniani (powerful Roman troops stationed in Egypt to protect Roman interests), Cleopatra fell from power. Her brother was placed in charge, and she fled to exile.
However, her brother, Ptolemy, soon made a miscalculation of his own, by ordering the death of Julius Caesar’s son-in-law. When Caesar arrived in Egypt, he was angry and took over as arbiter to resolve the rival claims of Ptolemy and Cleopatra. However, being cunning, Cleopatra had smuggled into the palace to meet Caesar. When the two met, they forged both a political and a romantic alliance.
Caesar helped to defeat Ptolemy’s army, and so promoted Cleopatra’s claim to the throne. The two soon had a son, Ptolemy Caesar (born in 47 BC), although Caesar refused to name the child as his heir. He instead placed a grandnephew as his heir. When Cleopatra and Caesar later visited Rome, it was considered scandalous, because he was already married. After Caesar’s assassination, Cleopatra returned to Egypt.
There, she ruled with her son as her co-regent. During the Roman Civil War, she sided with the Caesarian party, which was led by Mark Antony. The two soon formed a relationship. They lived in Alexandria, Egypt for a time. Cleopatra birthed twins (Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene II). Distance took Cleopatra and Antony away from one another for a time, but they later resumed their relationship. The two married and he soon made Alexandria his permanent home. They had one more child.
The two initially fought together against Octavian to protect Cleopatra’s claims over Egypt. Later, Antony’s armies deserted and joined with Octavian’s. To finance her troops in the war, Cleopatra stole gold from the tomb of Alexander the Great. War is not easy, and the defeats they faced took their toll on each of them. Historians are unclear on all the facts, but it is believed they likely died by suicide (in 30 BC).
Cleopatra was the last Hellenistic ruler of Egypt. Further, because Egypt was under Roman rule at the time, her reign is also inextricably linked to the Roman Empire and back to Greece. Thus, she is a significant part of Egyptian, Roman, and Greek history.