Cleopatra: Queen of the Nile

Cleopatra is one of movie's most iconic roles for a woman. She has been portrayed by two silent stars during 1910s and was first vocally portrayed by Claudette Colbert in 1934 but Cleopatra was not an Egyptian, the produce of incest, and her beauty wasn't her biggest asset. She also had a band in the deaths of three of her siblings. Cleopatra knew how to make and entrance. She was living in Rome at the time of Caesar's assassination. She formed her own drinking club with Mark Antony. She also led a fleet in a naval battle. As dramatized by William Shakespeare, her death may not have been cause by an asp snake bite in real life. And the most expensive movie ever made about her was the 1963 film, starring Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and Rex Harrison.

Cleopatra Thea Philopator ruled Egypt for almost three decades and was the last of the Macedonian rulers that was founded by Ptolemy. Ptolemy served as a general under the rule of Alexander the Great during his conquest of Egypt in 332 BC. Cleopatra was a well-educated woman who was clever and spoke various languages. She also served as a dominant ruler in all three of her co-regencies as well as her romantic liaisons and military alliances with two Roman leaders named Julius Caesar and Mark Antony; also, she was known for her exotic beauty and powers of seduction.

Cleopatra VII was born around the year 69 BC as one of the daughter of Ptolemy XII. In 51 BC, the Egyptian throne was passed down to an eighteen year old, Cleopatra and a ten year old, Ptolemy XIII; however, Ptolemy's advisers acted against her, which forced her to flee Egypt for Syria in 49 BC. In Syria, she raised an army and returned the following year to gain Julius Caesar's trust, who was her brother's enemy. Unfortunately, for Caesar, he needed to fund his own return to power in Rome and needed Egypt to pay the debts that the Romans owed the Auletes so Caesar went to war against Ptolemy XIII. The war lasted for four months. Caesar won the war and returned to power. When Roman reinforcements arrived, Ptolemy was forced to flee Alexandria and was believed to have drowned in the River Nile.

After Ptolemy XIII's death, Cleopatra came to power with her brother, Ptolemy XIV and Julius Caesar stayed in Egypt for a while with her. Around 37 BC, Cleopatra gave birth to a son. Her son was believed to be Caesar's and was known as Caesarian or Little Caesar by the Egyptian people. Between 46 BC and 45 BC, she travelled with her brother and her son to visit Caesar in Rome. In 44 BC, Julius Caesar was murdered, which caused Cleopatra to leave Rome and head back to Egypt. Soon after Caesar's death, her brother had passed. She then reigned Egypt alongside her son, Caesarion and has secured her power over Egypt. She strongly identified herself with the Egyptian Goddess, Isis and was referred to as the "new Isis". Unfortunately, Egypt experienced an unreliable flooding of the Nile resulted in failing crops and led to infatuation and hunger across the kingdom; on the other hand, Rome was experiencing a war between people who wanted to take the power that Julius Caesar had left behind, so Cleopatra sent four Roman legions stationed in Egypt by Caesar to support the triumvirate (Philippi, Mark Antony, and Octavian's side) side of the war. In 42 BC, the Triumvirate side of the war defeated the forces of Brutus and Cassius. And the control over Rome was split between Philippi, Octavian, and Mark Antony.

The victorious Mark Antony summoned Cleopatra to the Civilian city of Tarsus to explain her role in the complicated aftermath of Caesar's death. Their story was later recorded by Plutarch and was dramatized by William Shakespeare. In the recorded tale, Cleopatra sets sail to Tarsus in an elaborate ship and was dressed in the robes of Isis, while Mark Antony associated himself with the Greek deity, Dionysus. She was said to have seduced him with her charms, which made Antony agree to protect Egypt and Cleopatra's crown. He also pledged to support her in the removal of her younger sister, Arsinoe, who was then in exile. During the winter of 41 BC and 40 BC, Antony spends time in Alexandria and formed a drinking community with Cleopatra called The Inimitable Livers; then, Cleopatra gave birth to twins after Antony's return to Rome in 40 BC. She named them, Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene (Helios means sun and Selene means moon).

After the death of Anthony's wife, Fulvia, he was forced his loyalty to Octavian by marrying his half-sister, Octavia, while Egypt grew tiresome under the rule of Cleopatra. By 37 BC, Mark Antony reunites with Cleopatra and asked her to fund his long-delayed military campaign against the kingdom of Parthia; however, he had to agree to return much of Egypt's eastern empire (Cyprus, Crete, Cyrenaica, Jericho, and large portions of Syria and Lebanon), which he did. The two became lovers again and in 36 BC, Cleopatra gave birth to a son named Ptolemy Philadelphos. Octavia then want to join Antony, but he was publicly rejected her and returned to Egypt and Cleopatra. In 34 BC, Mark Antony had a public celebration called the Donations of Alexandria and publicly declared that Caesarian as Caesar's son and rightful heir. He also awarded land to each of his children with Cleopatra, which began propaganda against the couple.



Octavian made the claim that he was under Cleopatra's spell and control. He also claimed that Antony would abandon Rome and found a new capital in Egypt. In 32 BC, the Roman Senate stripped Antony of his titles and a war was declared (by Octavian, himself). Unfortunately, Cleopatra and Mark Antony's forces was defeated by Octavian. The defeat caused Cleopatra's ships to flee to Egypt after they had deserted the battle of Actium. Soon after, Antony managed to break away and follow her with a few ships.

Leading to Cleopatra's downfall is the death of Mark Antony, he was said to have heard a rumor that Cleopatra had committed suicide. He fell on his sword and died, just as the news arrived claiming the rumor to be false. In August 12, 30 BC,  after Mark Antony was buried and her meeting with the victorious Octavian, Cleopatra closed herself in her chambers and was alone with two of her female servants. She dies of an uncertain cause or by a poisonous snake bite (as written down by Plutarch). They buried Cleopatra's body along with Antony's. After Cleopatra's death, her son, Caesarion was executed at the age of sixteen.

Sources

1. http://www.history.com/news/10-little-known-facts-about-cleopatra
2. http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/cleopatra
3. http://www.biography.com/people/cleopatra-vii-9250984