Cleopatra VII

Pharaoh · Living Isis · Pharaoh of Egypt · 69–30 BC

The last pharaoh of Egypt — a polyglot, politically brilliant ruler who allied with Rome's most powerful men to keep her ancient kingdom independent.

Who was Cleopatra?

Cleopatra VII was the last and most formidable ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty, the Greek-Macedonian line founded by one of Alexander's generals three centuries before her birth. Famously, she was the first of that dynasty to learn Egyptian, and she presented herself to her people as the living incarnation of the goddess Isis. She came to the throne in 51 BC alongside her brother Ptolemy XIII, and when palace factions drove her out, she gambled everything on Rome. Smuggled — by tradition — into Julius Caesar's presence, she secured his support, the throne, and a son, Caesarion. After Caesar's assassination in 44 BC she backed Mark Antony, forging both a political alliance and a famous love affair that produced three children and split the Roman world. Her enemy was Caesar's heir, Octavian, who turned Roman opinion against the 'foreign queen' said to have bewitched a Roman general. The contest was settled at the naval battle of Actium in 31 BC, where Antony and Cleopatra's fleet was broken. With Octavian closing on Alexandria and Antony dead by his own hand, Cleopatra took her own life in 30 BC — refusing, as Plutarch tells it, to be paraded through Rome in triumph. Egypt became a Roman province, and an independent Egypt would not return for two thousand years.

Major achievements

• Preserved Egypt's independence for two decades through shrewd alliances with Rome
• Stabilised Egypt's economy and currency during regional crisis and famine
• First Ptolemaic ruler to learn the Egyptian language; reportedly spoke many tongues
• Cast herself as the New Isis, uniting Greek and Egyptian legitimacy
• Built a power bloc with Mark Antony that nearly reshaped the Roman world

Life in brief

• 69 BC — Born in Alexandria: Into the Ptolemaic royal house.
• 51 BC — Becomes co-ruler: Ascends with her brother Ptolemy XIII.
• 48 BC — Meets Julius Caesar: Allies with him in the dynastic civil war.
• 47 BC — Birth of Caesarion: Her son by Caesar.
• 46 BC — In Rome: Stays at Caesar's villa across the Tiber.
• 44 BC — Caesar assassinated: She returns to Egypt and recalculates.
• 41 BC — Meets Mark Antony at Tarsus: Begins their alliance and affair.
• 31 BC — Battle of Actium: Her fleet with Antony is defeated by Octavian.

Explore the life of Cleopatra — five chapters

1. A Greek Queen on an Egyptian Throne — The dynasty she was born into
2. Civil War and the Alliance with Caesar — A gamble for the throne
3. Antony, Actium and the War with Octavian — The final struggle for Egypt
4. The End of a Dynasty — Egypt becomes Roman
5. The Queen in Memory — How every age reinvents Cleopatra

Read the five-chapter life of Cleopatra VII →

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