history of Cleopatra VII The last Petolmy kings

• 16 / 5 / 2023

Queen of Egypt, famous in history and drama for her relationship with Julius Caesar and then Marcus Antonius, and the mother of Ptolemy XV (Caesarion). She became Queen upon the death of her father Ptolemy XII, in the year 51 BC and ruled successively with her brothers Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV( 67) and her son Ptolemy XV Caesar after the victory of the Roman armies of Octavian (later the new emperor Augustus) over their joint forces, Cleopatra committed suicide, as did Antony, and Egypt fell under the control of the Romans.

Her life and Reign

Born in 69 BC, Cleopatra is described as having actively influenced Roman politics during a critical period, and she is regarded as having come to represent, as no other woman of antiquity did, the prototype of the romance of a glamorous woman.

Ptolemy XIII and his daughter Cleopatra VII.

 It is likely, but not proven, that the two married immediately after the death of the father. Cleopatra's 18-year-old daughter, eight years older than her brother, became the dominant ruler.

Cleopatra and Julius Caesar

Cleopatra was determined to keep her throne, and if possible, restore the glories of the early Ptolemies and recover as much as possible of their dominion, which included Syria, Palestine, and Cyprus. The bonds of their relationship strengthened, and after his departure, she gave birth to a child for him, whom she named Ptolemy Caesar or Ptolemy XV (and the Alexandrians called him the diminutive Caesar Kaisarion).

Forming an army and confronting her brother

King Ptolemy XIII fell under the influence of his advisers, who worked to remove Cleopatra and expel her from Alexandria to seize power, so she took refuge in eastern. Upon her arrival in Pelusium (now Port Said), where her brother's army was confronting her, the ship of the Roman commander Pompeius (Pompeius) arrived after his defeat at the Battle of Pharsalus (48 BC.M.), none of the King's guardians but arranged his murder, and presented his head to the victorious commander Julius Caesar, who arrived in Alexandria on October 2, 48 BC.M. Cleopatra succeeded in breaking through the ranks of her opponents after her brother Ptolemy XIII tried to get closer to Caesar, where he found an opportunity to declare his full loyalty, and worked as much as he could to flatter and get closer to him, thus began a historical relationship between Caesar and Cleopatra in the royal palace.

Alexandria War began, which was decided by Julius Caesar in early 47 BC. After the help arrived and ended with the death of King Ptolemy XIII and his associates, Cleopatra took the throne of Egypt with her younger brother Ptolemy XIV, and Caesar stayed by her side for three months. Cleopatra and Marcus Antonius. The map of the lands and territories ruled by Alexandria as a result of being given by Marcus Antonius to Cleopatra and her sons in the year 34 BC.

After the assassination of Caesar in Rome, the kingdom was divided between his greatest commanders, actavius and Antony, so actavius decided to annex Egypt to the Roman Empire, but he had many consequences, the most severe of which was Marcus Antonius "Mark Antony", who wanted to rule the Roman Empire alone, and then Cleopatra thought to become the wife of Marcus Antonius, who might one day rule the Roman Empire. Where Mark Anthony came to Egypt, and Cleopatra came to him secretly because of her fear of the Egyptians revolting against her, and he was hiding in a carpet and came out of it in front of Anthony as a mermaid in her best pictures, and Anthony fell in love with her.

Mark Antony was married to Octavia, the sister of Octavius(Augustus), and the Romans were forbidden to marry a non-Roman; here the problem of his attachment to Cleopatra arose, and he became her ally instead of annexing Egypt to the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire was divided into East and West, and the East, including Egypt, belonged to Antony. It was natural that Cleopatra came under the authority of the new master Antony, so she fought him with the weapon of love and beauty, and she did not wait until he came to her in Alexandria, but sailed on a luxurious golden pharaonic ship from the Egyptian shores. 

Antony had sent in her request in 41 BC. When he arrived in the city of Tarsus in Cilicia, to held her accountable for her hesitant attitude and lack of support for the supporters of Julius Caesar. Cleopatra admired Antony not only for his handsome figure (according to historians), but also for his intelligence, because all the predictions at this time were confirming Antony's victory, so Antony prepared one of the strongest armies, and Cleopatra followed the army closely and followed the war plan.

Battle of Actium 

Antony lost many of his ships in his attempt to break the blockade that was struck around him, events accelerated and Cleopatra did everything possible to avoid disaster after the news of the defeat reached Egypt, and Antony made a desperate attempt to counter the forces of Octavianus, the new Caesar of Rome, which arrived on the outskirts of Alexandria in the summer of 30 BC.M., who found in Antonius an obstacle to his solitary rule, but his efforts were in vain, and when he received false news of Cleopatra's death, he preferred death to life. Suicide instead of captivity Cleopatra returned to Alexandria after losing Marcus Antonius and Cleopatra was afraid to be captured, as he did her sister Cleopatra VI, and the news of the latter's suicide came after the defeat in the Battle of Actium in front of Octavius, Queen Cleopatra decided to commit suicide by biting a poisonous snake, which was the strangest way to commit suicide at that time, and the reason for suicide was that she did not want to walk the streets of Rome as an iron-chained prisoner in the Roman victory processions as a prisoner of Octavius.