Ancient Egypt • Cleopatra

Queen of the Nile and Goddess of Isis

In ancient Egypt Cleopatra was the last of the Ptolemy family to rule Egypt. She was the wife of Julius Caesar and later on, Marc Anthony too. During her reign, Egypt again became a factor in Mediterranean politics.

She was a woman of genius and a worthy opponent of Rome. Her main preoccupations were to preserve the independence of Egypt, to extend its territory if possible, and to secure the throne for her children. Living from 69-30 B.C. in ancient Egypt Cleopatra ruled Egypt from 51-31 B.C. For a short while she co-ruled the empire with her younger brother Ptolemy, 13, but because of a battle for power between the two of them she ended up being forced to flee to Syria.

Cleopatra and Caesar

With civil war threatening in the Roman Empire, Caesar arrived in Egypt (48 B.C.). Cleopatra wanted to gain Rome's support so she could mount the Egyptian throne and solely rule Egypt.

She let herself be transported from Syria to Egypt rolled up in a carpet to outsmart her brothers guards. It worked.

Cleopatra and Caesar engaged in a love affair, and suddenly she had all the support she needed. Caesar fathered her firstborn son Ptolemy also known as Caesarion, little Caesar. The Romans, though, did not acknowledge Cesarion's Roman heritage and designated Cleopatra as the one who degraded Roman virtue.

After the death of Caesar in 44 B.C., she formed a political and personal alliance with Marc Anthony, Caesar's right hand in military affairs, and they married in 37 B.C.

Marc Anthony and Cleopatra

Cleopatra and Marc Anthony challenged the Roman empire by pronouncing Cesarion the true ruler of Egypt and Rome, since he was the son of Cesar. This lead to an ongoing war between Rome under the leadership of Octavo, and Egypt lead by Cleopatra.

After a ruinous defeat at Actium in 31 B.C., she was unable to continue the fight against Rome. Rather than witness the incorporation into the Roman Empire of ancient Egypt Cleopatra chose to die by the bite of an asp. The asp was considered the "minister of the sun god", whose bite conferred not only immortality but also divinity.

The end of Cleopatra meant the end of the Ptolemy dynasty. Under Octavo Egypt was reduced to a mere province in the great Roman Empire. For the next 670 years Egypt was under Rome and Byzantium.

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