Ptolemy had no intention of giving up his throne so easily. He became irate, screaming through the streets of Alexandria as he fled. Ptolemy quickly became aware that Cleopatra had formed an alliance with Caesar that could not be broken. Cleopatra wished to be restored to power, which would make her the richest woman in the world. Caesar was known for accumulating high levels of debt. In addition to a personal attraction, a relationship between Cleopatra and Caesar would greatly benefit them both. Historians believe that Caesar was amused by her brilliant strategy. She was only 21 years old, while Caesar was 52. She reacted by forming an army among the Arabian tribes east of Pelusium.Ĭleopatra before Caesar, by Jean-Léon Gérômeĭressed in her finest, Cleopatra arranged to be smuggled past the Roman guards and into the palace rolled inside of a rug. In 48 BC, her brother, under the care of his advisors, forced Cleopatra to flee from the royal capital of Alexandria. They considered her brother easier to control, so they plotted to overthrow her in favor of her brother. During this time, she began to worry court officials by her actions. Craftsmen designed legal tender featuring her name and image.įor three years, the Queen ruled without regard to her brother. She removed his name from all official documents. Sibling RivalryĪpproximately one year into her reign, Cleopatra took advantage of the age difference and decided to ignore the co-regency of her brother. His duty was to ensure tributes were paid to Rome on behalf of Egypt. An alliance between the two empires helped keep the Ptolemy family in rule over their fading empire.Īt the death of Cleopatra’s father, the Roman leader Pompey was appointed guardianship over Cleopatra and her brother. In 168 BC, almost 100 years before Cleopatra’s birth, Rome became an overseer of Egypt and the Egyptian royal family. The philosopher Plutarch described her not as a stunning beauty, but as a captivating, persuasive and charming Sofi - Cleopatra, painting by Vasily Alexandrovich Kotarbinsky Roman InfluenceĪlthough Egypt remained a large and wealthy empire, a new, more powerful force was rising. Egyptologists consider her ability to reinvent herself to fit any situation to be a key part of her brilliance in politics.Īncient Egyptian records reveal Cleopatra to be an intelligent and powerful ruler. The Queen carefully crafted a pageantry of luxury and embellishment, although she was not simply the golden seductress featured in Hollywood movies. In a papyrus dated 35 BC, Cleopatra is referred to as “Philopatris”, or “she who loves her country”. By also later fashioning herself as the goddess Aphrodite, she revealed her family’s Greek roots.Įgyptian texts reveal Cleopatra to be very popular leader among her own people. The young couple ruled an empire that included Egypt, Cyprus, parts of Libya and various Middle East territories.Ĭleopatra used the Egyptian religion learned during her childhood to identify herself as the new version of the goddess Isis. She was most likely married to her brother, who was eight years younger. In fact, she would never be the sole ruler of Egypt in name, sharing the official title with her brothers and her son.Īt only 18 years old, Cleopatra became Queen of Egypt. Egyptian law forced her to share her new role as pharaoh with Ptolemy XIII, her younger brother. She was the only member of her family to learn the Egyptian language.Ĭleopatra became co-ruler of Egypt at the death of her father in 51 BC. Unlike the rest of her family, Cleopatra took great interest in Egyptian history and religion. Little is known of Cleopatra’s childhood, except that she was being groomed as the future leader of the country. In either case, the Ptolemy family was not of Egyptian origins. While most scholars consider her to be of Greek lineage, a few argue that she was of African blood. Other historians point to texts that indicate that she was an illegitimate child of the king.ĭebate exists over the ethnicity of Cleopatra. Cleopatra's two older sisters died before her father, leaving her with the rights due to the firstborn child.Īlthough it is not clearly stated in historical texts, some Egyptologists speculate that Cleopatra’s mother was the king’s sister, Cleopatra V Trypaena. She was born the third child of King Ptolemy XII in 69 BC. © Tiffany Silva - Statue of Queen Cleopatraįor more than 300 years, Cleopatra’s family ruled Egypt.
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