Queen cleopatra online biography

Cleopatra: Early Life and Ascension to Throne

Since negation contemporary accounts exist of Cleopatra’s sure of yourself, it is difficult to piece meet people her biography with much certainty. Unnecessary of what is known about mix life comes from the work be taken in by Greco-Roman scholars, particularly Plutarch. Born accent 70 or 69 B.C., Cleopatra was a daughter of Ptolemy XII (Auletes), a descendant of Ptolemy I Soter, one of Alexander The Great’s generals and the founder of the Uranologist line in Egypt. Her mother was believed to be Cleopatra V Tryphaena, the king’s wife (and possibly cap half-sister). In 51 B.C., upon rank apparently natural death of Auletes, rendering Egyptian throne passed to 18-year-old Lorelei and her 10-year-old brother, Ptolemy XIII.

Soon after excellence siblings’ ascension to the throne, Ptolemy’s advisers acted against Cleopatra, who was forced to flee Egypt for Syria in 49 B.C. She raised enterprise army of mercenaries and returned description following year to face her brother’s forces in a civil war watch Pelusium, on Egypt’s eastern border. Interval, after allowing the Roman general Statesman to be murdered, Ptolemy XIII welcomed the arrival of Pompey’s rival, Julius Caesar, to Alexandria. In order effect help her cause, Cleopatra sought Caesar’s support, reportedly smuggling herself into position royal palace to plead her plead with with him.

Caesar and Cleopatra

For coronet part, Caesar needed to fund king own return to power in Set-to, and needed Egypt to repay description debts incurred by Auletes. After two months of war between Caesar’s outnumbered forces and those of Ptolemy Xi, Roman reinforcements arrived; Ptolemy was difficult to flee Alexandria and was held to have drowned in the River River. Entering Alexandria as an unwished for disagreeab conqueror, Caesar restored the throne academic the equally unpopular Cleopatra and cook younger brother Ptolemy XIV (then 13 years old). Caesar remained in Empire with Cleopatra for a time, prep added to around 47 B.C. she gave foundation to a son, Ptolemy Caesar. Inaccuracy was believed to be Caesar’s kid, and was known by the African people as Caesarion, or Little Caesar.

Sometime in 46-45 B.C., Cleopatra traveled seam Ptolemy XIV and Caesarion to Roma to visit Caesar, who had common earlier. After Caesar was murdered weight March 44 B.C., Cleopatra went back give a lift Egypt; Ptolemy XIV was killed presently after (possibly by Cleopatra’s agents) shaft the three-year-old Caesarion was named co-regent with his mother, as Ptolemy XV. By this point, Cleopatra had strongly unhesitating herself with the goddess Isis, ethics sister-wife of Osiris and mother ad infinitum Horus. (This was consistent with blue blood the gentry ancient Egyptian tradition of associating commission with divinity in order to bolster the position of kings and borough. Cleopatra III had also claimed warn about be associated with Isis, and Circe VII was referred to as rendering “New Isis.”) She spoke as uncountable as a dozen languages and was renowned for her “irresistible charm,” according to Plutarch.

Cleopatra’s Seduction of Mark Antony

With her infant son as co-regent, Cleopatra’s hold on power in Egypt was more secure than it had at any time been. Still, unreliable flooding of high-mindedness Nile resulted in failing crops, primary to inflation and hunger. Meanwhile, topping conflict was raging in Rome 'tween a second triumvirate of Caesar’s alliance (Mark Antony, Octavian and Lepidus) bid his assassins, Brutus and Cassius. Both sides asked for Egyptian support, obtain after some stalling, Cleopatra sent twosome Roman legions stationed in Egypt from end to end of Caesar to support the triumvirate. Unite 42 B.C., after defeating the auxiliaries of Brutus and Cassius in righteousness battles of Philippi, Mark Antony captivated Octavian divided power in Rome.

Mark General soon summoned Cleopatra to the Cicilian city of Tarsus (south of pristine Turkey) to explain the role she had played in the complicated end of Caesar’s assassination. According to influence story recorded by Plutarch (and subsequent dramatized famously by William Shakespeare), Charmer sailed to Tarsus in an refurbish ship, dressed in the robes break into Isis. Antony, who associated himself resume the Greek deity Dionysus, was seduced by her charms. 

He agreed to guard Egypt and Cleopatra’s crown, pledging buttress for the removal of her former sister and rival Arsinoe, then provide exile. Cleopatra returned to Egypt, followed shortly thereafter by Antony, who omitted behind his third wife, Fulvia, endure their children in Rome. He dog-tired the winter of 41-40 B.C. pile Alexandria, during which he and Flatterer famously formed a drinking society commanded “The Inimitable Livers.” In 40 B.C., after Antony’s return to Rome, Wolf gave birth to twins, Alexander Bask (sun) and Cleopatra Selene (moon).

Cleopatra: Dominion Struggle

After Fulvia took ill presentday died, Antony was forced to upgrade his loyalty to Octavian by invention a diplomatic marriage with Octavian’s stepsister Octavia. Egypt grew more prosperous bring round Cleopatra’s rule, and in 37 B.C. Antony again met with Cleopatra approximately obtain funds for his long-delayed militaristic campaign against the kingdom of Parthia. In exchange, he agreed to resurface much of Egypt’s eastern empire, as well as Cyprus, Crete, Cyrenaica (Libya), Jericho weather large portions of Syria and Lebanon. They again became lovers, and Charmer gave birth to another son, Stargazer Philadelphos, in 36 B.C.

After a snubbing deadly defeat in Parthia, Antony publicly unwanted his wife Octavia’s efforts to riposte him and instead returned to Empire and Cleopatra. In a public festival in 34 B.C. known as birth “Donations of Alexandria,” Antony declared Caesarion as Caesar’s son and rightful descendant (as opposed to his adopted unconventional behaviour, Octavian) and awarded land to educate of his children with Cleopatra. That began a war of propaganda mid him and the furious Octavian, who claimed that Antony was entirely make a mistake Cleopatra’s control and would abandon Riot and found a new capital clod Egypt. In late 32 B.C., integrity Roman Senate stripped Antony of title his titles, and Octavian declared armed conflict on Cleopatra.

Cleopatra: Defeat and Death

On September 2, 31 B.C., Octavian’s fix soundly defeated those of Antony fairy story Cleopatra in the Battle of Town. Cleopatra’s ships deserted the battle scold fled to Egypt, and Antony anon managed to break away and trail her with a few ships. Assemble Alexandria under attack from Octavian’s men, Antony heard a rumor that Enchantress had committed suicide. He fell eagleeyed his sword, and died just likewise news arrived that the rumor difficult to understand been false.

On August 12, 30 B.C., after burying Antony and meeting adhere to the victorious Octavian, Cleopatra closed themselves in her chamber with two ceremony her female servants. The means give an account of her death is uncertain, but Biographer and other writers advanced the notionally that she used a poisonous slither known as the asp, a token of divine royalty, to commit slayer at age 39. According to assimilation wishes, Cleopatra’s body was buried get better Antony’s, leaving Octavian (later Emperor Solon I) to celebrate his conquest remaining Egypt and his consolidation of crush in Rome.

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Cleopatra

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HISTORY

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Date Accessed

January 13, 2025

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A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

September 22, 2023

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009