Cleopatra, 69 BC - 30 BC

As there is no official biography of Cleopatra, and we only know about her life from Greco-Roman scholars, there are several missing pieces, and some details are uncertain regarding her story.

Cleopatra VII Philopator was born in early 69 BC, the daughter of pharaoh Ptolemy XII, a leader of the Macedonian dynasty that ruled over Egypt since the late 4th century BC, and to Cleopatra VI Tryphaena (so it is believed). As a princess, she learned ancient Greek philosophy and oratory.

In 51 BC, her father died, and at 18, she and her 10-year-old brother Ptolemy XIII received the throne. It is believed that she married her brother, as was the costume among the Egyptian monarchs at the time. Her brother refused to acknowledge their co-ruling, and soon after they assumed power, a fight broke out between them, and she fled to Syria. There, she assembled an army, and in 48 BC, at 21, she led a war against her brother at Pelusium, the eastern border of Egypt.

Around the same time, the Roman military leaders Pompey and Julius Caesar were at war. Pompey sought refuge in Alexandria, and Caesar followed him to Egypt, where he met Cleopatra. At first, the two allied to help each other mission, but it did not take long before they fell in love. With the support of the Romans, Cleopatra defeated her brother, who fled the country and presumably drowned in the Nile River. She restored the throne with her 12 years old brother and new husband, Ptolemy XIV.

Caesar stayed with Cleopatra for a while before returning to Rome, and in 47 BC, at the age of 22, she gave birth to her first child, Ptolemy XV Caesarion (believed to be Caesar’s son). In the following year, Cleopatra, her brother-husband, and her child traveled to Rome to visit Caesar, returning to Egypt in 44 BC following Caesar’s murder. Not long after their return, Cleopatra’s agents killed Ptolemy XIV, and she became the sole ruler alongside her infant son. At this point, Cleopatra has established herself as the embodiment of the Egyptian goddess Isis.

In 41 BC, Marc Antony, one of the three rulers who succeeded Caesar, summoned Cleopatra to Tarsus to answer questions about her part in the aftermath of Caesar’s assassination. She sailed into the Tarsus on a barge, wearing the robes of Isis. Antony, who associated himself with Bacchus, the god of fertility and wine, was captivated by her charisma and beauty, and their love affair had begun.

Antony left his wife and traveled to Egypt with Cleopatra, where he treated her as an independent monarch, not a Roman empire representative. He helped her secure her position in front of her sister and supporters. The couple formed the Inimitable Livers, a drinking society inspired by the ecstatic festival Bacchanalia.

In 40 BC, Antony returned to Rome, and Cleopatra gave birth to their twins, Cleopatra Selene (moon) and Alexander Helios (sun). The power couple continued to support each other in their political goals. To secure control over the eastern area of the Roman Empire, he needed her support financially and militarily. She wanted his help regaining control over Egypt’s eastern empire, which was taken over by the Romans during her father’s reign. Following their reunion in 37 BC, Cleopatra had her third child with Antony, Ptolemy Philadelphos.

In 34 BC, Cleopatra and Antony returned to Egypt as triumphs following a successful military campaign in Armenia. In a celebration known as “the Donations of Alexandria,” the couple sat on golden thrones and declared their marriage, even though he was already married to Octavia, the sister of Octavian – his fellow ruler of the empire. It caused a dispute between the three rulers of the Roman empire, which escalated after Antony declared Caesarion, Cleopatra, and Caesar’s son, as the rightful heir of the Roman empire instead of Octavian. In 32 BC, Antony got stripped of all his titles, and Octavian declared war on Cleopatra.

On September 2nd, 31 BC, Cleopatra and Antony’s forces got defeated in a sea battle at Actium, and Cleopatra’s ships fled to Egypt. On the attack on Alexandria, Antony received a massage that Cleopatra was killed and fell on his sword. When hearing the news and learning that Octavian plans to move her and her children to Rome, 39-year-old Cleopatra closed herself in her room and committed suicide. Her death ended the Ptolemaic dynasty that ruled Egypt for almost 300 years.