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Name Prefix:Queen Name Suffix: VII, of Egypt
Cleopatra VII of Egypt
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cleopatra Selene Philopator
Queen of Egypt
Reign 51 BC - August 12, 30 BC
Ptolemy XIII (51 BC-47 BC)
Ptolemy XIV (47 BC-44 BC)
Caesarion (44 BC-30 BC)
Born January 69 BC
Alexandria
Died August 12, 30 BC
Alexandria
Predecessor Ptolemy XII
Successor None (Roman province)
Consort Ptolemy XIII
Julius Caesar
Mark Antony
Issue Caesarion, Alexander Helios, Cleopatra Selene, Ptolemy Philadelph
Royal House Ptolemaic
Father Ptolemy XII
Cleopatra VII Philopator (in Greek:??e?p?t?a F???p?t??; January 69 BC – August 12, 30 BC), later Cleopatra Thea Neotera Philopator kai Philopatris, was queen of Ptolemaic Egypt, the last member of the Ptolemaic dynasty and hence the last Hellenistic ruler of Egypt. Although many other Egyptian Queens shared the name, she is usually known as simply Cleopatra, and all of her similarly named predecessors have mostly been forgotten.
Cleopatra was a co-ruler of Egypt with her father (Ptolemy XII Auletes), her brothers/husbands Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV and later her son Ptolemy XV Caesarion. Cleopatra survived a coup engineered by her brother Ptolemy XIII's courtiers, consummated a liaison with Gaius Julius Caesar that solidified her grip on the throne, and, after Caesar's assassination, aligned with Mark Antony, with whom she produced twins. In all, Cleopatra had 4 children, 3 by Antony and 1 by Caesar. Her unions with her brothers produced no children.
After Antony's rival and Caesar's legal heir, Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian, brought the might of Rome against Egypt, Cleopatra took her own life on August 12, 30 BC. Her legacy survives in the form of numerous dramatizations of her story, including William Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra and several modern films.
Cleopatra was a direct descendant of Alexander's general, Ptolemy I Soter, son of Arsinoe and Lacus, both of Macedon. A Greek by language and culture, Cleopatra is reputed to have been the first member of her family in their 300-year reign in Egypt to have learned the Egyptian language.
Contents [hide]
1 Early years
1.1 Father's reign
1.2 The accession to the throne
2 Cleopatra and Julius Caesar
2.1 The assassination of Pompey
2.2 Caesar and Caesarion
3 Cleopatra and Mark Antony
4 Suicide
5 Cleopatra in art, film, TV, and literature
5.1 Literature-drama
5.2 Literature-other
5.3 Films
5.4 TV
5.5 Opera
5.6 Ancient art - triumph painting, sculpture
5.7 Paintings, Renaissance onwards
5.7.1 The suicide
5.7.2 Other
6 Notes
7 External links
7.1 General
7.2 Paintings of Cleopatra
[edit]
Early years
[edit]
Father's reign
"Cleopatra" is Greek for "father's glory," and her full name, Cleopatra Thea Philopator, means "the Goddess Cleopatra, the Beloved of Her Father." She was the third daughter of the king Ptolemy XII Auletes, probably born to her father's sister, making her third in line to rule after her two other sisters died. Little is known about Cleopatra's childhood, but she would have observed the disordered events and loss of public affection for the Ptolemaic dynasty under the reign of her father. This occurred for many reasons including physical and moral degeneration of the sovereigns, centralization of power and corruption. This lead to uprising in and loss of Cyprus and of Cyrenaica, making Ptolemy's reign one of the most calamitous of the dynasty. In 58 BC Cleopatra's older sister, Berenice IV seized power from her father. With the assistance of the Roman governor of Syria, Aulus Gabinius, Ptolemy XII overturned his eldest daughter in 55 BC and had her executed. This left Cleopatra with her husband and younger brother, Ptolemy XIII, joint heirs to the throne.
[edit]
The accession to the throne
Pharaoh Ptolemy XII died in March 51 BC making the 18 year old Cleopatra and the 12 year old Ptolemy XIII joint monarchs. These first three years of their reign was difficult due to economic difficulties, famine, deficient floods of Nile and political conflicts. Although Cleopatra was married to her young brother, she quickly showed indications that she had no intentions of sharing the reign.
In August 51 BC relations between the sovereigns completely broke down, as Cleopatra was dropping Ptolemy's name from official documents and Cleopatra's face was appearing alone on coins, which went against Ptolemaic tradition of female rulers being subordinate to male co-rulers. This resulted in a cabal of courtiers, led by the eunuch Pothinus, removing Cleopatra from power and making Ptolemy sole ruler in circa 48 BC (possibly earlier, a decree exists with Ptolemy's name alone from 51 BC). She tried to raise a rebellion around Pelusium but she was soon forced to flee Egypt with her only surviving sister, Arsinoë.[1]
[edit]
Cleopatra and Julius Caesar
[edit]
The assassination of Pompey
Cleopatra bathing with Caesar looking on; he is not pictured, however. Royal London Wax Museum, Victoria BCWhile Cleopatra was in exile, Ptolemy became embroiled in the Roman civil war. In the autumn of 48 BC, Pompey fled from the forces of Julius Caesar to Alexandria, seeking sanctuary. Ptolemy, only fifteen years old at that time, had set up a throne for himself on the harbour from where he watched as on July 28, 48 BC Pompey was murdered by one of his former officers, now in Ptolemaic service. Ptolemy is thought to have ordered the death as a way of pleasing Julius Caesar and thus become an ally of Rome, to which Egypt was in debt. This was a catastrophic miscalculation on Ptolemy's part. When Caesar arrived in Egypt two days later, Ptolemy presented him with Pompey's severed, pickled head. Caesar was enraged. This was probably due to the fact that, although political enemies, Pompey was a Consul of Rome and the widower of Caesar's only daughter, Julia who died in childbirth with their son. Caesar seized the Egyptian capital and imposed himself as arbiter between the rival claims of Ptolemy and Cleopatra.
[edit]
Caesar and Caesarion
In Plutarch, eager to take advantage of Julius Caesar's anger with Ptolemy, Queen Cleopatra returned to the palace in a Persian carpet and had it presented to Caesar by her servant. It was at this point Caesar abandoned his plans to annex Egypt, instead backing Cleopatra's claim to the throne. After a short civil war, Ptolemy XIII was drowned in the Nile and Caesar restored Cleopatra to her throne, with another younger brother Ptolemy XIV as new co-ruler.
Despite the thirty year age difference, during his stay in Egypt between 48 BC and 47 BC Caesar became Cleopatra's lover. On 23 June 47 BC Cleopatra gave birth to a child, Ptolemy Caesar (nicknamed "Caesarion" which means "little Caesar"). Cleopatra claimed Caesar was the father and wished him to name the boy his heir, but Caesar refused, choosing his grand-nephew Octavian instead.
Cleopatra and Caesarion visited Rome between 46 BC and 44 BC and were present when Caesar was assassinated on 15 March 44 BC. Before or just after she returned to Egypt, Ptolemy XIV died mysteriously (possibly poisoned by Cleopatra). Cleopatra made Caesarion her co-regent and successor.
[edit]
Cleopatra and Mark Antony
In 42 BC, Mark Antony, one of the triumvirs who ruled Rome in the power vacuum following Caesar's death, summoned Cleopatra to meet him in Tarsus to answer questions about her loyalty. Cleopatra arrived in great state, and so charmed Antony that he chose to spend the winter of 41 BC–40 BC with her in Alexandria. On 25 December 40 BC she gave birth to twins, who were named Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene (II).
Four years later, in 37 BC, Antony visited Alexandria again while on route to make war with the Parthians. He renewed his relationship with Cleopatra, and from this point on Alexandria would be his home. He married Cleopatra according to the Egyptian rite (a letter quoted in Suetonius suggests this), although he was at the time married to Octavia Minor, sister of his fellow triumvir Octavian. He and Cleopatra had another child, Ptolemy Philadelphus. At the Donations of Alexandria in late 34 BC, following Antony's conquest of Armenia, Cleopatra and Caesarion were crowned co-rulers of Egypt and Cyprus; Alexander Helios was crowned ruler of Armenia, Media, and Parthia; Cleopatra Selene (II) was crowned ruler of Cyrenaica and Libya; and Ptolemy Philadelphus was crowned ruler of Phoenicia, Syria, and Cilicia. Cleopatra also took the title of Queen of Kings.
There are a number of unverifiable but famous stories about Cleopatra, of which one of the best known is that, at one of the lavish dinners she shared with Antony, she playfully bet him that she could spend ten million sesterces on a dinner. He accepted the bet. The next night, she had a conventional, unspectacular meal served; he was ridiculing this, when she ordered the second course — only a cup of strong vinegar. She then removed one of her priceless pearl earrings, dropped it into the vinegar, allowed it to dissolve, and drank the mixture.
Antony's behavior was considered outrageous by the Romans, and Octavian convinced the Senate to levy war against Egypt. In 31 BC Antony's forces faced the Romans in a naval action off the coast of Actium. Cleopatra was present with a fleet of her own. Popular legend tells us that when she saw that Antony's poorly equipped and manned ships were losing to the Romans' superior vessels, she took flight and that Antony abandoned the battle to follow her, but no contemporary evidence states this was the case.
The Death of Cleopatra by Reginald ArthurFollowing the Battle of Actium, Octavian invaded Egypt. As he approached Alexandria, Antony's armies deserted to Octavian on August 12, 30 BC.
[edit]
Suicide
Antony committed suicide, having been told Cleopatra was dead. A few days later Cleopatra died as well by her own hand. The ancient sources generally agree that she was bitten by an asp, as were two of her servants. Octavian, waiting in a building nearby, was informed of her death, and went to see for himself.[2]
Cleopatra's son by Caesar, Caesarion, was proclaimed pharaoh by Egyptians, but Octavian had already won. Caesarion was captured and executed, his fate reportedly sealed by Octavian's famous phrase: "Too many Caesars". Thus ended not just the Hellenistic line of Egyptian pharaohs, but the line of all Egyptian pharaohs. The three children of Cleopatra with Antony were spared and taken back to Rome where they were reared by Antony's wife, Octavia.
[edit]
Cleopatra in art, film, TV, and literature
Cleopatra's story has fascinated scores of writers and artists through the centuries. No doubt, much of her appeal lay in her legend as a great seductress who was able to ally herself with two of the most powerful men (Caesar and Antony) of her time. These themes were explored in the 2001 exhibition Cleopatra of Egypt: From History to Myth.
[edit]
Literature-drama
Among the more famous works on her:
Antony and Cleopatra (c. 1607) by William Shakespeare
All for Love (1678) by John Dryden
Caesar and Cleopatra (1901) by George Bernard Shaw
The Death of Cleopatre by Ahmed Shawqi
[edit]
Literature-other
Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George
Cléopâtre by Jules-Émile-Frédéric Massenet
Incipit Legenda Cleopatrie Martiris, Egipti Regine from Geoffrey Chaucer's The Legend of Good Women
Cléopatre by Victorien Sardou
Cleopatra (1889) by H. Rider Haggard
The Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George
Many Asterix books, with a Cleopatra inspired by Elizabeth Taylor.
archie and mehitabel a satirical newspaper column (later collected into books and worked into a play, Shinbone Alley (later retitled archie and mehitabel)) in which Mehitabel the Cat claims to be the reincarnation of Cleopatra.
The Royal Diaries: Cleopatra: Daughter of the Nile, Egypt, 57 B.C. by Kristiana Gregory (ficitionlized story of Cleopatra's childhood and adolecense)
[edit]
Films
Film poster for the 1917 Cleopatra film.The earliest Cleopatra-related motion picture was Antony and Cleopatra (1908) with Florence Lawrence as Cleopatra. The earliest film on Cleopatra as the main subject was Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, starring Helen Gardner (1912).
Among the film/TV works inspired by the Queen of the Nile:
(1917): Cleopatra: Theda Bara (Cleopatra), Fritz Leiber (Caesar), Thurston Hall (Antony). Directed by J. Gordon Edwards. Based on Émile Moreau's play Cléopatre, Sardou's play Cléopatre, and Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra.
(1934): Cleopatra: Claudette Colbert (Cleopatra), Warren William (Caesar), Henry Wilcoxon (Antony). Oscar-winning Cecil B. DeMille epic.
(1946): Caesar and Cleopatra: Vivien Leigh (Cleopatra), Claude Rains (Caesar), Stewart Granger, Flora Robson — Oscar-nominated version of George Bernard Shaw's play. Leigh also played Cleopatra opposite then-husband's Laurence Olivier's Caesar in a later London stage version.
(1953): Serpent of the Nile: Rhonda Fleming (Cleopatra), Raymond Burr (Mark Antony), Michael Fox (Octavian).
(1963): Cleopatra: Elizabeth Taylor (Cleopatra), Rex Harrison (Caesar), Richard Burton (Antony). Oscar-winning block-buster most (in)famously remembered for the off-screen affair between Taylor and Burton and the at-the-time massive $44 million cost.
(1964): Carry On Cleo, a spoof of the 1963 film, with Amanda Barrie as Cleopatra, Sid James as Mark Antony, and Kenneth Williams as Caesar.
(1970): Kureopatora (Cleopatra: Queen of Sex), a bizarre animated Japanese movie by Osamu Tezuka. The English subtitled version is said to be lost.
(1974): Antony & Cleopatra: performed by London's Royal Shakespeare Company. Starred Janet Suzman (Cleopatra), Richard Johnson (Antony), and Patrick Stewart (Enobarbus).
(1999): Cleopatra (movie): Leonor Varela (Cleopatra), Timothy Dalton (Caesar), Billy Zane (Antony). Based on the book Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George, it is less faithful to history than the earlier versions
A longer discussion of Cleopatra films is at: Cleopatra (movie).
[edit]
TV
(2005): Rome (TV series), episode 8 of season 1 features Cleopatra extensively, along with her brother Ptolemy XIII. The episode begins with Pompey's assassination and ends with the birth of Caesarion.
[edit]
Opera
Appears as a character in operas by Handel, Carl Heinrich Graun, Johann Adolf Hasse, and Johann Mattheson|
Antony and Cleopatra by Samuel Barber opened the new Metropolitan Opera House in 1966.
[edit]
Ancient art - triumph painting, sculpture
The most famous painting of Cleopatra is one that almost certainly no longer exists now. Because the queen died in Egypt well before Augustus' triumph could be put on in Rome, in which she would have walked in chains, Augustus commissioned a large painting of her, which was carried in his triumphal procession, and which may have represented her being poisoned by an asp. The sources for the story are Plut. Ant. 86 and App. Civ. II.102, although the latter may well refer to a statue, and Cass. Dio LI.21.3 reports that the "image" was of gold, and thus not a painting at all. The purported painting was seen and engraved in the early 19th century: it was in a private collection near Sorrento. Since then, this painting is said to have formed part of a collection in Cortona, but there no longer appears to be any trace of it; its quiet disappearance is almost certainly due to its being a fake. For comprehensive details on the entire question, see the external links at the end of this article.
[edit]
Paintings, Renaissance onwards
Cleopatra and her death have inspired hundreds of paintings from the Renaissance to our own time, none of them of any historical value of course; the subject appealing in particular to French academic painters.
Sir Thomas Browne: Of the Picture describing the death of Cleopatra (1672)
John Sartain: On the Antique Portrait of Cleopatra (1818)
[edit]
The suicide
Suicide of Cleopatra. Oil on canvas. 46 x 36-3/4 in. (116.8 x 93.3 cm) painted by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, also called Guercino. Painted in 1621 and which hangs in the collection in the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, California. It shows Cleopatra and in her hand a snake that she prepares to use in her suicide.
The Death of Cleopatra, painted by Jean André Rixens, painted in 1874 and that hangs in the Musée des Augustins in Toulouse, France.
The Death of Cleopatra, Guido Cagnacci, 1658The Death of Cleopatra, painted by Guido Cagnacci, painted in 1658. Oil on canvas. Hanging in the Vienna Kunsthistorisches Museum.
[edit]
Other
The Banquet of Cleopatra (1743–5). Oil on Canvas, 248.2 x 357.8cm. Painted by Giambattista Tiepolo (1696–1770), which hangs in the National Gallery of Victoria, Australia, depicting the banquet in which Cleopatra dissolves her pearl earring in a glass of vinegar.
Cleopatra and Caesar (Cléopâtre et César) (1866). Oil on canvas. Painted by Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824–1904). The original painting has been lost, and only copies remain. The work depicts Cleopatra standing before a seated Caesar, painted in the Orientalist style.
[edit]
Notes
^ Peter Green (1990). Alexander to Actium: The Historical Evolution of the Hellenistic Age. Berkeley: University of California Press, 661-664. ISBN 0-520-05611-6.
^ Smith, William (ed.) (1867). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Boston: Little, Brown & Company, 802.
[edit]
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Cleopatra VII of Egypt[edit]
General
Cleopatra on the Web - Some 580 resources, including ancient and modern pictures.
Cleopatra VII Philopator ancient sources
Cleopatra VII (VI) at LacusCurtius — (Chapter XIII of E. R. Bevan's House of Ptolemy, 1923)
Cleopatra - a Victorian children's book by Jacob Abbott, 1852, Project Gutenberg edition.
Genealogy of Cleopatra VII
James Grout: Cleopatra, part of the Encyclopædia Romana
Cleopatra VII Ptolemaic Dynasty
Discovery Channel "Mysterious Death of Cleopatra"
[edit]
Paintings of Cleopatra
Sir Thomas Browne: Of the Picture describing the death of Cleopatra (1672)
John Sartain: On the Antique Portrait of Cleopatra (1818)
Preceded by:
Ptolemy XII Ptolemaic Queen of Egypt
with Ptolemy XII, Ptolemy XIII, Ptolemy XIV, and Ptolemy XV Succeeded by:
Roman province
{geni:occupation} Pharaoh, Queen, Dernière Reine d'Egypte, Inte gifta, Last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, fick ej gifta sig men levde ihop
{geni:about_me} [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleopatra Wikipedia]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleopatra_VII Cleopatra VII Philopator] (in Greek, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ; January 69 BC – August 12, 30 BC) was the last effective pharaoh of Egypt's Ptolemaic dynasty. She originally shared power with her father Ptolemy XII and later with her brothers Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV, whom she also married, but eventually gained sole rule. As pharaoh, she consummated a liaison with Gaius Julius Caesar that solidified her grip on the throne. She later elevated her son with Caesar, Caesarion, to co-ruler in name.
Cleopatra is by far one of the most ever famous queens of all times in ancient Egypt. Her story of love and death is very famous and she ruled Egypt and made it quite powerful at the time. She was highly educated and possessed an impressive intellect, being a student of philosophy and international relations.
Cleopatra was born in 69 B.C. in Alexandria. She was the third daughter in line to her father Ptolemy XII; she later had another sister and two younger brothers. Her younger brother Ptolemy XIII later reigned with her.
Cleopatra’s story is one of the most famous ever. Not only because of her great love, but because she is classified by historians to be the last Pharoah of Egypt. Cleopatra came to the throne after death of her two elder sisters and after death of her father whom was much hated by the Egyptian and had fled to Rome several years before.
During the two centuries that preceded Ptolemy XII death, the Ptolemies were allied with the Romans. The Ptolemies' strength was failing and the Roman Empire was rising. During the later rule of the Ptolemies, the Romans gained more and more control over Egypt. Tributes had to be paid to the Romans to keep them away from Egypt.
She came to reign in 51B.C.and was of 17 years of age. She was the only Ptolemic Pharoah to speak the Egyptian language. She also took on the Egyptian religion. She was very intelligent and was a shrewd politician with an extraordinary charisma. However, she was not beautiful.
She had amazing will-power; her struggle began after being exiled to Syria with her sister by her brother, husband and Co-regent Ptolemy XIII. When Cleopatra became co-regent, her world was crumbling down around her. Cyprus, Syria and other capitals were gone. There was anarchy abroad and famine at home.
Between 51 and 49 BC, Egypt was suffering from bad harvests and famine because of a drought which stopped the much needed Nile flooding. Regardless, she started an army from the Arab tribes which were east of Pelusium. During this time, she and her sister Arsinoe moved to Syria. They returned by way of Ascalon which may have been Cleopatra's temporary base.
In the meantime, Pompey had been defeated at Pharsalus in August of 48 BC. He headed for Alexandria hoping to find refuge with Ptolemy XIII, of whom Pompey was a senate-appointed guardian. Pompey did not realize how much his reputation had been destroyed by Pharsalus until it was too late.
She started to go to war with her brother. This occurred after the death of Pompey, who had sought refuge from Caesar to Egypt but was stabbed to death once he came ashore to Alexandria by Ptolemy’s advisors.
Caesar who was on Pompey’s tail, arrived in Alexandria 4 days later. There he acclaimed to be the ruler of Egypt bringing with him thirty-two hundred legionaries and eight hundred cavalry. He also brought twelve other soldiers who bore the insignia of the Roman government who carried a bundle of rods with an ax with a blade that projected out. This was considered a badge of authority that gave a clear hint of his intentions.
There were riots that followed in Alexandria. Ptolemy XIII was gone to Pelusium and Caesar placed himself in the royal palace and started giving out orders to make Ptolemy XIII return again.
Cleopatra’s cleverly let herself be invited to Caesar’s palace. Wrapped up in a carpet she was delivered to him and as the carpet was unwrapped she appeared to him.
Being powerfully seductive, she lured Ceasar before Ptolemy's arrival who upon seeing that they were in love, screamed out "Betrayal to all the Alexandrians".
The Alexandrian War was started when Pothinus called for Ptolemy XIII's soldiers in November and surrounded Caesar in Alexandria with twenty thousand men. During the war, parts of the Alexandrian Library and some of the warehouses were burned. However, Caesar did manage to capture the Pharos lighthouse, which kept his control of the harbor. Cleopatra's sister, Arsinoe, escaped from the palace and ran to Achillas. She was proclaimed the queen by the Macedonian mob and the army.
During the fighting, Caesar executed Pothinus and Achillas was murdered by Ganymede. Ptolemy XIII drowned in the Nile while he was trying to flee.
Alexandria surrendered to Caesar, who captured Arsinoe and restored Cleopatra on the throne.
Egyptian law did not allow a queen to rule without a king, so Cleopatra married another brother, Ptolemy XIV, but she was in love with Caesar. Caesar and Cleopatra spent
the next several months traveling along the Nile, where Caesar saw how the Egyptian people worshipped Cleopatra.
It was at that time that Cleopatra became pregnant with Caesars son. She later gave birth to a son, Ptolemy XV, called Caesarion or "Little Caesar."
Caesar returned to Rome in 46 BCE with Cleopatra and their newborn son, Caesarion. Caesar had only one other child.
Caesar was very popular with the Roman people. They named him dictator. Cleopatra was less popular with the Romans. She had called herself the "new Isis." Many Romans were unhappy that Caesar was marrying a foreigner.
On March 15, 44 BC a crowd of conspirators surrounded Caesar at a Senate meeting and stabbed him to death. Knowing that she too was in danger, Cleopatra quickly left Rome. Later her brother died and Cleopatra made her four-year-old son rule as the new king. She found Egypt suffering from plagues and famine. The Nile canals had been neglected during her absence which caused the harvests to be bad and the inundations low. The bad harvests continued from 43 until 41 BC.
Rome was in turmoil after Caesar's murder. Several armies competed for control. The two greatest were those of Mark Antony and Octavian. Octavian was the adopted son of Julius Caesar, but Mark Antony was believed to have led a larger army. When Antony asked Cleopatra to meet with him, Cleopatra decided that she had another opportunity to return to power both in Egypt, and in Rome.
Another episode of Cleopatra’s story of love is revealed in her story with Mark Anthony. Their story began when mark Antony asked Cleopatra to come to see him in Turkey. She knew that he could be easily dazzled by her glamour and drama.
He became immediately infatuated, had an affair that led to the birth of his twins, Cleopatra Selene and Alexander Helios. Four years later, Mark Antony came back to Cleopatra on his way to invade Parthia. He stayed in Alexandria.
Cleopatra then gave birth to another son; Ptolemy Philadelphus Mark Anthony gave her control of land which was very essential to Egypt. He gave her Cyprus, the Siciliian coast, Phoenicia, Coele-Syria, Judea and Arabia. This allowed Egypt to be able to build ships from the lumber. Egypt then built a large fleet. Antony had planned a campaign against the Parthians. He obviously needed Cleopatra's support for this and in 36 BC, he was defeated. He became more indebted to her than ever.
However, tragedy was now being plotted in Rome. Mark Antony’s wife, Octavia was frustrated, angry and humiliated, especially after Mark Antony starting to give his illegitimate children royal titles.
Ptolemy XV (Caesarion) was made the co-ruler with his mother and was called the King of Kings. Cleopatra was called the Queen of Kings, which was a higher position than that of Caesarion's. Alexander Helios, which meant the sun, was named Great King of the Seleucid Empire when it was at its highest. Cleopatra Selene, which meant the moon, was called Queen of Cyrenaica and Crete. Cleopatra and Antony's son, Ptolemy Philadelphos was named King of Syria and Asia Minor at the age of two. Cleopatra had dreams of becoming the Empress of the world.
In 32 to 31 BC, Antony finally divorced Octavia. This forced the Western part of the world to recognize his relationship with Cleopatra. He had already put her name and face on a Roman coin, the silver denarii. The denarii was widely circulated throughout the Mediterranean. By doing this, Antony's relationship with the Roman allegiance was ended and Octavian decided to publish Antony's will. Octavian then formally declared war against Cleopatra.
Octavian's navy severely defeated Antony in Actium, which is in Greece, on September 2, 31 BC. Octavian's admiral, Agrippa, planned and carried out the defeat. In less than a year, Antony half-heartedly defended Alexandria against the advancing army of Octavian. After the defeat, Antony committed suicide by falling on his own sword in 30 BC.
CLEOPATRA’S death is one of the most poignant ever. After arranging Antony’s funeral, she and her children were taken prisoners and Cleopatra afraid of being humiliated decided to take her life.
She would not live degraded, so she had an asp, which was an Egyptian cobra, brought to her hidden in a basket of figs. She arranged a big delicious meal and asked for figs.
When the guards entered to see Cleopatra she was already dead. They found the 39-year old queen dead on her golden bed, with her maid Iras dying at her feet. Her other maid, Charmion, was adjusting Cleopatra's crown, and she too fell over dead. Two pricks were found on Cleopatra's arm, and it was believed that she had allowed herself to be bitten by an asp (a kind of poisonous snake). As she had wished, she was buried beside Antony.
She died on August 12, 30 BC at the age of 39. The Egyptian religion declared that death by snakebite would secure immortality. With this, she achieved her dying wish, to not be forgotten.
The only other ruler to cast a shadow on the fascination with Cleopatra was Alexander who was another Macedonian. After Cleopatra's death, Caesarion was strangled and the other children of Cleopatra were raised by Antony's wife, Octavia.
Her death was the mark of the end of the Egyptian Monarchs. The Roman Emperors came into to rule in Egypt.
Though Cleopatra bore the ancient Egyptian title of pharaoh, the Ptolemaic dynasty was Hellenistic, having been founded 300 years before by Ptolemy I Soter, a Macedonian Greek general of Alexander the Great.[2][3][4][5] As such Cleopatra's language was the Greek spoken by the Hellenic aristocracy, though she was reputed to be the first ruler of the dynasty to learn Egyptian. She also adopted common Egyptian beliefs and deities. Her patron goddess was Isis, and thus during her reign it was believed that she was the re-incarnation and embodiment of the goddess of wisdom. Her death marks the end of the Ptolemaic Kingdom and Hellenistic period and the beginning of the Roman era in the eastern Mediterranean.
To this day Cleopatra remains a popular figure in Western culture. Her legacy survives in numerous works of art and the many dramatizations of her story in literature and other media, including William Shakespeare's tragedy Antony and Cleopatra, Jules Massenet's opera Cléopâtre and the 1963 film Cleopatra. In most depictions, Cleopatra is put forward as a great beauty and her successive conquests of the world's most powerful men is taken to be proof of her aesthetic and sexual appeal. In his Pensées, philosopher Blaise Pascal contends that Cleopatra's classically beautiful profile changed world history: "Cleopatra's nose, had it been shorter, the whole face of the world would have been changed."[6]
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Cleopatra VII Philopator, Queen of Egypt, was born circa October, 69 BC, Alexandria, Egypt; died, August 12, 30 BC, Alexandria, Egypt.
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ID: I62179
Name: CLEOPATRA @ VII OF EGYPT
Prefix: Queen
Given Name: CLEOPATRA @ VII
Surname: OF EGYPT
Sex: F
_UID: 1818155B624DB140B12BFB8D58F87A0B795D
Change Date: 14 Aug 2004
Note:
Cleopatra (69-30 bc), ill-fated queen of Egypt (51-30 bc), celebrated for her love affairs with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. Cleopatra, or more precisely, Cleopatra VII, was the daughter of Ptolemy XII Auletes, king of Egypt. On her father's death in 51 bc Cleopatra, then about 17 years old, and her brother, Ptolemy XIII, a child of about 12 years, succeeded jointly to the throne of Egypt with the provision that they should marry. In the third year of their reign Ptolemy, encouraged by his advisers, assumed sole control of the government and drove Cleopatra into exile. She promptly gathered an army in Syria but was unable to assert her claim until the arrival at Alexandria of Julius Caesar, who became her lover and espoused her cause. He was for a time hard pressed by the Egyptians but ultimately triumphed, and in 47 bc Ptolemy XIII was killed. Caesar proclaimed Cleopatra queen of Egypt.
Cleopatra was then forced by custom to marry her younger brother, Ptolemy XIV, then about 11 years old. After settling their joint government on a secure basis, Cleopatra went to Rome, where she lived as Caesar's mistress. She gave birth to a son, Caesarion, later Ptolemy XV; it is believed that Caesar was his father. After Caesar's assassination in 44 bc, Cleopatra is said to have poisoned Ptolemy XIV. She then returned to Egypt and made Caesarion her coregent. Because Cleopatra hesitated to take sides in the civil war following Caesar's death, Mark Antony summoned her to meet him to explain her conduct. He fell in love with her and returned with her to Egypt. After living with her for some time, Antony was compelled to return to Rome, where he married Octavia, a sister of Caesar's heir Octavian, later Roman emperor as Augustus. After Antony's departure Cleopatra bore him twins. In 36 bc Antony went to the East as commander of an expedition against the Parthians. He sent for Cleopatra, who joined him at Antioch. They were married, and a third child was born. In 34 bc, after a successful campaign against the Parthians, he celebrated his triumph at Alexandria. He continued to reside in Egypt. In 32 bc, when Octavian declared war against Cleopatra and Antony, Antony divorced Octavia.
Cleopatra insisted on taking part in the campaign. At the naval engagement at Actium in 31 bc, believing Antony's defeat to be inevitable, she withdrew her fleet from action, and she and Antony fled to Alexandria. On the approach of Octavian, Antony, deceived by a false report of the death of the queen, committed suicide. Hearing that Octavian intended to exhibit her in his triumph at Rome, Cleopatra killed herself, probably by poison, or, according to an old tradition, by the bite of an asp. Caesarion, the last member of the Ptolemy dynasty, was put to death by Octavian, and Egypt subsequently became a Roman province.
Cleopatra's life has formed the basis for many literary works, the most notable of which are the plays Antony and Cleopatra by Shakespeare, All for Love by the English dramatist John Dryden, and Caesar and Cleopatra by the British playwright George Bernard Shaw.
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Birth: 69 BC
Death: 30 BC
Father: Ptolemy XIII of Egypt
Mother: Cleopatra V Tryphaena of Egypt
Marriage 1 MARC @ ANTHONY OF ROME b: 83 BC
Married:
Children
Cleopatra Selene b: 40 BC
Forrás / Source:
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=jdp-fam&id=I62179
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleopatra
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Her end: Committed suicide by a snake's bite.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleopatra_VII_of_Egypt
Cleopatra VII Philopator (in Greek, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ; (Late 69 BC – August 12, 30 BC) was the last person to rule Egypt as an Egyptian pharaoh – after her death Egypt became a Roman province.
She was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Ancient Egypt, and therefore was a descendant of one of Alexander the Great's generals who had seized control over Egypt after Alexander's death. Most Ptolemeis spoke Greek and refused to learn Egyptian, which is the reason that Greek as well as Egyptian languages were used on official court documents like the Rosetta Stone. By contrast, Cleopatra learned Egyptian and represented herself as the reincarnation of an Egyptian Goddess.
Cleopatra originally ruled jointly with her father Ptolemy XII Auletes and later with her brothers, Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV, whom she married as per Egyptian custom, but eventually she became sole ruler. As pharaoh, she consummated a liaison with Gaius Julius Caesar that solidified her grip on the throne. She later elevated her son with Caesar, Caesarion, to co-ruler in name.
After Caesar's assassination in 44 BC, she aligned with Mark Antony in opposition to Caesar's legal heir, Gaius Iulius Caesar Octavianus (later known as Augustus). With Antony, she bore the twins Cleopatra Selene II and Alexander Helios, and another son, Ptolemy Philadelphus. Her unions with her brothers produced no children. After losing the Battle of Actium to Octavian's forces, Antony committed suicide. Cleopatra followed suit, according to tradition killing herself by means of an asp bite on August 12, 30 BC. She was briefly outlived by Caesarion, who was declared pharaoh, but he was soon killed on Octavian's orders. Egypt became the Roman province of Aegyptus.
Though Cleopatra bore the ancient Egyptian title of pharaoh, the Ptolemaic dynasty was Hellenistic, having been founded 300 years before by Ptolemy I Soter, a Macedonian Greek general of Alexander the Great. As such, Cleopatra's language was the Greek spoken by the Hellenic aristocracy, though she was reputed to be the first ruler of the dynasty to learn Egyptian. She also adopted common Egyptian beliefs and deities. Her patron deity was Isis, and thus, during her reign, it was believed that she was the re-incarnation and embodiment of the goddess. Her death marked the end of the Ptolemaic Kingdom and Hellenistic period and the beginning of the Roman era in the eastern Mediterranean.
To this day, Cleopatra remains a popular figure in Western culture. Her legacy survives in numerous works of art and the many dramatizations of her story in literature and other media, including William Shakespeare's tragedy Antony and Cleopatra, Jules Massenet's opera Cléopâtre and the 1963 film Cleopatra. In most depictions, Cleopatra is put forward as a great beauty and her successive conquests of the world's most powerful men are taken to be proof of her aesthetic and sexual appeal. In his Pensées, philosopher Blaise Pascal contends that Cleopatra's classically beautiful profile changed world history: "Cleopatra's nose, had it been shorter, the whole face of the world would have been changed."
Biography
Accession to the throne
The identity of Cleopatra's mother is unknown, but she is generally believed to be Cleopatra V Tryphaena of Egypt, the sister or cousin and wife of Ptolemy XII, or possibly another Ptolemaic family member who was the daughter of Ptolemy X and Cleopatra Berenice III Philopator if Cleopatra V was not the daughter of Ptolemy X and Berenice III. Cleopatra's father Auletes was a direct descendant of Alexander the Great's general, Ptolemy I Soter, son of Arsinoe and Lacus, both of Macedon.
Centralization of power and corruption led to uprisings in and the losses of Cyprus and Cyrenaica, making Ptolemy's reign one of the most calamitous of the dynasty. When Ptolemy went to Rome with Cleopatra, Cleopatra VI Tryphaena seized the crown but died shortly afterwards in suspicious circumstances. It is believed, though not proven by historical sources, that Berenice IV poisoned her so she could assume sole rulership. Regardless of the cause, she did until Ptolemy Auletes returned in 55 BC, with Roman support, capturing Alexandria aided by Roman general Aulus Gabinius. Berenice was imprisoned and executed shortly afterwards, her head allegedly being sent to the royal court on the decree of her father, the king. Cleopatra was now, at age 14, put as joint regent and deputy of her father, although her power was likely to have been severely limited.
Ptolemy XII died in March 51 BC, thus by his will making the 18-year-old Cleopatra and her brother, the 10-year-old Ptolemy XIII joint monarchs. The first three years of their reign were difficult, due to economic difficulties, famine, deficient floods of the Nile, and political conflicts. Although Cleopatra was married to her young brother, she quickly made it clear that she had no intention of sharing power with him.
In August 51 BC, relations between Cleopatra and Ptolemy completely broke down. Cleopatra dropped Ptolemy's name from official documents and her face appeared alone on coins, which went against Ptolemaic tradition of female rulers being subordinate to male co-rulers. In 50 BC Cleopatra came into a serious conflict with the Gabiniani, powerful Roman troops of Aulus Gabinius who had left them in Egypt to protect Ptolemy XII after his restoration to the throne in 55 BC. This conflict was one of the main causes for Cleopatra's soon following loss of power.
The sole reign of Cleopatra was finally ended by a cabal of courtiers, led by the eunuch Pothinus, removing Cleopatra from power and making Ptolemy sole ruler in circa 48 BC (or possibly earlier, as a decree exists from 51 BC with Ptolemy's name alone). She tried to raise a rebellion around Pelusium, but she was soon forced to flee with her only remaining sister, Arsinoë.
Relation with Julius Caesar
Assassination of Pompey
While Cleopatra was in exile, Pompey became embroiled in the Roman civil war. In the autumn of 48 BC, Pompey fled from the forces of Caesar to Alexandria, seeking sanctuary. Ptolemy, only fifteen years old at that time, had set up a throne for himself on the harbour, from where he watched as on September 28, 48 BC, Pompey was murdered by one of his former officers, now in Ptolemaic service. He was beheaded in front of his wife and children, who were on the ship from which he had just disembarked. Ptolemy is thought to have ordered the death to ingratiate himself with Caesar, thus becoming an ally of Rome, to which Egypt was in debt at the time, though this act proved a miscalculation on Ptolemy's part. When Caesar arrived in Egypt two days later, Ptolemy presented him with Pompey's severed head; Caesar was enraged. Although he was Caesar's political enemy, Pompey was a Consul of Rome and the widower of Caesar's only legitimate daughter, Julia (who died in childbirth with Pompey's son). Caesar seized the Egyptian capital and imposed himself as arbiter between the rival claims of Ptolemy and Cleopatra.
Relationship with Julius Caesar
Eager to take advantage of Julius Caesar's anger toward Ptolemy, Cleopatra had herself smuggled secretly into the palace to meet with Caesar. One legend claims she entered past Ptolemy’s guards rolled up in a carpet. She became Caesar’s mistress, and nine months after their first meeting, in 47 BC, Cleopatra gave birth to their son, Ptolemy Caesar, nicknamed Caesarion, which means "little Caesar".
At this point Caesar abandoned his plans to annex Egypt, instead backing Cleopatra's claim to the throne. After a war lasting six months between the party of Ptolemy XIII and the Roman army of Caesar, Ptolemy XIII was drowned in the Nile and Caesar restored Cleopatra to her throne, with another younger brother Ptolemy XIV as her new co-ruler.
Although Cleopatra was 21 years old when they met and Caesar was 52, they became lovers during Caesar’s stay in Egypt between 48 BC and 47 BC. Cleopatra claimed Caesar was the father of her son and wished him to name the boy his heir, but Caesar refused, choosing his grandnephew Octavian instead. During this relationship, it is also rumored that Cleopatra introduced Caesar to her astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria, who first proposed the idea of leap day and leap years.
Cleopatra, Ptolemy XIV and Caesarion visited Rome in summer 46 BC, where the Egyptian queen resided in one of Caesar's country houses. The relationship between Cleopatra and Caesar was obvious to the Roman people and it was a scandal, because the Roman dictator was already married to Calpurnia Pisonis. But Caesar even erected a golden statue of Cleopatra represented as Isis in the temple of Venus Genetrix (the mythical ancestress of Caesar's family), which was situated at the Forum Julium. The Roman orator Cicero said in his preserved letters that he hated the foreign queen. Cleopatra and her entourage were in Rome when Caesar was assassinated on 15 March, 44 BC. She returned with her relatives to Egypt. When Ptolemy XIV died – allegedly poisoned by his older sister - Cleopatra made Caesarion her co-regent and successor and gave him the epithets Theos Philopator Philometor (= Father- and motherloving God).
Cleopatra in the Roman Civil War
In the Roman civil war between the Caesarian party – led by Mark Antony and Octavian – and the party of the assassins of Caesar – led by Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus – Cleopatra sided with the Caesarian party because of her past. Brutus and Cassius left Italy and sailed to the East of the Roman Empire, where they conquered large areas and established their military bases. At the beginning of 43 BC Cleopatra formed an alliance with the leader of the Caesarian party in the East, Publius Cornelius Dolabella, who recognized Caesarion as her co-ruler. But soon Dolabella was encircled in Laodicea and committed suicide (July 43 BC).
Now Cassius wanted to invade Egypt to seize the treasures of that country and to punish the queen for her refusal of Cassius’ request to send him supplies and her support for Dolabella. Egypt seemed an easy booty because the land did not have strong land forces and there was famine and an epidemic. Cassius finally wanted to prevent Cleopatra from bringing a strong reinforcement for Antony and Octavian. But he could not execute the invasion of Egypt because at the end of 43 BC Brutus summoned him back to Smyrna. Cassius tried to blockade Cleopatra’s way to the Caesarians. For this purpose Lucius Staius Murcus moved with 60 ships and a legion of elite troops into position at Cape Matapan in the south of the Peloponnese. Nevertheless Cleopatra sailed with her fleet from Alexandria to the west along the Libyan coast to join the Caesarian leaders but she was forced to return to Egypt because her ships were damaged by a violent storm and she became ill. Staius Murcus learned of the misfortune of the queen and saw parts of her wrecked ships at the coast of Greece. He then sailed with his ships into the Adriatic Sea.
Cleopatra and Mark Antony
In 41 BC, Mark Antony, one of the triumvirs who ruled Rome in the power vacuum following Caesar's death, sent his intimate friend Quintus Dellius to Egypt. Dellius had to summon Cleopatra to Tarsus to meet there Antony and answer questions about her loyalty. During the Roman civil war she allegedly had paid much money to Cassius. It seems that in reality Antony wanted Cleopatra’s promise to support his intended war against the Parthians. Cleopatra arrived in great state, and so charmed Antony that he chose to spend the winter of 41 BC–40 BC with her in Alexandria.
To safeguard herself and Caesarion, she had Antony order the death of her sister Arsinoe, who was living at the temple of Artemis in Ephesus, which was under Roman control. The execution was carried out in 41 BC on the steps of the temple, and this violation of temple sanctuary scandalised Rome. Cleopatra had also executed her strategos of Cyprus, Serapion, who had supported Cassius against her intentions.
On 25 December 40 BC, Cleopatra gave birth to twins fathered by Antony, Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene II. Four years later, Antony visited Alexandria again en route to make war with the Parthians. He renewed his relationship with Cleopatra, and from this point on Alexandria would be his home. He married Cleopatra according to the Egyptian rite (a letter quoted in Suetonius suggests this), although he was at the time married to Octavia Minor, sister of his fellow triumvir Octavian. He and Cleopatra had another child, Ptolemy Philadelphus.
At the Donations of Alexandria in late 34 BC, following Antony's conquest of Armenia, Cleopatra and Caesarion were crowned co-rulers of Egypt and Cyprus; Alexander Helios was crowned ruler of Armenia, Media, and Parthia; Cleopatra Selene II was crowned ruler of Cyrenaica and Libya; and Ptolemy Philadelphus was crowned ruler of Phoenicia, Syria, and Cilicia. Cleopatra was also given the title of "Queen of Kings" by Antonius. Her enemies in Rome feared that Cleopatra "was planning a war of revenge that was to array all the East against Rome, establish herself as empress of the world at Rome, cast justice from Capitolium, and inaugurate a new universal kingdom." Caesarion was not only elevated having coregency with Cleopatra, but also proclaimed with many titles, including god, son of god and king of kings, and was depicted as Horus.[citation needed] Egyptians thought Cleopatra to be a reincarnation of goddess Isis, as she called herself (Nea Isis).
Relations between Antony and Octavian, disintegrating for several years, finally broke down in 33 BC, and Octavian convinced the Senate to levy war against Egypt. In 31 BC Antony's forces faced the Romans in a naval action off the coast of Actium. Cleopatra was present with a fleet of her own. Popular legend states that when she saw that Antony's poorly equipped and manned ships were losing to the Romans' superior vessels, she took flight and that Antony abandoned the battle to follow her, but no contemporary evidence states this was the case. Following the Battle of Actium, Octavian invaded Egypt. As he approached Alexandria, Antony's armies deserted to Octavian on August 1, 30 BC.
There are a number of unverifiable stories about Cleopatra, of which one of the best known is that, at one of the lavish dinners she shared with Antony, she playfully bet him that she could spend ten million sesterces on a dinner. He accepted the bet. The next night, she had a conventional, unspectacular meal served; he was ridiculing this, when she ordered the second course — only a cup of strong vinegar. She then removed one of her priceless pearl earrings, dropped it into the vinegar, allowed it to dissolve, and drank the mixture. The earliest report of this story comes from Pliny the Elder and dates to about 100 years after the banquet described would have happened. The calcium carbonate in pearls does dissolve in vinegar, but slowly unless the pearl is first crushed.
Death
The ancient sources, particularly the Roman ones, are in general agreement that Cleopatra killed herself by inducing an Egyptian cobra to bite her. The oldest source is Strabo, who was alive at the time of the event, and might even have been in Alexandria. He says that there are two stories: that she applied a toxic ointment, or that she was bitten by an asp. Several Roman poets, writing within ten years of the event, all mention bites by two asps, as does Florus, a historian, some 150 years later. Velleius, sixty years after the event, also refers to an asp. Other authors have questioned these historical accounts, stating that it is possible that Augustus had her killed.
In 2010, the German historian Christoph Schaefer challenged all other theories, declaring that the queen had actually been poisoned and died from drinking a mixture of poisons. After studying historic texts and consulting with toxicologists, the historian concluded that the asp could not have caused a slow and pain free death, since the asp (Egyptian cobra) venom paralyses parts of the body, starting with the eyes, before causing death. Schaefer and his toxicologist Dietrich Mebs decided Cleopatra used a mixture of hemlock, wolfsbane and opium.
Plutarch, writing about 130 years after the event, reports that Octavian succeeded in capturing Cleopatra in her Mausoleum after the death of Antony. He ordered his freedman Epaphroditus to guard her to prevent her from committing suicide because he allegedly wanted to present her in his triumph. But Cleopatra was able to deceive Epaphroditus and kill herself nevertheless. Plutarch states that she was found dead, her handmaiden, Iras dying at her feet, and another handmaiden, Charmion, adjusting her crown before she herself falls. He then goes on to state that an asp was concealed in a basket of figs that was brought to her by a rustic, and, finding it after eating a few figs, she held out her arm for it to bite. Other stories state that it was hidden in a vase, and that she poked it with a spindle until it got angry enough to bite her on the arm. Finally, he eventually writes, in Octavian's triumphal march back in Rome, an effigy of Cleopatra that has an asp clinging to it is part of the parade.
Suetonius, writing about the same time as Plutarch, also says Cleopatra died from an asp bite.
Shakespeare gave us the final part of the image that has come down to us, Cleopatra clutching the snake to her breast. Before him, it was generally agreed that she was bitten on the arm.
Plutarch tells us of the death of Antony. When his armies desert him and join with Octavian, he cries out that Cleopatra has betrayed him. She, fearing his wrath, locks herself in her monument with only her two handmaidens and sends messengers to Antony that she is dead. Believing them, Antony stabs himself in the stomach with his sword, and lies on his couch to die. Instead, the blood flow stops, and he begs any and all to finish him off.
Another messenger comes from Cleopatra with instructions to bear him to her, and he, rejoicing that Cleopatra is still alive, consents. She won't open the door, but tosses ropes out of a window. After Antony is securely trussed up, she and her handmaidens haul him up into the monument. This nearly finishes him off. After dragging him in through the window, they lay him on a couch. Cleopatra tears off her clothes and covers him with them. She raves and cries, beats her breasts and engages in self-mutilation. Antony tells her to calm down, asks for a glass of wine, and dies upon finishing it.
The site of their Mausoleum is uncertain, though it is thought by the Egyptian Antiquities Service, to be in or near the temple of Taposiris Magna south west of Alexandria.
Cleopatra's son by Caesar, Caesarion, was proclaimed pharaoh by the Egyptians, after Alexandria fell to Octavian. Caesarion was captured and killed, his fate reportedly sealed when one of Octavian's advisers paraphrased Homer: "It is bad to have too many Caesars." This ended not just the Hellenistic line of Egyptian pharaohs, but the line of all Egyptian pharaohs. The three children of Cleopatra and Antony were spared and taken back to Rome where they were taken care of by Antony's wife, Octavia Minor. The daughter, Cleopatra Selene, was married by arrangements by Octavian to Juba II of Mauretania.
Character and cultural depictions
Cleopatra was regarded as a great beauty, even in the ancient world. In his Life of Antony, Plutarch remarks that "judging by the proofs which she had had before this of the effect of her beauty upon Caius Caesar and Gnaeus the son of Pompey, she had hopes that she would more easily bring Antony to her feet. For Caesar and Pompey had known her when she was still a girl and inexperienced in affairs, but she was going to visit Antony at the very time when women have the most brilliant beauty". Later in the work, however, Plutarch indicates that "her beauty, as we are told, was in itself not altogether incomparable, nor such as to strike those who saw her." Rather, what ultimately made Cleopatra attractive were her wit, charm and "sweetness in the tones of her voice."
Cassius Dio also spoke of Cleopatra's allure: "For she was a woman of surpassing beauty, and at that time, when she was in the prime of her youth, she was most striking; she also possessed a most charming voice and knowledge of how to make herself agreeable to every one. Being brilliant to look upon and to listen to, with the power to subjugate every one, even a love-sated man already past his prime, she thought that it would be in keeping with her role to meet Caesar, and she reposed in her beauty all her claims to the throne."
These accounts influenced later cultural depictions of Cleopatra, which typically present her using her charms to influence the most powerful men in the Western world.
Ancestry
The high degree of inbreeding amongst the Ptolemies can be seen from the ancestry of Cleopatra VII. She only had four great-grandparents and six (out of a possible 16) great-great-grandparents (furthermore, four of those six were descended from the other two).
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Last pharaoh of Egypt.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleopatra_VII
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info from http://www.genealogy4u.com/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I52732&tree=western2007
Cleopatra
Daughter of the Pharaoh
Cleopatra VII was born in 69 B.C. in Alexandria, which was then the capital of Egypt. Her father was Egypt's pharaoh, Ptolemy XII, nicknamed Auletes or "Flute-Player." Cleopatra's mother was probably Auletes's sister, Cleopatra V Tryphaena. (It was commonplace for members of the Ptolemaic dynasty to marry their siblings.)
There was another Cleopatra in the family - Cleopatra VII's elder sister, Cleopatra VI. Cleopatra VII also had an older sister named Berenice; a younger sister, Arsinoe; and two younger brothers, both called Ptolemy. The family was not truly Egyptian, but Macedonian. They were descended from Ptolemy I, a general of Alexander the Great who became king of Egypt after Alexander's death in 323 B.C.
Ptolemy XII was a weak and cruel ruler, and in 58 B.C. the people of Alexandria rebelled and overthrew him. He fled to Rome while his eldest daughter, Berenice, took the throne. She married a cousin but soon had him strangled so that she could marry another man, Archelaus. At some point during Berenice's three-year reign Cleopatra VI died of unknown causes. In 55 B.C. Ptolemy XII reclaimed his throne with the help of the Roman general Pompey. Berenice was beheaded (her husband was executed, as well).
Cleopatra VII was now the pharaoh's oldest child. When her father died in 51 B.C., leaving his children in Pompey's care, Cleopatra and her brother Ptolemy XIII inherited the throne.
Queen of Egypt
Cleopatra was 17 or 18 when she became the queen of Egypt. She was far from beautiful, despite her glamorous image today. She is depicted on ancient coins with a long hooked nose and masculine features. Yet she was clearly a very seductive woman. She had an enchantingly musical voice and exuded charisma. She was also highly intelligent. She spoke nine languages (she was the first Ptolemy pharaoh who could actually speak Egyptian!) and proved to be a shrewd politician.
In compliance with Egyptian tradition Cleopatra married her brother and co-ruler, Ptolemy XIII, who was about 12 at the time. But it was a marriage of convenience only, and Ptolemy was pharaoh in name only. For three years he remained in the background while Cleopatra ruled alone.
Ptolemy's advisors - led by a eunuch named Pothinus - resented Cleopatra's independence and conspired against her. In 48 B.C. they stripped Cleopatra of her power and she was forced into exile in Syria. Her sister Arsinoe went with her.
Cleopatra and Caesar
Determined to regain her throne, Cleopatra amassed an army on Egypt's border. At this time Pompey was vying with Julius Caesar for control of the Roman Empire. After losing the battle of Pharsalos he sailed to Alexandria, pursued by Caesar, to seek Ptolemy's protection. But Ptolemy's advisors thought it would be safer to side with Caesar, and when Pompey arrived he was stabbed to death while the pharaoh watched.
Three days later Caesar reached Alexandria. Before he entered the city, Ptolemy's courtiers brought him a gift - Pompey's head. But Pompey had once been Caesar's friend, and Caesar was appalled by his brutal murder. He marched into the city, seized control of the palace, and began issuing orders. Both Ptolemy and Cleopatra were to dismiss their armies and meet with Caesar, who would settle their dispute. But Cleopatra knew that if she entered Alexandria openly, Ptolemy's henchmen would kill her. So she had herself smuggled to Caesar inside an oriental rug. When the rug was unrolled, Cleopatra tumbled out. It is said that Caesar was bewitched by her charm, and became her lover that very night.
When Ptolemy saw Caesar and Cleopatra together the next day, he was furious. He stormed out of the palace, shouting that he had been betrayed. Caesar had Ptolemy arrested, but the pharaoh's army - led by the eunuch Pothinus and Cleopatra's sister Arsinoe - laid seige to the palace.
In hopes of appeasing the attackers Caesar released Ptolemy XIII, but the Alexandrian War continued for almost six months. It ended when Pothinus was killed in battle and Ptolemy XIII drowned in the Nile while trying to flee. Alexandria surrendered to Caesar, who captured Arsinoe and restored Cleopatra to her throne. Cleopatra then married her brother Ptolemy XIV, who was eleven or twelve years old.
Soon after their victory Cleopatra and Caesar enjoyed a leisurely two-month cruise on the Nile. The Roman historian Suetonius wrote that they would have sailed all the way to Ethiopia if Caesar's troops had agreed to follow him. Cleopatra may have become pregnant at this time. She later gave birth to a son, Ptolemy XV, called Caesarion or "Little Caesar." It has been suggested that Caesar wasn't really Caesarion's father - despite his promiscuity, Caesar had only one other child - but Caesarion strongly resembled Caesar, and Caesar acknowledged Caesarion as his son.
After the cruise Caesar returned to Rome, leaving three legions in Egypt to protect Cleopatra. A year later he invited Cleopatra to visit him in Rome. She arrived in the autumn of 46 B.C., accompanied by Caesarion and her young brother/husband, Ptolemy XIV. In September Caesar celebrated his war triumphs by parading through the streets of Rome with his prisoners, including Cleopatra's sister Arsinoe. (Caesar spared Arsinoe's life, but later Mark Antony had her killed at Cleopatra's request.)
Cleopatra lived in Caesar's villa near Rome for almost two years. Caesar showered her with gifts and titles. He even had a statue of her erected in the temple of Venus Genetrix. His fellow Romans were scandalized by his extra-marital affair (Caesar was married to a woman named Calpurnia). It was rumored that Caesar intended to pass a law allowing him to marry Cleopatra and make their son his heir. It was also rumored that Caesar - who had accepted a lifetime dictatorship and sat on a golden throne in the Senate - intended to become the king of Rome.
On March 15, 44 B.C. a crowd of conspirators surrounded Caesar at a Senate meeting and stabbed him to death. Knowing that she too was in danger, Cleopatra quickly left Rome with her entourage. Before or immediately after their return to Egypt, Ptolemy XIV died, possibly poisoned at Cleopatra's command. Cleopatra then made Caesarion her co-regent.
Cleopatra and Mark Antony
Caesar's assassination caused anarchy and civil war in Rome. Eventually the empire was divided among three men: Caesar's great-nephew Octavian, who later became the emperor Augustus; Marcus Lepidus; and Marcus Antonius, better known today as Mark Antony.
In 42 B.C. Mark Antony summoned Cleopatra to Tarsus (in modern-day Turkey) to question her about whether she had assisted his enemies. Cleopatra arrived in style on a barge with a gilded stern, purple sails, and silver oars. The boat was sailed by her maids, who were dressed as sea nymphs. Cleopatra herself was dressed as Venus, the goddess of love. She reclined under a gold canopy, fanned by boys in Cupid costumes.
Antony, an unsophisticated, pleasure-loving man, was impressed by this blatant display of luxury, as Cleopatra had intended. Cleopatra entertained him on her barge that night, and the next night Antony invited her to supper, hoping to outdo her in magnificence. He failed, but joked about it in his good-natured, vulgar way. Cleopatra didn't seem to mind his tasteless sense of humor - in fact, she joined right in. Like Caesar before him, Antony was enthralled. Forgetting his responsibilities, he accompanied Cleopatra to Alexandria and spent the winter with her there.
The Greek writer Plutarch wrote of Cleopatra, "Plato admits four sorts of flattery, but she had a thousand. Were Antony serious or disposed to mirth, she had at any moment some new delight or charm to meet his wishes; at every turn she was upon him, and let him escape her neither by day nor by night. She played at dice with him, drank with him, hunted with him; and when he exercised in arms, she was there to see. At night she would go rambling with him to disturb and torment people at their doors and windows, dressed like a servant-woman, for Antony also went in servant's disguise . . . However, the Alexandrians in general liked it all well enough, and joined good-humouredly and kindly in his frolic and play."
Finally, "rousing himself from sleep, and shaking off the fumes of wine," Antony said goodbye to Cleopatra and returned to his duties as a ruler of the Roman empire. Six months later Cleopatra gave birth to twins, Cleopatra Selene and Alexander Helios. It was four years before she saw their father again. During that time Antony married Octavian's half-sister, Octavia. They had three children.
In 37 B.C., while on his way to invade Parthia, Antony enjoyed another rendezvous with Cleopatra. He hurried through his military campaign and raced back to Cleopatra. From then on Alexandria was his home, and Cleopatra was his life. He married her in 36 B.C. and she gave birth to another son, Ptolemy Philadelphus.
Meanwhile, back in Rome, Octavia remained loyal to her bigamous husband. She decided to visit Antony, and when she reached Athens she received a letter from him saying that he would meet her there. However, Cleopatra was determined to keep Antony away from his other wife. She cried and fainted and starved herself and got her way. Antony cancelled his trip, and Octavia returned home without seeing her husband.
The Roman people were disgusted by the way Antony had treated Octavia. They were also angry to hear that Cleopatra and Antony were calling themselves gods (the New Isis and the New Dionysus). Worst of all, in 34 B.C. Antony made Alexander Helios the king of Armenia, Cleopatra Selene the queen of Cyrenaica and Crete, and Ptolemy Philadelphus the king of Syria. Caesarion was proclaimed the "King of Kings," and Cleopatra was the "Queen of Kings."
Outraged, Octavian convinced the Roman Senate to declare war on Egypt. In 31 B.C. Antony's forces fought the Romans in a sea battle off the coast of Actium, Greece. Cleopatra was there with sixty ships of her own. When she saw that Antony's cumbersome, badly-manned galleys were losing to the Romans' lighter, swifter boats, she fled the scene. Antony abandoned his men to follow her. Although it is possible that they had prearranged their retreat, the Romans saw it as proof that Antony was enslaved by his love of Cleopatra, unable to think or act on his own.
For three days Antony sat alone in the prow of Cleopatra's ship, refusing to see or speak to her. They returned to Egypt, where Antony lived alone for a time, brooding, while Cleopatra prepared for an invasion by Rome. When Antony received word that his forces had surrendered at Actium and his allies had gone over to Octavian, he left his solitary home and returned to Cleopatra to party away their final days.
Cleopatra began experimenting with poisons to learn which would cause the most painless death. She also built a mausoleum to which she moved all of her gold, silver, emeralds, pearls, ebony, ivory, and other treasure.
In 30 B.C. Octavian reached Alexandria. Mark Antony marched his army out of the city to meet the enemy. He stopped on high ground to watch what he expected would be a naval battle between his fleet and the Roman fleet. Instead he saw his fleet salute the Romans with their oars and join them. At this Antony's cavalry also deserted him. His infantry was soon defeated and Antony returned to the city, shouting that Cleopatra had betrayed him. Terrified that he would harm her, Cleopatra fled to the monument that housed her treasures and locked herself in, ordering her servants to tell Antony she was dead. Believing it, Antony cried out, "Now, Antony, why delay longer? Fate has snatched away your only reason for living."
He went to his room and opened his coat, exclaiming that he would soon be with Cleopatra. He ordered a servant named Eros to kill him, but Eros killed himself instead. "Well done, Eros," Antony said, "you show your master how to do what you didn't have the heart to do yourself." Antony stabbed himself in the stomach and passed out on a couch. When he woke up he begged his servants to put him out of his misery, but they ran away. At last Cleopatra's secretary came and told him Cleopatra wanted to see him.
Overjoyed to hear Cleopatra was alive, Antony had himself carried to her mausoleum. Cleopatra was afraid to open the door because of the approach of Octavian's army, but she and her two serving women let down ropes from a window and pulled him up. Distraught, Cleopatra laid Antony on her bed and beat her breasts, calling him her lord, husband and emperor. Antony told her not to pity him, but to remember his past happiness. Then he died.
The Death of Cleopatra
When Octavian and his men reached her monument Cleopatra refused to let them in. She negotiated with them through the barred door, demanding that her kingdom be given to her children. Octavian ordered one man to keep her talking while others set up ladders and climbed through the window. When Cleopatra saw the men she pulled out a dagger and tried to stab herself, but she was disarmed and taken prisoner. Her children were also taken prisoner and were treated well.
Octavian allowed Cleopatra to arrange Antony's funeral. She buried him with royal splendor. After the funeral she took to her bed, sick with grief. She wanted to kill herself, but Octavian kept her under close guard. One day he visited her and she flung herself at his feet, nearly naked, and told him she wanted to live. Octavian was lulled into a false sense of security.
Cleopatra was determined to die - perhaps because she had lost Mark Antony, perhaps because she knew Octavian intended to humiliate her, as her sister Arsinoe had been humiliated, by marching her through Rome in chains. With Octavian's permission she visited Antony's tomb. Then she returned to her mausoleum, took a bath, and ordered a feast. While the meal was being prepared a man arrived at her monument with a basket of figs. The guards checked the basket and found nothing suspicious, so they allowed the man to deliver it to Cleopatra.
After she had eaten, Cleopatra wrote a letter, sealed it, and sent it to Octavian. He opened it and found Cleopatra's plea that he would allow her to be buried in Antony's tomb. Alarmed, Octavian sent messengers to alert her guards that Cleopatra planned to commit suicide. But it was too late. They found the 39-year old queen dead on her golden bed, with her maid Iras dying at her feet. Her other maid, Charmion, was weakly adjusting Cleopatra's crown. "Was this well done of your lady, Charmion?" one of the guards demanded.
"Extremely well," said Charmion, "as became the descendent of so many kings." And she too fell over dead.
Two pricks were found on Cleopatra's arm, and it was believed that she had allowed herself to be bitten by an asp (a kind of poisonous snake) that was smuggled in with the figs. As she had wished, she was buried beside Antony.
Cleopatra was the last pharaoh; after her death Egypt became a Roman province. Because Caesarion was Julius Caesar's son and might pose a threat to Octavian's power, Octavian had the boy strangled by his tutor. Cleopatra's other children were sent to Rome to be raised by Octavia. Cleopatra Selene married King Juba II of Mauretania and had two children, Ptolemy and Drusilla. No one knows what happened to Alexander Helios and Ptolemy Philadelphus. They may have been murdered at the order of King Herod I of Judea.
Another Biography of Cleopatra VII
HER ANCESTORS:
Cleopatra VII Philopates ("glory to her father") was a very popular name among the Ptolemy Dynasty, but the seventh was the most famous, and a legend in her time. She wasn't an Egyptian. Her bloodlines were Macedonian, Persian, and Greek. Her father was Ptolemy XII Nothos ("the Bastard"), the illegitimate son of Ptolemy XI by one of his concubines. It is said that Ptolemy XI was forced to marry his own elderly stepmother, who was also his cousin. Scholars of Egyptology also believe that her mother was Cleopatra V, the wife and sister of Ptolemy XII, and she died during Cleopatra VII's birth, or soon afterwards, of complications of childbirth.
Cleopatra's ancestry is said to connect back to Alexander the Great, who ruled Egypt in 332 B.C., and founded the city of Alexandria. After Alexander's death on June 10, 323 B.C., his staff officer, Ptolemy, declared himself him in 3-4 B.C., and called himself "Soter I" (Soter menaing savior). Ptolemy I Soter had a strong hooked nose that genetic trait of his line. Ptolemy XII Auletes ("the flute") had Soter's large nose and was Cleo's father. After her mother's death, Ptolemy married his second (unknown) wife and she gave him two sons.
By 305 B.C. Ptolemy became ruler of Egypt and founded the Ptolemaic Dynasty of twelve kings, of the same name, and Cleopatra VII. In this time, wealthy Egyptians tried to gain a Greek education and the Greeks influenced their art and architecture (A. J. Spencer, Death in Egypt. London: Penguin Books, 1991, 25). The Ptolemies continued the old Egyptian ideals and built temples to their gods, and those of Egypt. After Anthony and Cleopatra's death in 30 B.C,, Egypt came under Roman rule and they constructed monuments with Roman Emperors as Pharaoh, as in Egypt rule.
THE LEGEND:
Most historians seem to agree that Cleopatra, Queen of the Egypt, was born on January 13, 69 B.C. and died, by her own hand on August 12, 30/31 B.C. (at age 39), and is buried in the royal mausoleum at the Sema at Alexandria with Marc Anthony. She was said to have been found, after her suicide, wearing a flowing gossamer veil with her jewels and ladies (Charmion and Iras)and eunuch laying around her body (also dead). There are two popular opinions (1) that she used an asp to kill herself (2) that she poisoned herself. In either case she most likely did not suffer before her death. She lay on a bed of gold, when Octavian's men broke down the door. Octavian (Caesar's heir) had denounced Mark Anthony in the Senate and in 30 B.C. he declared war on Cleopatra. Anthony and Cleopatra spent the winter in Samos, Before Cleopatra's death, Octavian told Cleo she could survive if she killed Anthony. When Cleopatra refused, Octavian had plans to kill Anthony and imprison Cleo. She tried hunger strikes and suicide, which Octavian stopped. She managed to get a message to Mark Anthony (most likely part of the plan to entrap Anthony) about her impending suicide. When Anthony got the message, he was told she was dead. He then came to her prison hoping to find a way to see her one more time. As Anthony approached her prison, in the temple, Octavian's men were waiting and Anthony was mortally wounded. Mark Anthony then found out Cleopatra was still alive and had his men use pulleys and a rope to raise his dying body up to the window in Cleo's prison. Her ladies and her pulled Anthony into the room, where she was held, and he died in her arms. At that moment, much like in Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," she killed herself.
She was a woman of great legends, and it is not clear if all these legends were true. However, we do know that she married her two half-brothers, as was the way of the Ptolemy empire. She married Ptolemy XIII (who was later drowned while running from Caesar's troops)and Ptolemy XIV, then eleven (11) years old (who was later poisoned) Both of Cleopatra's younger half brothers were born to her father's second wife.
CAESAR:
Cleopatra's first meeting with Caesar was in order to get his help - to make her brother reconcile, with her, and allow her back into Egypt from her exile. This event was the famous Cleo in a rug ploy. After this meeting Caesar was so taken with this nubile young woman of twenty-one that he had her brother drowned in the Nile River, while he was in his battle armor. He was trying to escape Caesar's forces who were descending upon he and his men.
Since Cleopatra was the wife of a boy of twelve (12), Caesar knew that she was still a virgin and that intrigued him. Julius Caesar, at this meeting, was approximately 52 years old and without an heir. Cleo bewitched Julius Caesar with her youthful appearance and impressed him with her craftiness (she engineered the murder of both her sister and brother-husband). Cleopatra had already been the Queen of Lower Egypt since age seventeen (17). Caesar saw their union as a extremely powerful and sensual experience.
Her only real love seemed to have been Julius Caesar (48-44), who she felt was her match in power and ambition. In 45 B.C. Cleopatra lived openly with Julius Caesar in Rome, and her statue was in Rome's Temple of Venus.
She had one child by Julius Caesar, Ptolemy XV Caesarion was born around 44 B.C. Caesar was killed on the Ides of March. Cleo fled Rome and headed back to Egypt, then she killed her brother, Ptolemy XIV and put her son, Ptolemy XV on the Egyptian throne. Later on, when her son's life was threatened, Cleopatra sent him to India to study, as told to us by the histories of Plutarch.
ANTHONY:
Two years after Caesar's death she found Mark Anthony (40-30 B.C.) attractive and she took him as her lover and he sired three of her children, and left his first wife Fulvia in Rome.
HER CHILDREN BY MARK ANTHONY:
(1)Alexander Helios (B: 40 B.C.)... twin of Selene.
(2) Cleopatra Selene (B: 40 B.C.)...twin of Alexander Helios
(3) Ptolemy Philadelphus (B: 36 B.C.)commisioned the Pharos of Alexandria to be built.
Mark Anthony lead a sordid life. Mark Anthony married (1) Fulvia (he was her third husband). Fulvia's first husband was named Curio, a friend of Mark Anthony's, with whom he reputedly had a homosexual relationship. Fulvio died in 40 B.C. right before Mark decided to marry Cleopatra, and thus legitimize their children in 40 B.C.
Mark Anthony then married (3) Octavia (then a widow), sister of Octavian, Julius Caesar's heir. This marriage took place as Cleopatra was giving birth to his last child, Ptolemy Philedephus, in 36 B.C.
CLEOPATRA AS A MOTHER:
Cleo had Philostratus (a philosopher) and Nicolaus (a historian) as tutors to her four children.
Cleopatra was of swathy, dark complexion, taking after her grandmother, a Seleucid, with some Persian blood. She had luxurious copper hair (most likely made that color by the use of henna). She reign from 51-49 B.C. and 48-30 B.C. (Foreman, Laura, Cleopatra's Palace: In Search of a Legend. New York: Discovery Books, 1999).
Cleopatra continued to hire thinkers, poets, and scientists to her court and she continued her own education as well, studying philosophy and traveling to other lands. Above all, Cleopatra was clever, intelligent, and politically oriented. She understood and spoke Egyptian, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, and Persian.
WHAT BECAME OF HER CHILDREN?:
Cleopatra's three children, by Mark Anthony, were thought to have been raised by Mark Anthony's third wife, Octavia ( Leon, Vickie, Uppity Women of Ancient Times. New York: MJF Books, 1994, 88-89) Cleopatra of Cyrene or Selene (meaning "moon") ruled from 33-31 B.C. She was Anthony and Cleo's daughter. She ruled Armenia, Media, and Parthia with her twin brother, Alexander. Octavia, sister of Octavian, arranged a marriage for this Cleopatra with Juba, King of Numidia, who was considered a gifted ruler, and she was made Queen of Mauretania, on the site of present day Morocco. They reigned for nearly 50 years and had two children. Her brother, Alexander, was made co-ruler with her. Ptolemy Phoenica was made ruler of Cilicia and Syria
BIRTH: Also shown as Born Alexandria.
DEATH: Also shown as Died suicide.
DEATH: Also shown as Died 0030 BC
RESEARCH NOTES:
Queen of Egypt 51-30 BCE
Alias/AKA Queen of the Nile Her end: Committed suicide by a snake's bite.
"In praising Antony I have dispraised Caesar"
- Cleopatra
THEA PHILOPATOR; 68 BC-30BC; FAMOUS (& LAST) EGYPTIAN QUEEN
Notes
1 http://lexicorient.com/cgi-bi n/eo-direct-frame.pl?http://www.i-cias.com/e.o/cleopatr.htm(69- 30 BC) Queen of ancient Egypt, belonging to the Ptolemaicdynasty and de facto ruler of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC. Cleopatrarevived the Ptolemaic powers through diplomatic skills, inaddition to her using her personality to make alliances withRoman rulers, and to have Egyptian competitors murdered. Herfame is connected to a turbulent life of love affairs with themost influential men of her time. Her actual achievements hadonly importance for a short period of time _ with the revival ofPtolemaic powers _ but nothing proved to last. Her life storyhas inspired playwrights, and movie makers, making her the mostfamous personality of ancient Egypt.BIOGRAPHY:69 BC: Born, as the daughter of Ptolemy 11.51 BC: Cleopatra is made joint ruler with her 12 year oldbrother Ptolemy 12, as the two marry.48 BC: Ptolemy takes full control over Egypt, driving Cleopatrainto exile in Syria. Civil war breaks out between Cleopatra andher brother.47 BC: Ptolemy is killed by drowning by the Roman general,Julius Caesar._ Cleopatra is proclaimed queen of Egypt. She marries her 11year old brother, Ptolemy 13, which is the only legitimate wayshe can be in power, but she chooses to become the mistress ofJulius Caesar, with whom she travels to Rome to live. The couplehas the son Caesarion together, and later Cleopatra gives birthto Ptolemy 14, who, according to the mother, also was the son ofJulius Caesar.44 BC: Julius Caesar is killed and Cleopatra returns to Egypt._ After Cleopatra has had Ptolemy 13 murdered by poison, she isthe real ruler, as the nominal ruler is her infant son, Ptolemy14.41 BC: Cleopatra forms an alliance with the Roman general MarkAntony, based upon a romantic relationship.40 BC: Mark Antony is called back to Rome, where he marriesOctavia, the sister of the Roman consul Octavian. Soon afterCleopatra gives birth to twins.36 BC: Cleopatra marries Mark Antony in Antioch and later athird child of the two is born. The couple plan to establish avast kingdom, of which the sons of Caesar and Mark Antony withCleopatra are to be the inheritors.34 BC: After Mark Antony has successfully met the Parthians inwar, he returns to Alexandria with Cleopatra, where theyannounces that the old kingdom of Alexander the Great is tobelong to the descendants of Cleopatra.32 BC: Octavian, the original inheritor of Julius Caesar,declares war against Mark Antony and Cleopatra. Mark Antonydivorces Octavia.31 BC: At the battle at Actium, Cleopatra and Mark Antony aredefeated by Octavian. Octavian hunts them down, back to Egypt.30 BC: In Alexandria, when Mark Antony and Cleopatra aredivided, he is surrounded by the troops of Octavian and when hehears the rumour that Cleopatra has committed suicide, he killshimself by falling on the sword._ Cleopatra surrenders to Octavian and tries to make him herlover. As this doesn't prove successful, she poisons herself, orhas herself bitten by a snake and dies. Her sons, Caesarion andPtolemy 14, are then murdered and the Ptolemaic dynasty has cometo the final end.----------------------------- --------------------------------- --------------------------------- -----http://myron.sjsu.edu/romeweb/ladycont/art2.htmCleopatra VII, Last Queen of EgyptConsort of Julius Caesar, Wife of Marc AntonyCleopatra is one of those legendary and romantic figures ofhistory who have captured the imaginations of every generationsince her own time. She was the subject of one of Hollywood'smost popular movies, and her character in this movie wasportrayed by an actress whose powerful intellect andpersonality, as well as whose human weaknesses, were similar toCleopatra's own.Cleopatra was an ambitious woman, determined to rule her kingdomand keep it out of the hands of the ever more powerful andexpansionist Romans in Italy to the West. She was considered tobe one of the most intelligent and canny female rulers of alltimes and was not afraid to utilize her feminine charms toadvance her political ambitions. She was the lover of onepowerful Roman leader and married to another.Cleopatra was born in about 69 B. C., the daughter of PtolemyXII and Cleopatra VI. When her father died, she and her brotherPtolemy XIII were to rule Egypt jointly. It was the customamongst Ptolemaic rulers that brother should marry sister andrule jointly. This was to ensure that none of the powerfulfamilies would gain enough influence to control the throne ofEgypt. Instead of marrying her, Ptolemy exiled her and took overthe throne himself. Cleopatra gathered an army and tried to takeback what was rightfully hers, but was having no success.In 48 B. C., Julius Caesar landed in Egypt, searching forPompey, whom he had defeated at the battle of Pharsalus earlierthat year. Some Egyptians thought they could gain Caesar's favorby murdering Pompey and presenting his head to Caesar, butCaesar instead mourned the death of a friend, even though Pompeyhad been his rival. Cleopatra, with her talent for seduction anda flair for the dramatic, used a much more subtle way to gainthe attention and affection of Julius Caesar. She had herselfrolled up in a carpet, and, disguised as a gift to the famousRoman, she was delivered by one of her slaves to Caesar's camp.Immediately captivated by her charm and wit, Caesar fell madlyin love with the Egyptian queen.Over the course of the next three years, the two royal loversjoined forces to defeat and kill her treacherous brother, took atrip up the Nile, and planned to carve out an empire forthemselves. After Ptolemy XIII's death, she was compelled bycustom to marry her other brother, Ptolemy XIV.Caesar then took Cleopatra to Rome and set her up in a householdof her own. Cleopatra had a son by Caesar whom she namedCaesarion. Cleopatra was not very popular with the Romans, whoresented this foreign queen who had seduced their popularleader. When Caesar was murdered in 44 B. C., Cleopatra decidedthat the wise thing to do would be to return to Egypt and try tomake the best of things. After Caesar's death she got her secondbrother out of the way by poisoning him. She then ruled jointlywith her infant son.By this time, the rivalry between Marc Antony and Octavian hadheated up to the point of becoming open civil war. Antonysummoned Cleopatra to his camp to have her declare her loyaltyto his cause or face the consequences. Instead, she came to himwith her court, her royal barge all decked out in splendor. Ofcourse, Cleopatra was the center of everyone's attention, a richand powerful Eastern queen surrounded by luxury.Antony could no more resist the Egyptian queen than Caesar couldbefore him. With Antony eating from the palm of her hand, shebelieved that she could use Roman military might to further herplans to build an Egyptian empire. Antony fell in love with andeventually married Cleopatra. In the meantime, Octavian wasdenouncing Antony and his Egyptian queen, saying that he wantedonly to make Rome part of an Oriental empire ruled by a despot.As time went on, Antony lost more and more support from Romansoldiers and citizens alike. The forces of Octavian werebecoming stronger day by day. The showdown between the two wasnot long incoming. At Actium, in 31 B. C., Octavian's navalforces defeated Antony's fleet after Antony himself desertedthem. It seems that Cleopatra, who had joined her ships withAntony's fleet, decided to cut and run in the midst of thebattle. In fact, the battle was nowhere near a lost cause untilafter she had fled. Antony chose to take a boat himself and joinhis lover in flight instead of remaining with his men. Thebattle was soon over with most of Antony's men deserting orsurrendering after he had gone.Antony and Cleopatra had only a few short months left. AfterActium, Octavian's army inexorably pushed onward, conqueringEgypt after some spirited but wholly inadequate resistance. Withtroops entering Alexandria, Cleopatra retired to her own tomb toawait the end. Antony had fallen on his sword in despair, butsurvived his suicide attempt long enough to be taken toCleopatra, where he died in her arms. Cleopatra herself, ratherthan be taken alive, preferred suicide. She could not face theprospect of having to march in shame and degradation inOctavian's triumph, having once been a proud queen of anindependent Egypt. As Roman soldiers searched noisily in thestreets of Alexandria for Cleopatra, she accepted a final giftfrom one of her faithful serving girls. Hidden within a basketof fruit was a deadly poisonous asp. The bite from the snake waspainless, and Cleopatra held the serpent to her breast. Thepoison worked swiftly, and her two servant girls followed her indeath. When the soldiers finally broke into the tomb and roughlydemanded where Cleopatra was, only one girl had enough liferemaining to tell them that in death, Cleopatra had escaped h ercaptors.----------------------- --------------------------------- --------------------------------- ---------http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/alexandria/history/cl_his.htmlBC 69 Birth of CleopatraBC 48 Caesar restores Cleopatra on the Egyptian throneBC 46-44 Cleopatra resides in RomeBC 44-40 Elimination of Caesar's assassinsBC 44 Assassination of CaesarBC 43 Formation of the triumvirate:Antony - Octavian (Augustus) - LepidusBC 43-42 Victory of the triumvirate over Caesar's assassinsat PhilippiDefinite death of the republicAntony in charge of reorganizing the OrientBC 42 Dionysiac entry of Antony at EphesusBC 41 Meeting between Antony and Cleopatra at TarsusThe Roman General follows her to EgyptBC 40-34 Formation of the two blocksBC 40 Treaty between Antony, Octavian, and LepidusThe triumvirate rule Rome jointlyPartition of the Mediterranean- Octavian: The western provinces(Spain, Sardinia, Sicily,Transalpine Gaul, Narbonne)- Antony : The eastern provinces(Macedonia, Asia, Bithynia,Cilicia, Syria)- Lepidus : Africa (Tunisia and Algeria)BC 36 Elimination of LepidusOctavian controls Africa and becomes theeffective ruler of RomeParthian campaign of Marc AntonyBC 34 Organization of the "Antonian Orient"Triumph of AlexandriaDonations CeremonyBC 43-30 Fall and death of Cleopatra and Marc AntonyVictory of the West over the EastBC 32 Western provinces pledge allegiance to OctavianDeclaration of war on CleopatraAntony and his allies gather on the Island of SamosBC 31 Battle of Actium and victory of OctavianAntony and Cleopatra seek refuge at AlexandriaBC 30 Victory of Octavian at AlexandriaSuicide of Antony and CleopatraEgypt becomes a Roman province
Notes
1 http://lexicorient.com/cgi-bi n/eo-direct-frame.pl?http://www.i-cias.com/e.o/cleopatr.htm(69- 30 BC) Queen of ancient Egypt, belonging to the Ptolemaicdynasty and de facto ruler of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC. Cleopatrarevived the Ptolemaic powers through diplomatic skills, inaddition to her using her personality to make alliances withRoman rulers, and to have Egyptian competitors murdered. Herfame is connected to a turbulent life of love affairs with themost influential men of her time. Her actual achievements hadonly importance for a short period of time _ with the revival ofPtolemaic powers _ but nothing proved to last. Her life storyhas inspired playwrights, and movie makers, making her the mostfamous personality of ancient Egypt.BIOGRAPHY:69 BC: Born, as the daughter of Ptolemy 11.51 BC: Cleopatra is made joint ruler with her 12 year oldbrother Ptolemy 12, as the two marry.48 BC: Ptolemy takes full control over Egypt, driving Cleopatrainto exile in Syria. Civil war breaks out between Cleopatra andher brother.47 BC: Ptolemy is killed by drowning by the Roman general,Julius Caesar._ Cleopatra is proclaimed queen of Egypt. She marries her 11year old brother, Ptolemy 13, which is the only legitimate wayshe can be in power, but she chooses to become the mistress ofJulius Caesar, with whom she travels to Rome to live. The couplehas the son Caesarion together, and later Cleopatra gives birthto Ptolemy 14, who, according to the mother, also was the son ofJulius Caesar.44 BC: Julius Caesar is killed and Cleopatra returns to Egypt._ After Cleopatra has had Ptolemy 13 murdered by poison, she isthe real ruler, as the nominal ruler is her infant son, Ptolemy14.41 BC: Cleopatra forms an alliance with the Roman general MarkAntony, based upon a romantic relationship.40 BC: Mark Antony is called back to Rome, where he marriesOctavia, the sister of the Roman consul Octavian. Soon afterCleopatra gives birth to twins.36 BC: Cleopatra marries Mark Antony in Antioch and later athird child of the two is born. The couple plan to establish avast kingdom, of which the sons of Caesar and Mark Antony withCleopatra are to be the inheritors.34 BC: After Mark Antony has successfully met the Parthians inwar, he returns to Alexandria with Cleopatra, where theyannounces that the old kingdom of Alexander the Great is tobelong to the descendants of Cleopatra.32 BC: Octavian, the original inheritor of Julius Caesar,declares war against Mark Antony and Cleopatra. Mark Antonydivorces Octavia.31 BC: At the battle at Actium, Cleopatra and Mark Antony aredefeated by Octavian. Octavian hunts them down, back to Egypt.30 BC: In Alexandria, when Mark Antony and Cleopatra aredivided, he is surrounded by the troops of Octavian and when hehears the rumour that Cleopatra has committed suicide, he killshimself by falling on the sword._ Cleopatra surrenders to Octavian and tries to make him herlover. As this doesn't prove successful, she poisons herself, orhas herself bitten by a snake and dies. Her sons, Caesarion andPtolemy 14, are then murdered and the Ptolemaic dynasty has cometo the final end.----------------------------- --------------------------------- --------------------------------- -----http://myron.sjsu.edu/romeweb/ladycont/art2.htmCleopatra VII, Last Queen of EgyptConsort of Julius Caesar, Wife of Marc AntonyCleopatra is one of those legendary and romantic figures ofhistory who have captured the imaginations of every generationsince her own time. She was the subject of one of Hollywood'smost popular movies, and her character in this movie wasportrayed by an actress whose powerful intellect andpersonality, as well as whose human weaknesses, were similar toCleopatra's own.Cleopatra was an ambitious woman, determined to rule her kingdomand keep it out of the hands of the ever more powerful andexpansionist Romans in Italy to the West. She was considered tobe one of the most intelligent and canny female rulers of alltimes and was not afraid to utilize her feminine charms toadvance her political ambitions. She was the lover of onepowerful Roman leader and married to another.Cleopatra was born in about 69 B. C., the daughter of PtolemyXII and Cleopatra VI. When her father died, she and her brotherPtolemy XIII were to rule Egypt jointly. It was the customamongst Ptolemaic rulers that brother should marry sister andrule jointly. This was to ensure that none of the powerfulfamilies would gain enough influence to control the throne ofEgypt. Instead of marrying her, Ptolemy exiled her and took overthe throne himself. Cleopatra gathered an army and tried to takeback what was rightfully hers, but was having no success.In 48 B. C., Julius Caesar landed in Egypt, searching forPompey, whom he had defeated at the battle of Pharsalus earlierthat year. Some Egyptians thought they could gain Caesar's favorby murdering Pompey and presenting his head to Caesar, butCaesar instead mourned the death of a friend, even though Pompeyhad been his rival. Cleopatra, with her talent for seduction anda flair for the dramatic, used a much more subtle way to gainthe attention and affection of Julius Caesar. She had herselfrolled up in a carpet, and, disguised as a gift to the famousRoman, she was delivered by one of her slaves to Caesar's camp.Immediately captivated by her charm and wit, Caesar fell madlyin love with the Egyptian queen.Over the course of the next three years, the two royal loversjoined forces to defeat and kill her treacherous brother, took atrip up the Nile, and planned to carve out an empire forthemselves. After Ptolemy XIII's death, she was compelled bycustom to marry her other brother, Ptolemy XIV.Caesar then took Cleopatra to Rome and set her up in a householdof her own. Cleopatra had a son by Caesar whom she namedCaesarion. Cleopatra was not very popular with the Romans, whoresented this foreign queen who had seduced their popularleader. When Caesar was murdered in 44 B. C., Cleopatra decidedthat the wise thing to do would be to return to Egypt and try tomake the best of things. After Caesar's death she got her secondbrother out of the way by poisoning him. She then ruled jointlywith her infant son.By this time, the rivalry between Marc Antony and Octavian hadheated up to the point of becoming open civil war. Antonysummoned Cleopatra to his camp to have her declare her loyaltyto his cause or face the consequences. Instead, she came to himwith her court, her royal barge all decked out in splendor. Ofcourse, Cleopatra was the center of everyone's attention, a richand powerful Eastern queen surrounded by luxury.Antony could no more resist the Egyptian queen than Caesar couldbefore him. With Antony eating from the palm of her hand, shebelieved that she could use Roman military might to further herplans to build an Egyptian empire. Antony fell in love with andeventually married Cleopatra. In the meantime, Octavian wasdenouncing Antony and his Egyptian queen, saying that he wantedonly to make Rome part of an Oriental empire ruled by a despot.As time went on, Antony lost more and more support from Romansoldiers and citizens alike. The forces of Octavian werebecoming stronger day by day. The showdown between the two wasnot long incoming. At Actium, in 31 B. C., Octavian's navalforces defeated Antony's fleet after Antony himself desertedthem. It seems that Cleopatra, who had joined her ships withAntony's fleet, decided to cut and run in the midst of thebattle. In fact, the battle was nowhere near a lost cause untilafter she had fled. Antony chose to take a boat himself and joinhis lover in flight instead of remaining with his men. Thebattle was soon over with most of Antony's men deserting orsurrendering after he had gone.Antony and Cleopatra had only a few short months left. AfterActium, Octavian's army inexorably pushed onward, conqueringEgypt after some spirited but wholly inadequate resistance. Withtroops entering Alexandria, Cleopatra retired to her own tomb toawait the end. Antony had fallen on his sword in despair, butsurvived his suicide attempt long enough to be taken toCleopatra, where he died in her arms. Cleopatra herself, ratherthan be taken alive, preferred suicide. She could not face theprospect of having to march in shame and degradation inOctavian's triumph, having once been a proud queen of anindependent Egypt. As Roman soldiers searched noisily in thestreets of Alexandria for Cleopatra, she accepted a final giftfrom one of her faithful serving girls. Hidden within a basketof fruit was a deadly poisonous asp. The bite from the snake waspainless, and Cleopatra held the serpent to her breast. Thepoison worked swiftly, and her two servant girls followed her indeath. When the soldiers finally broke into the tomb and roughlydemanded where Cleopatra was, only one girl had enough liferemaining to tell them that in death, Cleopatra had escaped h ercaptors.----------------------- --------------------------------- --------------------------------- ---------http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/alexandria/history/cl_his.htmlBC 69 Birth of CleopatraBC 48 Caesar restores Cleopatra on the Egyptian throneBC 46-44 Cleopatra resides in RomeBC 44-40 Elimination of Caesar's assassinsBC 44 Assassination of CaesarBC 43 Formation of the triumvirate:Antony - Octavian (Augustus) - LepidusBC 43-42 Victory of the triumvirate over Caesar's assassinsat PhilippiDefinite death of the republicAntony in charge of reorganizing the OrientBC 42 Dionysiac entry of Antony at EphesusBC 41 Meeting between Antony and Cleopatra at TarsusThe Roman General follows her to EgyptBC 40-34 Formation of the two blocksBC 40 Treaty between Antony, Octavian, and LepidusThe triumvirate rule Rome jointlyPartition of the Mediterranean- Octavian: The western provinces(Spain, Sardinia, Sicily,Transalpine Gaul, Narbonne)- Antony : The eastern provinces(Macedonia, Asia, Bithynia,Cilicia, Syria)- Lepidus : Africa (Tunisia and Algeria)BC 36 Elimination of LepidusOctavian controls Africa and becomes theeffective ruler of RomeParthian campaign of Marc AntonyBC 34 Organization of the "Antonian Orient"Triumph of AlexandriaDonations CeremonyBC 43-30 Fall and death of Cleopatra and Marc AntonyVictory of the West over the EastBC 32 Western provinces pledge allegiance to OctavianDeclaration of war on CleopatraAntony and his allies gather on the Island of SamosBC 31 Battle of Actium and victory of OctavianAntony and Cleopatra seek refuge at AlexandriaBC 30 Victory of Octavian at AlexandriaSuicide of Antony and CleopatraEgypt becomes a Roman province
Notes
1 http://lexicorient.com/cgi-bi n/eo-direct-frame.pl?http://www.i-cias.com/e.o/cleopatr.htm(69- 30 BC) Queen of ancient Egypt, belonging to the Ptolemaicdynasty and de facto ruler of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC. Cleopatrarevived the Ptolemaic powers through diplomatic skills, inaddition to her using her personality to make alliances withRoman rulers, and to have Egyptian competitors murdered. Herfame is connected to a turbulent life of love affairs with themost influential men of her time. Her actual achievements hadonly importance for a short period of time _ with the revival ofPtolemaic powers _ but nothing proved to last. Her life storyhas inspired playwrights, and movie makers, making her the mostfamous personality of ancient Egypt.BIOGRAPHY:69 BC: Born, as the daughter of Ptolemy 11.51 BC: Cleopatra is made joint ruler with her 12 year oldbrother Ptolemy 12, as the two marry.48 BC: Ptolemy takes full control over Egypt, driving Cleopatrainto exile in Syria. Civil war breaks out between Cleopatra andher brother.47 BC: Ptolemy is killed by drowning by the Roman general,Julius Caesar._ Cleopatra is proclaimed queen of Egypt. She marries her 11year old brother, Ptolemy 13, which is the only legitimate wayshe can be in power, but she chooses to become the mistress ofJulius Caesar, with whom she travels to Rome to live. The couplehas the son Caesarion together, and later Cleopatra gives birthto Ptolemy 14, who, according to the mother, also was the son ofJulius Caesar.44 BC: Julius Caesar is killed and Cleopatra returns to Egypt._ After Cleopatra has had Ptolemy 13 murdered by poison, she isthe real ruler, as the nominal ruler is her infant son, Ptolemy14.41 BC: Cleopatra forms an alliance with the Roman general MarkAntony, based upon a romantic relationship.40 BC: Mark Antony is called back to Rome, where he marriesOctavia, the sister of the Roman consul Octavian. Soon afterCleopatra gives birth to twins.36 BC: Cleopatra marries Mark Antony in Antioch and later athird child of the two is born. The couple plan to establish avast kingdom, of which the sons of Caesar and Mark Antony withCleopatra are to be the inheritors.34 BC: After Mark Antony has successfully met the Parthians inwar, he returns to Alexandria with Cleopatra, where theyannounces that the old kingdom of Alexander the Great is tobelong to the descendants of Cleopatra.32 BC: Octavian, the original inheritor of Julius Caesar,declares war against Mark Antony and Cleopatra. Mark Antonydivorces Octavia.31 BC: At the battle at Actium, Cleopatra and Mark Antony aredefeated by Octavian. Octavian hunts them down, back to Egypt.30 BC: In Alexandria, when Mark Antony and Cleopatra aredivided, he is surrounded by the troops of Octavian and when hehears the rumour that Cleopatra has committed suicide, he killshimself by falling on the sword._ Cleopatra surrenders to Octavian and tries to make him herlover. As this doesn't prove successful, she poisons herself, orhas herself bitten by a snake and dies. Her sons, Caesarion andPtolemy 14, are then murdered and the Ptolemaic dynasty has cometo the final end.----------------------------- --------------------------------- --------------------------------- -----http://myron.sjsu.edu/romeweb/ladycont/art2.htmCleopatra VII, Last Queen of EgyptConsort of Julius Caesar, Wife of Marc AntonyCleopatra is one of those legendary and romantic figures ofhistory who have captured the imaginations of every generationsince her own time. She was the subject of one of Hollywood'smost popular movies, and her character in this movie wasportrayed by an actress whose powerful intellect andpersonality, as well as whose human weaknesses, were similar toCleopatra's own.Cleopatra was an ambitious woman, determined to rule her kingdomand keep it out of the hands of the ever more powerful andexpansionist Romans in Italy to the West. She was considered tobe one of the most intelligent and canny female rulers of alltimes and was not afraid to utilize her feminine charms toadvance her political ambitions. She was the lover of onepowerful Roman leader and married to another.Cleopatra was born in about 69 B. C., the daughter of PtolemyXII and Cleopatra VI. When her father died, she and her brotherPtolemy XIII were to rule Egypt jointly. It was the customamongst Ptolemaic rulers that brother should marry sister andrule jointly. This was to ensure that none of the powerfulfamilies would gain enough influence to control the throne ofEgypt. Instead of marrying her, Ptolemy exiled her and took overthe throne himself. Cleopatra gathered an army and tried to takeback what was rightfully hers, but was having no success.In 48 B. C., Julius Caesar landed in Egypt, searching forPompey, whom he had defeated at the battle of Pharsalus earlierthat year. Some Egyptians thought they could gain Caesar's favorby murdering Pompey and presenting his head to Caesar, butCaesar instead mourned the death of a friend, even though Pompeyhad been his rival. Cleopatra, with her talent for seduction anda flair for the dramatic, used a much more subtle way to gainthe attention and affection of Julius Caesar. She had herselfrolled up in a carpet, and, disguised as a gift to the famousRoman, she was delivered by one of her slaves to Caesar's camp.Immediately captivated by her charm and wit, Caesar fell madlyin love with the Egyptian queen.Over the course of the next three years, the two royal loversjoined forces to defeat and kill her treacherous brother, took atrip up the Nile, and planned to carve out an empire forthemselves. After Ptolemy XIII's death, she was compelled bycustom to marry her other brother, Ptolemy XIV.Caesar then took Cleopatra to Rome and set her up in a householdof her own. Cleopatra had a son by Caesar whom she namedCaesarion. Cleopatra was not very popular with the Romans, whoresented this foreign queen who had seduced their popularleader. When Caesar was murdered in 44 B. C., Cleopatra decidedthat the wise thing to do would be to return to Egypt and try tomake the best of things. After Caesar's death she got her secondbrother out of the way by poisoning him. She then ruled jointlywith her infant son.By this time, the rivalry between Marc Antony and Octavian hadheated up to the point of becoming open civil war. Antonysummoned Cleopatra to his camp to have her declare her loyaltyto his cause or face the consequences. Instead, she came to himwith her court, her royal barge all decked out in splendor. Ofcourse, Cleopatra was the center of everyone's attention, a richand powerful Eastern queen surrounded by luxury.Antony could no more resist the Egyptian queen than Caesar couldbefore him. With Antony eating from the palm of her hand, shebelieved that she could use Roman military might to further herplans to build an Egyptian empire. Antony fell in love with andeventually married Cleopatra. In the meantime, Octavian wasdenouncing Antony and his Egyptian queen, saying that he wantedonly to make Rome part of an Oriental empire ruled by a despot.As time went on, Antony lost more and more support from Romansoldiers and citizens alike. The forces of Octavian werebecoming stronger day by day. The showdown between the two wasnot long incoming. At Actium, in 31 B. C., Octavian's navalforces defeated Antony's fleet after Antony himself desertedthem. It seems that Cleopatra, who had joined her ships withAntony's fleet, decided to cut and run in the midst of thebattle. In fact, the battle was nowhere near a lost cause untilafter she had fled. Antony chose to take a boat himself and joinhis lover in flight instead of remaining with his men. Thebattle was soon over with most of Antony's men deserting orsurrendering after he had gone.Antony and Cleopatra had only a few short months left. AfterActium, Octavian's army inexorably pushed onward, conqueringEgypt after some spirited but wholly inadequate resistance. Withtroops entering Alexandria, Cleopatra retired to her own tomb toawait the end. Antony had fallen on his sword in despair, butsurvived his suicide attempt long enough to be taken toCleopatra, where he died in her arms. Cleopatra herself, ratherthan be taken alive, preferred suicide. She could not face theprospect of having to march in shame and degradation inOctavian's triumph, having once been a proud queen of anindependent Egypt. As Roman soldiers searched noisily in thestreets of Alexandria for Cleopatra, she accepted a final giftfrom one of her faithful serving girls. Hidden within a basketof fruit was a deadly poisonous asp. The bite from the snake waspainless, and Cleopatra held the serpent to her breast. Thepoison worked swiftly, and her two servant girls followed her indeath. When the soldiers finally broke into the tomb and roughlydemanded where Cleopatra was, only one girl had enough liferemaining to tell them that in death, Cleopatra had escaped h ercaptors.----------------------- --------------------------------- --------------------------------- ---------http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/alexandria/history/cl_his.htmlBC 69 Birth of CleopatraBC 48 Caesar restores Cleopatra on the Egyptian throneBC 46-44 Cleopatra resides in RomeBC 44-40 Elimination of Caesar's assassinsBC 44 Assassination of CaesarBC 43 Formation of the triumvirate:Antony - Octavian (Augustus) - LepidusBC 43-42 Victory of the triumvirate over Caesar's assassinsat PhilippiDefinite death of the republicAntony in charge of reorganizing the OrientBC 42 Dionysiac entry of Antony at EphesusBC 41 Meeting between Antony and Cleopatra at TarsusThe Roman General follows her to EgyptBC 40-34 Formation of the two blocksBC 40 Treaty between Antony, Octavian, and LepidusThe triumvirate rule Rome jointlyPartition of the Mediterranean- Octavian: The western provinces(Spain, Sardinia, Sicily,Transalpine Gaul, Narbonne)- Antony : The eastern provinces(Macedonia, Asia, Bithynia,Cilicia, Syria)- Lepidus : Africa (Tunisia and Algeria)BC 36 Elimination of LepidusOctavian controls Africa and becomes theeffective ruler of RomeParthian campaign of Marc AntonyBC 34 Organization of the "Antonian Orient"Triumph of AlexandriaDonations CeremonyBC 43-30 Fall and death of Cleopatra and Marc AntonyVictory of the West over the EastBC 32 Western provinces pledge allegiance to OctavianDeclaration of war on CleopatraAntony and his allies gather on the Island of SamosBC 31 Battle of Actium and victory of OctavianAntony and Cleopatra seek refuge at AlexandriaBC 30 Victory of Octavian at AlexandriaSuicide of Antony and CleopatraEgypt becomes a Roman province
SOURCE NOTES:
http://www.american-pictures.com/genealogy/persons/per00589.htm#0
Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Marcus Antonius | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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