Cleopatra VII Philopator (69 – 10 or 12 August 30 BC) was the last active ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt. She was also a diplomat, naval commander, linguist and medical author. As a member of the Ptolemaic, she was a descendant of its founder Ptolemy I Soter, a Macedonian Greek general and companion of Alexander the Great.

After the death of Cleopatra, Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire, marking the end of the Hellenistic that had lasted since the reign of Alexander (336–323 BC). Her native language was Greek and she was the first Ptolemaic ruler to learn the Egyptian language.

Youth and succession

In June of 323 BC, Alexander the Great died and his vast empire was divided among his generals. One of these generals was Ptolemy I Soter, a fellow Macedonian who would found the Ptolemaic Dynasty in ancient Egypt. The Ptolemaic line of Macedonian-Greek ethnicity would continue to rule Egypt until the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC when it was taken by Rome. Ptolemy I, Ptolemy II and Ptolemy III governed Egypt well but after them their successors ruled poorly until Cleopatra came to the throne. In fact, the difficulties she had to overcome were primarily the legacy of her predecessors.

Cleopatra VII Philopator was born in 69 BC and ruled jointly with her father, Ptolemy XII Auletes. When she was 18-years-old, her father died, leaving her the throne. Because Egyptian tradition held that a woman needed a male consort to reign, her twelve-year-old brother, Ptolemy XIII, was ceremonially married to her. Cleopatra soon dropped his name from all official documents however, and ruled alone.

The Ptolemies, insisting on Macedonian-Greek superiority, had ruled in Egypt for centuries without ever learning the Egyptian language or embracing the customs. Cleopatra, however, was fluent in Egyptian, eloquent in her native Greek, and proficient in other languages as well. Because of this, she was able to communicate easily with diplomats from other countries without the need of a translator and, shortly after assuming the throne, without bothering to hear the counsel of her advisors on matters of state.

Her habit of making decisions and acting on them without the counsel of the members of her court upset some of the high-ranking officials. One example of this was when Roman mercenary lieutenants employed by the Ptolemaic crown murdered the sons of the Roman governor of Syria to prevent them from requesting her assistance. She immediately arrested the lieutenants responsible and turned them over to the aggrieved father for punishment.

In spite of her many achievements, her court was not pleased with her independent attitude. In 48 BCE her chief advisor, Pothinus, along with another, Theodotus of Chios, and the General Achillas, overthrew her and placed Ptolemy XIII on the throne, believing him to be easier to control than his sister. Cleopatra and her half-sister, Arsinoe, fled to Thebaid for safety.

Pompey and Caesar

At about this same time the Roman general and politician, Pompey the Great, was defeated by Julius Caesar at the Battle of Pharsalus. Pompey was the state-appointed guardian over the younger Ptolemy children and, on his campaigns, had spent considerable time in Egypt. Believing friends would welcome him, Pompey fled from Pharsalus to Egypt but, instead of finding sanctuary, was murdered under the gaze of Ptolemy XIII as he came on shore at Alexandria.

Caesar’s army was numerically inferior to Pompey’s and it was believed that Caesar’s stunning victory meant that the gods favoured him over Pompey. Further, it seemed to make more sense to Ptolemy XIII’s advisor Pothinus to align the young king with the future of Rome rather than the past.

Upon arriving in Egypt with his legions, in pursuit of Pompey, Caesar was allegedly outraged that Pompey had been killed, declared martial law, and set himself up in the royal palace. Ptolemy XIII fled to Pelusium with his court. Caesar, however, was not about to let the young ruler slip away to foment trouble and had him brought back to Alexandria.

Cleopatra was still in exile and knew there was no way she could simply walk into the palace. Recognising in Caesar her chance to regain power, she is said to have had herself rolled in a rug, ostensibly a gift for the Roman general, and carried through the enemy lines.

The pair’s need of one another was mutual. Cleopatra required the might of Caesar’s armies to install her as ruler of Egypt, while Caesar was in need of Cleopatra’s vast wealth. She is believed to have been the world’s richest woman at the time and able to finance Caesar’s return to power in Rome.

Cleopatra and Caesar

Ptolemy XIII turned to his general Achillas for support and war broke out in Alexandria between Caesar’s legions and the Egyptian army. Caesar and Cleopatra were besieged in the royal palace for six months until Roman reinforcements were able to arrive and break the Egyptian lines. It is at this time, according to some historians, that the great library at Alexandria was accidentally burned, though this claim has been challenged.

Before the Roman victory over Ptolemy XIII, however, Cleopatra’s half-sister, Arsinoe, who had returned with her, fled the palace for Achillas’ camp and had herself proclaimed queen in Cleopatra’s place. Ptolemy XIII drowned in the HYPERLINK “https://www.ancient.eu/nile/”Nile attempting to escape after the battle and the other leaders of the coup against Cleopatra were killed in battle or shortly afterwards. Arsinoe was captured and sent to Rome in defeat but was spared her life by Caesar who exiled her to live in the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus where she would remain until 41 BC when, at Cleopatra’s urging, Mark Antony had her executed.

Cleopatra travelled through Egypt with Caesar in great style and was hailed by her subjects as Pharaoh. She gave birth to a son, Ptolemy Caesar (known as Caesarion) in June of 47 BC and proclaimed him her heir. Caesar himself was content with Cleopatra ruling Egypt as the two of them found in each other the same kind of stratagem and intelligence, bonding them together with a mutual respect.

In 46 BCE, Caesar returned to Rome and, shortly after, brought Cleopatra, their son, and her entire entourage to live there. He openly acknowledged Caesarion as his son (though not his heir) and Cleopatra as his consort. As Caesar was already married to Calpurnia at this time, and the Roman laws against bigamy were strictly adhered to, many of the members of the Senate, as well as the public, were upset by Caesar’s actions.

Cleopatra and Mark Antony

When Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC, Cleopatra fled Rome with Caesarion and returned to Alexandria. Caesar’s right-hand man, Mark Antony, joined with his grandnephew Octavian and friend Lepidus to pursue and defeat the conspirators who had murdered Caesar. After the Battle of Phillipi, at which the forces of Antony and Octavian defeated those of Brutus and Cassius, Antony emerged as ruler of the eastern provinces, including Egypt, while Octavian held the west.

In 41 BC, Cleopatra was summoned to appear before Antony in Tarsus to answer charges she had given aid to Brutus and Cassius. Cleopatra delayed in coming and then delayed further in complying with Antony’s summons, making it clear that, as Queen of Egypt, she would come in her own time when she saw fit. Egypt was, at this time, teetering on the edge of economic chaos but, even so, Cleopatra made sure to present herself as a true sovereign, appearing in luxury on her barge, dressed as Aphrodite.

Mark Antony and Cleopatra instantly became lovers and would remain so for the next ten years. She would bear him three children and he considered her his wife, even though he was married, first, to Fulvia and then to Octavia, the sister of Octavian. He eventually divorced Octavia to marry Cleopatra legally.

Roman civil war

During these years, Antony’s relationship with Octavian would steadily disintegrate. Octavian was outraged by Antony’s behaviour and, especially, the disrespect shown to his sister as well as to himself.

Octavian did not appreciate any of Antony’s breaches of policy, courtesy, or propriety and their personal and professional relationship degenerated further to the point where civil war broke out. After a number of engagements, which almost routinely favoured Octavian, Cleopatra’s and Antony’s forces were defeated by Octavian’s at the Battle of Actium off the west coast of Greece in 31 BC.

Although they had suffered a decisive defeat, it was nearly a year before Octavian reached Alexandria and again defeated Antony. In the aftermath of the battle, Cleopatra took refuge in the mausoleum she had commissioned for herself. Antony, informed that Cleopatra was dead, stabbed himself with his sword. Before he died, another messenger arrived, saying Cleopatra still lived. Antony had himself carried to Cleopatra’s retreat, where he died after bidding her to make her peace with Octavian. When the triumphant Roman arrived, she attempted to seduce him, but he resisted her charms. Rather than fall under Octavian’s domination, Cleopatra committed suicide on August 12, 30 BC, possibly by means of an asp, a poisonous Egyptian serpent and symbol of divine royalty.

Octavian annexed Egypt into the Roman Empire, and used Cleopatra’s treasure to pay off his veterans. In 27 BC, Octavian became Augustus, the first and arguably most successful of all Roman emperors. He ruled a peaceful, prosperous, and expanding Roman Empire until his death in 14 AD at the age of 75.

Her sons by Caesar and Antony, Caesarion (Ptolemy XV) and Antyllus were put to death by Octavian. Her other children, Alexander Helos, Cleopatra Serene, and Ptolemy Philadelphus were younger and allowed to live. They were sent to Rome with Octavian’s sister Octavia the Younger, a former wife of their father, as their guardian.

Like with the rest of the Mediterranean – described once as a Roman lake – Egypt submitted to Roman rule and the power of the Ptolemys finally ended.

Cleopatra has continued to cast that same spell throughout the centuries since her death and remains the most famous queen of ancient Egypt. Film, books, television, and plays have been produced about her life and she is depicted in works of art in every century up to the present day.

Cleopatra was only 39 years old when she died and had ruled for 22 of those years. In an age when women rarely or never asserted political control over men, she managed to maintain Egypt in a state of independence for as long as she held the throne and never forgot what was due to her people. In keeping with the ancient traditions of the land, she tried to maintain the concept of ma’at – balance and harmony – as well as she could under the circumstances of the time. Though she was Macedonian-Greek, not Egyptian, she has come to symbolize ancient Egypt in the popular imagination more than any other Egyptian monarch.

Source: Joshua Mark, Arienne King, www.ancient.eu, www.history.com and wikipedia

Images: Marlbe bust of Cleopatra VI. Altes Museum Berlin

George Georgiou