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Greco Roman History
--- Cleopatra --- |
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In 51 BC, Cleopatra assumed power at the age
of 17. She was required to marry so she took her brother, Ptolemy XIII, as
her husband. He was only 12 by that time. Cleopatra soon dropped him from
official documents and regarded herself as the sole ruler.
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Cleopatra VII |
Julius Caesar was fighting Pompey, a Roman
leader, and he finally defeated his army at Parsalus in 48 BC. Pompey
headed Alexandria, seeking the help of Ptolemy XIII. He was killed on his
arrival. Julius Caesar arrived 4 days later to Alexandria with big forces
that in one way or another was considered provocative to Alexandrians.
Cleopatra was smuggled in a carpet to the royal palace where Caesar was
placed. She then became Caesar's lover and he wanted to make her the sole
ruler of Egypt. |
Julius Caesar |
Ptolemy XIII realized what was happening
between them and he called out for help from the Alexandrians.
So the Alexandrian war erupted between the forces of Ptolemy XIII and
those of Caesar's. During the war Ptolemy drowned in the Nile while he was
escaping.
Consequently Cleopatra was made the queen of Egypt and the sole ruler. Her
relation with Caesar was strengthened. But she once again had to marry her
other brother Ptolemy XIV.
Meantime, she bore Caesar a child, Ptolemy XV Caesarion. Caesar left Egypt
to Syria before the birth of his child. He then returned to Rome where he
was received as a hero and celebrations were kicked off to mark his
victories. |
Caesar then brought Cleopatra to Rome and
treated her gracefully enough to incite his foes.
In 44 BC, Caesar was killed by senate members while Cleopatra was still in
Rome. She went back in Egypt in panic and killed her brother-husband,
Ptolemy XIV. Cleopatra appointed Ptolemy XV Caesarion, her son, as her
coregent when he was only 4 years old.
She had to observe events at Rome to know who would rise to be powerful
after Caesar's death. |
Octavian (later to be called Augustus) and Mark Antony appeared in the
Roman arena. She found Mark Antony as her goal and wanted to attract him.
So she did. She met him in Egypt, and he felt in love with her and they
spent winters of 41 and 40 BC together.
When Antony left Egypt in 40 BC to Rome, he married Octavian's sister,
Octavia. Meanwhile Cleopatra bore him twins. |
Augustus |
Antony went to Antioch and called for Cleopatra. He honored her by giving
her more land to annex to the Egyptian Empire, and furthermore he
recognized her sons as his, and gave them royal names. They got another
child and he finally divorced Octavia.
The special relationship between Mark Antony and Cleopatra provoked Romans
as they feared that Antony might take over the eastern part of the Roman
Empire. Octavian exploited this feeling and convinced the Roman senate to
finally declare the war against Cleopatra. This was to avoid direct enmity
with Antony, prominent Roman who still got allies among the senate
members.
In 31 BC Octavian marched to Alexandria and in the battle of Actium his
navy defeated Antony's. Antony had to commit suicide in 30 BC.
Octavian made some contacts with Cleopatra but he rejected any possible
reconciliation with her. Fearing humiliation, Cleopatra also committed
suicide by a cobra snakebite on August 12, 30 BC, to end the story of a
legend.
This marked the fall of Egypt under the Roman Empire and a start of the
new era in Egypt and a new culture, i.e. the Roman Egypt.
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