Cleopatra

Cleopatra VII: The Rise and Fall of the Last Pharaoh

The name Cleopatra has been used by lots of different Egyptian Queens, but Cleopatra VII is by far the most remembered of them all. She used her looks, seduction skills, and charm to get whatever she wanted and it worked. Cleopatra was an extremely selfish person and her only goals in life were to achieve power and wealth. These motives for living got her in lots of trouble throughout her life. By the time this last pharaoh of Egypt rose to power of the Ptolemaic Dynasty, it was crumbling down because of the Roman Empire trying to take over. Cleopatra used two of the world's most powerful men of the Roman Empire to make sure her beloved empire was not completely taken over by Roman control and she would remain in power. She was willing to do whatever it took to make sure that her dynasty was not going to fall apart. As we take a look at her life and journey, it shows her determination to regain the power of her once strong Ptolemaic Dynasty.

In 51 B.C., Cleopatra's father, Ptolemy XII, died and left the kingdom of Egypt to Cleopatra and her younger brother Ptolemy XIII in his will. At the time of her father's death, Cleopatra was eighteen years of age and Ptolemy XIII was only twelve. The two had to get married according to Egyptian law which stated that any female ruler had to have a husband, or consort, who was either a brother or a son. Cleopatra took full advantage of the age difference between her brother/husband and herself. As soon as they were married, she had dropped Ptolemy XIII name dropped from all documents that had him being a co-ruler. She knew he was way too young to know anything about ruling a country. Cleopatra then went on to rule by herself for three years until her brother finally smartened up. Ptolemy XIII and his group of advisors began to plot a conspiracy that would have Cleopatra removed from the throne. In 48 B.C., they overthrew her from power and forced her into exile .

Cleopatra wasn't the type of queen who would let such a thing happen to her like this without her doing something about it. She decided to gather some troops to regain control of her old country. As Cleopatra was getting ready to battle against her brothers army, she received news that Julius Caesar just became the new consul of Rome. This meant that Caesar had gained control of Rome and partially of the Ptolemaic Dynasty since the Roman Empire was expanding. Cleopatra came up with a plan to meet Julius Caesar to make an alliance with him so that she can be the queen of Egypt again. To get to Caesar, she had to wrap herself inside a rug which was then smuggled into Alexandria and delivered to straight to Caesar. When Julius Caesar opened the rug, Cleopatra came out and right away used her seduction skills and charmed Caesar. That same evening, Cleopatra became his lover even though he was married. She now had a good relationship with the Roman Empire being the lover of Caesar. Caesar agreed to help Cleopatra become queen again and returns her to the throne after the death of Ptolemy XIII in the Alexandrian War. She again had to marry another sibling, this time her youngest brother Ptolemy XIV who was only eleven years old. At around the same time that she took over Egypt for the second time, she gave birth to a son Ptolemy XV, also called Little Caesar because he was the son of Julius Caesar .

In 44 B.C., on the Ides of March, Julius Caesar was assassinated outside of the Senate Building in Rome . He was assassinated in a conspiracy by his Senators. They thought that he was going to become king and ruin the city of Rome and the well-being of the republic. In Caesar's will, he left nothing to Cleopatra. Caesar's assassination caused a lot of disorder and a civil war in Rome. Eventually the Roman Empire was divided among three powerful men: Caesar's great-nephew Octavian, Marcus Lepidus, and Marcus Antonius, who is also known as Marc Antony .

In 42 B.C., Mark Antony sent out for Cleopatra to meet him in Tarsus. Cleopatra arrived in style on a fancy boat with purple sails and silver oars. The boat was sailed by her maids, who were dressed as sea nymphs. Cleopatra herself was dressed as the goddess of love, Venus. Antony, who was a pleasure-loving man, was impressed by this, just as Cleopatra had intended. That night that she arrived, she entertained him on her boat. Like Caesar, Antony was immediately hooked by Cleopatra's charm and beauty. Forgetting all about his responsibilities, he went with Cleopatra to Alexandria and spent the winter with her there. Six months later, Cleopatra gave birth to a set of twins. Their names were Cleopatra Selene and Alexander Helios, and the father was Marc Antony. During that time in-between, Antony married Octavian's half-sister, Octavia . Together, they had two daughters, both named Antonia. In 37 BC, while on his way to invade Parthia, Antony enjoyed another date with Cleopatra. He rushed through his battle and went back to Cleopatra. From then on Alexandria was his home, and Cleopatra was in his life. He married her in 36 BC and she gave birth to another son, Ptolemy Philadelphus .

In Rome, Octavia remained loyal to Antony. She decided to visit Antony, and when she reached Athens she received a letter from him saying that he would meet her there. Cleopatra didn't want Antony to have any contact with his other wife. She did all sorts of things to try and keep him from leaving. She cried, fainted, and even starved herself and got her way. Antony eventually cancelled his trip and never saw Octavia.

The Roman people were not pleased at all by the way Antony had treated Octavia by ditching her. The worst thing of all was that in 34 BC Antony made Alexander Helios the king of Armenia, Cleopatra Selene the queen of Cyrenaica and Crete, and Ptolemy Philadelphus the king of Syria. Caesarion was known as the "King of Kings," and Cleopatra was the "Queen of