Cleopatra ruled Egypt and, with the help of some powerful boyfriends, might have ended up ruling Rome too.
PRINCESS CLEO
Cleopatra was born in 69 BC, the daughter of Egyptian ruler Ptolemy XII. Egypt had been ruled by a Greek royal family (the Ptolemies) since the death of Alexander the Great in 305 BC. Confusingly, almost all the men of the Ptolemy family were called Ptolemy, and almost all the women were called Cleopatra. When her father died, our Cleopatra became Cleopatra VII, joint ruler with her younger brother, Ptolemy XIII, whom she married (which was another one of the Ptolemies’ strange habits). Cleopatra had to rule with her brother because the Egyptians didn’t allow queens to rule on their own.
TROUBLE WITH PTOLEMY
Ptolemy was only about ten years old, but he wanted to get rid of his sister, so he and his supporters drove Cleopatra out of Egypt. In order to fight back, Cleopatra got help from one of the most powerful people in the world, Julius Caesar, who swiftly became her boyfriend. Together they defeated Ptolemy XIII, and Cleopatra was back in charge of Egypt. She ruled with a different brother this time, Ptolemy XIV.
CLEO AND CAESAR
Cleopatra spent most of her time in Rome with Caesar until he was assassinated in 44 BC. When she went back to Egypt, Ptolemy XIV was killed. Cleopatra probably had him poisoned so that she could rule with the baby son she’d had with Caesar, Caesarion.
CLEO AND MARK ANTONY
Mark Antony, one of the new Roman VIPs, asked Cleopatra for a meeting and promptly fell in love with her. The two of them stayed in Egypt together for a while, then Mark Antony returned to Rome. As part of a deal with Julius Caesar’s heir, Augustus Octavian, Antony married Octavia, Octavian’s sister, which must have annoyed Cleopatra.
DOUBLE DISASTER
After three years, Antony fell out with Octavian, abandoned his wife and returned to Cleopatra. He declared that Caesarion should rule Rome because he was Caesar’s son, so the Roman Senate declared war against Egypt. Octavian’s ships met Antony and Cleopatra’s at the Battle of Actium, which ended in disaster for Egypt. Antony went off to battle and heard that Cleopatra was dead (she wasn’t), and stabbed himself with his own sword. After he died, Cleopatra killed herself. Legend has it that she let an asp (a venomous snake) bite her, and died of the poison.
Find out more about Cleopatra’s famous boyfriend, Julius Caesar here.
