Cleopatra

69-30 b.c.e.

Queen of egypt

Sources

Learned Leader. Although the men, her two brothers and her son, who ruled Egypt alongside her are generally forgotten, the name Cleopatra conjures images of a seductress and schemer. A descendant of the Macedonian rulers who came to Egypt during the invasion of Alexander the Great (323 B.C.E.), Cleopatra was the second daughter of Ptolemy XII. She was bright and intelligent and reportedly learned multiple languages, including the native tongue of her subjects. When Ptolemy XII died in 51 B.C.E., she ascended to the throne along with her brother and husband, Ptolemy XIII. The real power in Egypt, however, were the Romans, who had essentially dictated policy since 168. Cleopatra was determined to use Roman power and saw an opportunity when Julius Caesar arrived in 48. A union of mutual benefit was established, and Cleopatra used the Roman emperor to reestablish her place on the Egyptian throne. Caesar soon left to return to Rome, although he may have left behind a son by Cleopatra. She made lavish expenditures on her fleet and personal transports and impressed the Roman men with whom she pursued her imperial ambitions. Cleopatra followed Caesar to Rome in 46, but the emperor was assassinated in 44, and she returned to Egypt.

The Logistics of Power. Perhaps better than any other political rival or ally of her day, with the possible exception of Caesar, Cleopatra understood the importance of communication, public image, the movement of wealth and troops, and the knowledge of geography in the acquisition of political power. She soon decided to cast her fate with Mark Antony, who was consolidating his power on the Roman throne. When Antony came east to pursue a campaign against Persia, Cleopatra seduced and entranced him. In Rome, however, Octavian was gaining power. Antony later married Cleopatra (37), but Roman sentiment was against the union. She managed to get Antony to give her lands that formerly belonged to Herod the Great of Judaea, but she created an implacable enemy. Octavian turned against Antony and defeated a fleet commanded by Antony and Cleopatra in 31 at the Battle of Actium. Antony killed himself, but Cleopatra tried again to use her wiles, but this time failed to capture another Roman emperor. Rather than suffer humiliation, she also committed suicide, and was buried beside Antony. She was remembered by future Romans as a dangerous public enemy in the negative propaganda of Augustus.

Sources

J. P. V. D. Balsdon, Julius Caesar and Rome (London: English Universities Press, 1967).

Michael Grant, Cleopatra (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1972).

Julia Samson, Nefertiti and Cleopatra: Queen-Monarchs of Ancient Egypt (London: Rubicon Press, 1985).

Dorothy J. Thompson, “Cleopatra VII,” in The Oxford Classical Dictionary, edited by Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth, third edition (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), p. 347.