No one asked for this- and as far as I know, no one wanted it. But still, here's an essay I wrote on Cleopatra.
Cleopatra-her name is known far and wide as being one of Egypt's most powerful pharaohs. The modern world has taken an interest in her, with numerous movies, books, and even songs revolving around her. But, oddly enough, for someone so touted in our world as being one of Egypt's pharaohs, we know virtually nothing about her. Myths have sprouted around this mysterious woman, trying to fill in the gaps. Who was she really?
Cleopatra was born in Egypt in either 70 or 69 B.C.. She was born into a line of Ptolemaic royalty, and was a descendant of Ptolemy I Soter, one of Alexander the Great's loyal commanders. Her family assumed the role of Pharaoh after Alexander's conquering of Egypt, and subsequent death. During this time, Egypt served as a puppet state for Rome- they could function as their own country, but Rome was able to use Egyptian resources for their own gain.
It is not known who Cleopatra's mother was, but it is widely believed to be Cleopatra V Tryphaena, the king's wife and half sister. She had two siblings, her brother Auletes and her Ptolemy XIII, both of whom would become her husbands. She also had two sisters, Arsinoe IV and Berenice IV. She first served as King-regent to her father, and upon the passing of her brother and then husband Auletes, served as King Regent to her younger brother, Ptolemy XIII. She was fairly successful during this time, managing to get rid of her father's, the egyptian king Ptolemy XII Auletes, debts from Rome- and he had quite a lot of debts. She also managed to open the royal granaries to the public during a particularly nasty drought, saving the peasant populace from starving to death.
Of course, every ruler has to face their fair share of opposition, and Cleopatra was no different. When she became regent to her brother, Ptomeley, her brother's advisers began to manipulate him, turning him against Cleopatra. He had her banished, to where she fled to Serbia.
During her time in Serbia, Cleopatra, understandably, stewed in her anger over her banishment. How dare her brother, the very man she was helping, and her husband, banish her? She resolved that she would take back her throne- and nothing would stop her. She raised an army of mercenaries to take back Egypt, and in 50 BC, fought her brother's army in Pelusium.
During Cleopatra's banishment, the Roman General Pompey came to Egypt and spent a few months with Ptomeley. After Ptomeley allowed Pompey to be murdered, Pompey's rival, Julius Caesar, arrived at Alexandria. Ptomeley welcomed him to the palace with open arms, and Caesar decided to stay there for the duration of his stay in Egypt.
When Cleopatra found out about this, she knew that this was her chance to reclaim her throne. She dressed herself in her finest clothing, and ordered her servants roll her up into a carpet. The carpet was then sent to Caesar's bedroom, where, when it unfurled, Cleopatra popped out and stated her case. Caesar was enthralled by this, and agreed to help her-at least, that's the popular rumor about what happened.
After four months of fighting Roman reinforcements arrived, and Ptomeley was driven out of Alexandria. It is believed that he drowned in the Nile. After this happened, Cleopatra and Caesar entered Egypt, where they were greeted by crowds of disapproving citizens. They viewed Caesar as a conquering tyrant and Cleopatra just as badly for siding with him. Cleopatra and her younger brother, also named Ptomeley, regained the throne. Caesar remained in Rome for a time, and in 47 B.C. what appeared to be the love child of the two, Ptolemy Caesar, was born. His nickname? Caesarion, or Little Caesar.
In either 46 B.C. or 45 B.C Caesarion and Cleopatra took a road trip to visit Caesar in Rome. Cleopatra wasn't popular at all in Rome, since everyone knew about her status as Caesar's Mistress. After Caesar was murdered by his senators, Cleopatra and her son went back to Egypt, where a year later, her brother Ptomeley was killed off. The killing was suspected to have been by Cleopatra's agents, though this was never investigated- probably because no one wanted Cleopatra's agents knocking on their door in the middle of the night.
Cleopatra was then named Pharaoh and her three year old son was named regent. Following the tradition of Pharaohs identifying themselves with gods, she named herself as the embodiment of Isis. Her mother also identified as Isis, which led to Cleopatra being called the New Isis. She was irresistibly charming, and quite intelligent. She spoke at least a dozen languages, and was educated in one of the world's best libraries at the time. She wasn't exactly beautiful, however; she was average. It was her charm which led to men fawning over her.
After killing off most of her family members, Cleopatra's hold over Egypt had never been stronger. There was virtually no one to challenge her reign, and she was, in all respects, a good ruler. She was smart with how she governed, and was serious about her rulings. However, mother nature had different plans, since constant droughts in Egypt led to inflations in failing crops and hunger.
What also complicated matters was the civil war happening in Rome. Remember the death of Caesar? Well, the country was in a bit of an upheaval, with the triumvirate- Marc Anthony, Octavian Caesar, and Lepidus, Caesar's staunchest allies- and Caesar's killers, Brutus and Cassius, were fighting. And who did they ask for support? Unfortunately, both sides wrote Egypt asking for aid. After some stalling, Cleopatra sided with the Triumvirate, sending 4 Roman Legions stationed in Egypt to Rome. After the battles of Philippi in 42 B.C, Brutus and Cassius fled Rome. Marc Anthony and Octavian Caesar split power between themselves.
Cleopatra was summoned to the city of Tarsus shortly afterward, to explain her role in the aftermath of Caesar's assasination. While she was there, Marc Anthony fell head over heels for her, and an affair began between the two. There would be parades where the two ruler's dressed up as various gods, and rode floats of gold, waving to the gawking crowds below. There would be fine wines, various delicacies- they spent a large part of their budgets on these parades. They also started a famous drinking club called, and I quote, " The Inimitable Livers." Shortly after Anthony left Egypt, Cleopatra gave birth to a pair of twins, Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene.
After Anthony's wife at the time, Fulvia, died, Anthony had to prove his loyalty to Octavius by marrying Octavian's half-sister, Octavia. He did so, and the relationship between Cleopatra and Anthony went sterile for a while. This all changed in 37 B.C., when Cleopatra reunited with Anthony to talk about money.
Anthony had long dreamt of conquering the kingdom of Parthia, and met with Cleopatra to discuss funding for this. In exchange, Cleopatra regained much of Egypts lost territory, and the two also became lovers. Cleopatra, once again, gave birth to a son named Ptolemy Philadelphus in 36 B.C.
After Anthony got his butt kicked in Parthia, he publicly shunned his wife Octavia and ran to Egypt, back to Cleopatra's palace. In 34 B.C., during a public celebration, Anthony named Cleopatra's son with Caesar, Caesarion, the rightful heir to Rome and denounced Octavian as being Caesar's heir. He gave each of Cleopatra's children large plots of land, and infuriated Octavian. This led to a propaganda war between the two, where Octavian stated that Cleopatra was manipulating Anthony to betray Rome. Anthony was stripped of all of his titles, and Octavian went to war against Cleopatra.
After a number of battles, the decisive strike against Egypt happened on September 2, 31 B.C., where Octavian's forces devastated those of Cleopatra's and Anthony's. Cleopatra's fleet retreated, and Anthony did so as well. The two fled to separate camps, and Alexandria became surrounded by Octavian's forces.
Anthony heard a rumor about Cleopatra committing suicide, and in old Romeo and Juliet fashion, he decided he couldn't live without his lover. He plunged his sword into his gut, and he was no more. Of course, the rumor was then proved to be false, but it was too late- Anthony was dead.
Once Cleopatra had heard that Anthony was dead, she knew she had only one choice: to kill herself. Now, no one knows exactly how she did it, but there are 2 differing opinions on how she did this. The more popular opinion is that she ordered her maids to bring in a venomous cobra into her tent, and had it bite her, where she died of the poison. The other less popular, but more credible opinion is that she stabbed herself with one of her combs which had held snake poison in it, instantly killing her. The latter theory is far more plausible, since Cleopatra was known to carry a comb that held snake poison in it. All we know are the events before her suicide: after burying Anthony's body, she met with the victorious Octavian, then went back to her camp. She enclosed herself inside her chamber with two of her female maids, and committed suicide. She was buried next to her long time lover, Marc Anthony, leaving her sixteen year old son Caesarion to inherit the throne and Octavian to enjoy his conquest of Egypt.
After Cleopatra died, her son, Caesarion, was left to govern Egypt. However, unlike the olden days of Egypt, where Rome had a hand in the affairs, Anthony had annexed Egypt from Rome, leaving Caesarion with no outside support and a war to manage. Not exactly the ideal situation for a new king to experience. To add to the pressure, there was no way for Caesarion to claim the throne, since Alexandria was currently surrounded by Roman forces. Shortly after Cleopatra's suicide, he was taken and executed.
With the death of Cleopatra and the execution of Caesarion, Octavian finished up his conquest of Egypt and it became part of the Roman Empire. Her remaining children never took the throne, and the mighty Egyptian Empire came to an end. Cleopatra was the last of Egypt's pharaohs and brought an end to the Ptolemaic Dynasty.
After her death, Cleopatra became well known throughout the world for her captivating life- however, most paintings and books about her came decades, even centuries, after her death. Many of the tales about her, by then, were nothing more than exaggerations of her former glory. Nevertheless, the populace ate up these tales, with many famous authors adding to the frenzy. William Shakespear even wrote a play detailing her life, however inaccurate. Many paintings have been about her, and over the years, due to the invention of the film reel, Cleopatra's story was adapted into films.
We only know bits and pieces about Cleopatra's life- as stated before, most of the artworks and stories about her were written long after she died, so many facts about her life were either lost to time or heavily exaggerated. It didn't help that many of the writings about Cleopatra during her own time period were written by her enemies, so we have to take their accounts of events with a grain of salt. Even the fate of two of her remaining children are unknown, with her two remaining sons fading into obscurity after the three were sent to live with Anthony's old wife, Octavia.
We do know what happened to Cleopatra's daughter, Cleopatra Selene. After being sent to live with Octavia, she was later married to Juba II, the son of Juba the first. Their kingdom of Numidia was now a roman province, and shortly after the marriage, the couple was sent to rule the city of Mauretania, transforming the Carthagian city of Lol into the new capital. Cleopatra Selene hired much of her mother's old court to serve her in the city, and gave birth to a son named Ptomeley, out of respect for their Ptolemaic heritage.
After the couple died, their son Ptomeley took the throne, and was then promptly executed by the Roman Emperor Caligula under the assumption of treason. What did he do? Caligula believed that the new king had unlawfully minted the royal coinage and was using the regalia used for Roman emperors. Of course, there was little to no evidence of this happening, but in the fashion of greedy tyrants, he decided to believe the rumors circling around and had the young king executed.
And so comes the end of Cleopatra's story. She was undoubtedly one of Egypt's best pharaohs, or at least the most interesting. Her legacy lives on in the stories written about her, in the artwork and movies which attempt to reconstruct her life.She will live on forever in the human mind as Egypt's last, and most famous, pharaoh.