Cleopatra

Cleopatra was born in Alexandria, Egypt in 69 BCE. Cleopatra VII was an extremely influential figure in the developement of both Egypt and Rome. Although many people believe she was beautiful, Cleopatra was actually quite unattractive, as you can tell from the picture on the right, and was often discribed as having masculine features. Still, she lead her country, Egypt, with her intelligence and natural charisma. Even so it seemed that her relations with men, and the men themselves, overshadowed her and often kept her from being the best ruler she could be.

It all started in 51 BC, when her father, Ptolemy VII, died and left a 17 year old Cleopatra to rule Egypt with her brother, Ptolemy XIII. They married, following Egyption customs. For about three years Cleopatra was the leader of the pair, but in 48 BC, Ptolemy XIII became jealous of her power and forced her to be exiled in Syria. She was outraged about what happened, and began to accumulate army at the border of Egypt, at the same time Pompey and Julius Caesar trying to gain control of Rome. Pompey began to sail to Egypt for protection from Ceasar, who was pursuing him, but Ptolemy thought it would be safer to side with Caesar, so he had Pompey killed and beheaded. When Ceasar arrived, Ptolemy presented Caesar with a gift; Pompey's head. Little did they know that before Ceasar and Pompey started fighting, they were good friends. Caesar was enraged by their actions and immediately took control of the palace, and, in an attempt to stop the tension between Ptolemy and Cleopatra, asked them to come to him so he could settle their problems. Fearing for her life, Cleopatra had to smuggle herself through enemy lines wrapped up in a carpet. When Ceasar unwrapped the carpet, she tumbled out, and it was love at first sight. She soon became his mistress and nine months after their first encounter she had their baby who was named Caesarian. When Ptolemy realized that Cleopatra and Caesar were lovers and he would not have a fair shot at the thrown, he began the Alexandrian War, during which the Alexandrian library was burned down. Ptolemy XIII was drowned in the Nile river while trying to escape the battle, thus making Cleopatra the ruler of Egypt once again. Because of this she had to marry her younger brother, Ptolemy XIV, who was only eleven years old at the time. In 45 B.C. Cleopatra traveled back to Rome with Caesar living with him as his mistress.

On March 15th, 44 B.C. Julius Caesar was assassinated by a group of Senators who him as a threat. Cleopatra fled Rome in an attempt to save herself, only to return to find that Ptolemy XIV was poisoned. Since Cleopatra needed to rule with a male counterpart, she then chose her son by Caesar, Caesarian, to rule with her. She returned to find Egypt in a crisis; plague and famine were spread across the once prosperous country.

While Cleopatra was dealing with her own problems in Egypt, Rome was also undergoing a change. The death of Caesar prompted a civil war in Rome that lead to the division of Rome into three different sections. Octavian got one section, Marcus Ledipus got another, and Marcus Antonius, or Mark Antony, got the last. Mark Antony was described by historians as a very low class and vulgur man, but Cleopatra spent much of her time with him. They spent 41-40 BC together, but in the spring of 40 BC Mark Antony went back home, leaving Cleopatra pregnant with their twins. The Roman public was appalled at how Antony and Cleopatra began calling themselves gods, naming themselves the "New Isis" and "New Dionysus". Outraged, by their behavior, Octavian declared war on Egypt in 31 BC. After losing by far the most crucial battle of the war, the Battle of Actium, Octavian stabbed himself with his sword. Cleopatra attempted to negociate with Octavian to spare herself and her country, but he had absolutely no interest in her. She decided that it was better for her to die than to live to see her coutry fall, and got an Egyptian asp, or cobra, to bite her and inject her with its lethal venom. She died in 30 BC at 39 years old and was the last Pharaoh to rule Egypt.

Cleopatra, an elegant, well educated politician, proved to us what a frail nation Rome really was. She showed how easy it was for her to get into the system, and how Rome couln't handle change. These principals are the foundation of many crises that happen in Rome after she passed away.