Cleopatra
69 B.C - August 12, 30 B.C
Queen of Egypt
by Rit Nosotro First Published:: 2003( )
The famous Egyptian ruler that everyone knows as the companion of Julius Caesar
and Marc Antony was actually Cleopatra the seventh. She was born in 69 B.C.
in Alexandria, Egypt, into the Ptolemy dynasty. She had five siblings: two older
sisters, Cleopatra VI and Berenice IV. It is thought that the sixth Cleopatra
died as a child and that Berenice was beheaded by her father. Her two younger
brothers were Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV. Cleopatra also had one younger sister,
Arsinoe. When she was eighteen years of age, her father, Ptolemy Auletes, ruler
of Egypt, died, leaving his kingdom and his will to her. After his death in
51 B.C., the children were placed under the care and protection of Pompey, a
Roman leader.
When Cleopatra took the throne, Egypt was in turmoil. There was a famine in
the land, and the Roman Empire was growing larger and becoming a greater threat
to Egypt. The Romans had long been a threat to the Ptomely dynasty. As the Empire
continued to grow larger, it began to take control of more and more of Egypt.
Before his death, Auletes had been forced to make a pact with the Romans so
that Egypt would not be completely ravaged and taken over. Though the Romans
did respect this pact, Egypt still had to pay tribute to the Roman Empire. After
Auletes died, the fall of the dynasty seemed even more inevitable.
Egyptian law stated that Cleopatra had to have a consort to co-rule throughout
her reign, so she was married to her younger brother Ptolemy XIII when he was
twelve years old. However, she had his name removed from all legal and official
documents, though the male name was supposed to take preeminence between two
co-rulers. She also had her name and portrait printed on currency, completely
ignoring her brother's name.
In 48 B.C., Cleopatra was removed from her position as queen due to her actions
which upset some of the more powerful court officials. For instance, a Roman
governor of Syria, Egypt to ask for protection against the Parthians for his
people, and Cleopatra had her mercenaries kill him. She was overthrown by a
group of these court officials in favor of her younger brother, whom they figured
would be much easier to influence than Cleopatra. The same officials became
his royal councilors. Cleopatra fled and went to Thebaid.
She did not return to Alexandria until Caesar arrived there to take it from
her brother Ptolemy in September of 48 B.C. Cleopatra knew that deals were to
be made about the future of her country, which she should have been rightfully
ruling. She did not wish to be left out of anything, so she had herself smuggled
in to meet Caesar wrapped up in a rug. It is believed that Caesar fell in love
with her at first sight and they became lovers. Caesar dethroned Ptolemy and
placed Cleopatra on the throne as a puppet ruler for Rome.
Shortly after this, the Alexandrian war began. Cleopatra's sister Arsinoe fled
the palace and ran to the same people that had overthrown Cleopatra. The Macedonian
mob proclaimed that she was queen, and Cleopatra never forgave her for this.
During the war, Ptolemy XIII was drowned in the Nile River in his attempt to
escape.
The death of her brother meant that Cleopatra was truly the queen and sole ruler
of Egypt. However, she once again had to have a coregent, so she was made to
marry her younger brother Ptolemy XIV, who at the time was eleven years old.
Cleopatra became the close companion of Caesar, and she soon became pregnant
with their son. They traveled back to Rome together, where many disapproved
of Caesar's infatuation with her. There were then laws against bigamy and against
marrying foreigners that Caesar was blatantly ignoring. Cleopatra did nothing
to better the situation. In fact, she most likely made it worse. She began referring
to herself as the New Isis and setting herself up as a goddess. Caesar even
had a golden statue of her placed in a temple in Rome.
But when the Senate in Rome discovered that Caesar was preparing to set himself
up as king, they had him assassinated on March 15, 44 B.C. There was no mention
of Cleopatra, or their son Caesarion in his will. Cleopatra was afraid for her
life and that of her child, so she fled back to her home in Alexandria.
When she returned, she had her brother Ptolemy XIV killed and regained the throne,
making her four-year old son her coregent. In the years that followed, she watched
to see who would be the next man of power in Rome.
She discovered this man to be Marc Antony. He invited Cleopatra to Tarsus in
41 B.C. They met and became lovers. Although Antony already had a wife, she
was only of the middle class, whereas Cleopatra was royalty. The two spent much
time together and apparently, Cleopatra could get Antony to do whatever she
wanted him to. She had her sister Arsinoe assassinated. Antony also used her
for money and land, taking away her control of Cyprus.
Once Antony had finally divorced his wife, the Western part of the known world
had to recognize his relationship with Cleopatra. By doing this, he put himself
at odds with the forces of Rome, and made himself the enemy of Octavian, the
emperor. Rome's forces marched to Alexandria, and Antony made half an attempt
at defending it. Many people falsely accused Cleopatra of being a harlot and
a drunk, because they feared what she and Antony could do to the Empire. However,
in 31 B.C., Octavian's army defeated Antony in Greece. He sent for Cleopatra,
but was lied to and told that she was dead. He then committed suicide with his
own sword. Cleopatra did come to him before he died, and stayed with him to
the end of his life.
After Antony's death, Cleopatra was taken to Octavian, where she was told that
she would be displayed as a slave to all of the countries that she had ruled
over. She could not stand this kind of humiliation, however, so she had her
servants bring her a poisonous asp hidden in a basket. Her religion believed
that if one died by snake bite, they would become immortal. She died on August
12, 30 B.C., when she was only 39 years old. After her death, her first son,
Caesarion, was strangled to death, and her other children, whose father was
Antony, were raised by Octavian's sister, Antony's ex-wife.
Although Cleopatra is usually portrayed as Caucasian or Egyptian, she was actually
of Greek and African descent, and probably had dark skin. She was very knowledgeable
on a host of topics including literature, mathematics, astronomy, and medicine.
She had a gift for languages and it is thought that she spoke at least four
fluently.
Throughout her life, she dreamed of establishing a greater world empire. Although
some see her as conniving and mercenary, she did many things for the betterment
of her country. Cleopatra did whatever was necessary to save Alexandria, no
matter the cost to herself. Her dying wish was to not be forgotten; through
the years, it has been granted.
