Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, was one of the most famous women in history. Her full name was Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (69 BC – 12 August 30 BC). She was the last of the Pharaohs set up in Egypt by Alexander the Great. By descent, she was a Macedonian Princess. After her death, Egypt became the Roman province of Aegyptus.

The main historical source for her life is Plutarch's Life of Antony, available in translations. Antony and Cleopatra is the famous tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607. It was first printed in 1623.

Life
Caesar and Pompey
Mark Antony and Octavian
- Death
Cleopatra's kingdom and role as a monarch
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Life

Cleopatra was born in Alexandria, then the capital of Egypt. When she was 18 years old, her father, who was king, died. She and her brother, Ptolemy XIII, became the leaders of Egypt. She was queen and her brother was king. Her brother was only 12 years old, so she was the real leader.

Cleopatra made some enemies amongst the courtiers. The reign of Cleopatra was ended by a cabal of courtiers, led by the eunuch Pothinus. They removed Cleopatra from power, and made Ptolemy sole ruler, in about 51 to 48 BC. She had to leave the country. Ptolemy was king, but because he was still a boy, Pothinus and his friends were the real leaders of Egypt.

Caesar and Pompey

At that time, two Roman generals were fighting to be the leaders of the Roman Republic. They were Pompey and Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar defeated Pompey at the Battle of Pharsalus in Greece, 48 BC. Pompey fled to Egypt from Pharsalus, where he was murdered by the orders of Ptolemy XIII before Caesar arrived to Alexandria.

Ptolemy and his supporters thought Caesar would be pleased, but that was a big mistake. The murder of Pompey cut right across Caesar's plans of laying the ground for peace in Rome. To make things worse, Pompey was a Roman consul, and the widower of Caesar's only daughter, Julia. Worse still, Pompey was killed in front of his fifth wife and children, who were on the ship from which he had just disembarked. Pompey's powerful family and supporters would never forget that and would always be Caesar's enemies.

A coin of Cleopatra VII

Then Caesar came to Alexandria, the capital of Egypt. Economically, Egypt was a bread-basket which could feed the people of Rome. Cleopatra received Caesar in her own unique way. She lay down on a carpet. Then her servants rolled up the carpet with Cleopatra inside. Then the carpet was taken to the palace where Caesar was staying. The guards saw some people carrying a carpet and they did not stop them. They carried the carpet to Caesar. Then Cleopatra came out of the carpet. Caesar fell in love with her and they became lovers. At the time, Cleopatra was 21 years old and Caesar was 52 years old.

Caesar decided to make Cleopatra queen again. Ptolemy did not like that. There was a lot of fighting, but Caesar won. Ptolemy tried to leave, but he fell in the river Nile and drowned. Another younger brother became king, but Cleopatra was again the real leader of Egypt. Cleopatra did not marry Julius Caesar, but they did have a son. He was called Caesarion.

Soon after Caesarion was born, Caesar was murdered as he walked to the Senate in Rome. Cleopatra and her entourage were in Rome when Caesar was assassinated on 15 March 44 BC. Cleopatra fled back to Egypt.

Mark Antony and Octavian

Cleopatra VII and her son Caesarion at the Temple of Dendera

Coin of Antony and Cleopatra

Mark Antony, who was Caesar's military commander, and Octavian, Caesar's legal heir, defeated the group which had conspired against Caesar. This group was led by Brutus and Cassius, who took their army to the Eastern Mediterranean, and controlled much of that area. The issue was finally settled by the Battle of Philippi, fought in Macedonia.

Caesar's place was taken by three joint Consuls, the Second Triumvirate. Their names were Octavian, Mark Antony and Lepidus. Lepidus was a minor character, and the long-term fate of the Empire was decided by a conflict between Antony and Octavian. Mark Antony came to see Cleopatra, and they fell in love, though Antony already had a wife. Cleopatra had three more children. Two were twins, and the father of all three was Mark Antony.

The conflict between Octavian and Antony became serious, and soon there was war. Cleopatra was wealthy, and she used her money to help Antony. But Octavian won the war. He became the ruler of the Roman Empire and was known as Augustus or Caesar Augustus. He took control of Egypt from Cleopatra. After her kingdom was conquered, she killed herself by letting an asp (a poisonous snake) bite her. Antony also took his own life.

Ceasarion was murdered by Octavian, and her other children were taken as prisoners to Rome. Two of them died of illness, but her daughter, Cleopatra Selene II, married an African King Juba II of Numidia. The couple were sent to Mauritania to rule by Octavian. They lived a full life there, and had children.

There are many stories told of how rich Cleopatra was, but we cannot be sure if these are true. For example, one story says that she took baths in milk, to make her skin softer. Another story says that she made a bet with Antony that she could make the most expensive meal ever. To win the bet, she took a pearl earring, dissolved it in vinegar, and drank it.

Death

The ancient sources, particularly the Roman ones, are in general agreement that Cleopatra killed herself by inducing an asp (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 — but he said in his writings that he was not sure if Cleopatra poisoned herself or was murdered.

Several Roman poets writing within ten years of the event 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, 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 historical texts and consulting with toxicologists, the historian concluded that the asp could not have caused the quick and pain-free death claimed by most sources, since the asp venom paralyses parts of the body, starting with the eyes, before causing death. Living when and where she did, Cleopatra would have known of the violent and painful effects of an asp's venomous bite, so it is unlikely that it was the cause of her death.

Cleopatra's kingdom and role as a monarch

For more details, see Ptolemaic coinage and Ancient Greek coinage

Cleopatra on a coin of 40 drachms from 51 to 30 BC, minted at Alexandria; on the obverse is a portrait of Cleopatra wearing a diadem, and on the reverse an inscription reading "ΒΑΣΙΛΙΣΣΗΣ ΚΛΕΟΠΑΤΡΑΣ" with an eagle standing on a thunderbolt.

Following the tradition of Macedonian rulers, Cleopatra ruled Egypt and other territories such as Cyprus as an absolute monarch, serving as the sole lawgiver of her kingdom. She was the chief religious authority in her realm, presiding over religious ceremonies dedicated to the deities of both the Egyptian and Greek polytheistic faiths. She oversaw the construction of various temples to Egyptian and Greek gods, a synagogue for the Jews in Egypt, and even built the Caesareum of Alexandria, dedicated to the cult worship of her patron and lover Julius Caesar. Cleopatra was directly involved in the administrative affairs of her domain, tackling crises such as famine by ordering royal granaries to distribute food to the starving populace during a drought at the beginning of her reign. Although the command economy that she managed was more of an ideal than a reality, the government attempted to impose price controls, tariffs, and state monopolies for certain goods, fixed exchange rates for foreign currencies, and rigid laws forcing peasant farmers to stay in their villages during planting and harvesting seasons. Apparent financial troubles led Cleopatra to debase her coinage, which included silver and bronze currencies but no gold coins like those of some of her distant Ptolemaic predecessors.

Images for kids

Hellenistic Kingdoms that emerged after the death of Alexander the Great
Hellenistic portrait of Ptolemy XII Auletes, the father of Cleopatra, located in the Louvre, Paris
Most likely a posthumously painted portrait of Cleopatra with red hair and her distinct facial features, wearing a royal diadem and pearl-studded hairpins, from Roman Herculaneum, Italy, 1st century AD
A Roman portrait of Pompey made during the reign of Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD), a copy of an original from 70 to 60 BC, and located in the Venice National Archaeological Museum, Italy
The Tusculum portrait, a contemporary Roman sculpture of Julius Caesar located in the Archaeological Museum of Turin, Italy
Egyptian portrait of a Ptolemaic queen, possibly Cleopatra, c. 51–30 BC, located in the Brooklyn Museum
Cleopatra's Gate in Tarsos (now Tarsus, Mersin, Turkey), the site where she met Mark Antony in 41 BC
A Roman marble bust of the consul and triumvir Mark Antony, late 1st century AD, Vatican Museums
The Meeting of Antony and Cleopatra (1885), by Lawrence Alma-Tadema
Roman aureus bearing the portraits of Mark Antony (left) and Octavian (right), issued in 41 BC to celebrate the establishment of the Second Triumvirate by Octavian, Antony and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus in 43 BC
A denarius minted by Antony in 34 BC with his portrait on the obverse, which bears the inscription reading "ANTONIVS ARMENIA DEVICTA", alluding to his Armenian campaign. The reverse features Cleopatra, with the inscription "CLEOPATR[AE] REGINAE REGVM FILIORVM REGVM". The mention of her children on the reverse refers to the Donations of Alexandria.
A papyrus document dated February 33 BC granting tax exemptions to a person in Egypt and containing the signature of Cleopatra written by an official, but with "γινέσθωι" (ginésthōi; lit. "make it happen" or "so be it") added in Greek, likely by the queen's own hand
A reconstructed statue of Augustus as a younger Octavian, dated c. 30 BC
A restructured marble Roman statue of Cleopatra wearing a diadem and 'melon' hairstyle similar to coinage portraits, found along the Via Cassia near the Tomba di Nerone [it], Rome, and now located in the Museo Pio-Clementino
Cleopatra and Mark Antony on the obverse and reverse, respectively, of a silver tetradrachm struck at the Antioch mint in 36 BC, with Greek legends: BACIΛΙCCA KΛΕΟΠΑΤΡΑ ΘΕΑ ΝΕΩΤΕΡΑ, ANTΩNIOC AYTOKPATΩP TPITON TPIΩN ANΔPΩN.
Cleopatra, mid-1st century BC, with a "melon" hairstyle and Hellenistic royal diadem worn over her head, now in the Vatican Museums
Profile view of the Vatican Cleopatra
Cleopatra, mid-1st century BC, showing Cleopatra with a "melon" hairstyle and Hellenistic royal diadem worn over the head, now in the Altes Museum
Profile view of the Berlin Cleopatra
A granite Egyptian bust of Cleopatra from the Royal Ontario Museum, mid-1st century BC
A marble statue of Cleopatra with her cartouche inscribed on the upper right arm and wearing a diadem with a triple uraeus, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Possible sculpted head of Cleopatra VII wearing an Egyptian-style vulture headdress, discovered in Rome, either Roman or Hellenistic Egyptian art, Parian marble, 1st century BC, from the Capitoline Museums

Cleopatra facts for kids

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