Cleopatra

Cleopatra VII Philopator (69 BC – August 12, 30 BC) was an Egyptian Queen and the last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. Embroiled in the internal politics of the Roman Empire she was the lover of both Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony.

Cleopatra was born in around 69 BC. Her father Ptolemy XII died (in 51BC) when she was 18, leaving Cleopatra and her brother Ptolemy XIII as co-regents. As was the custom of the time Cleopatra married her brother and together they ruled Egypt. However, Ptolemy soon had Cleopatra exiled, leaving him in charge.

In 48 BC, the Roman empire was embroiled in a civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompey. When Pompey fled to Alexandria, the capital of Egypt, he was murdered on the orders of Ptolemy.

Soon after, Julius Caesar came to Egypt where he met and fell in love with Cleopatra. With Caesar’s military strength and support, Ptolemy was overthrown, killed and Cleopatra was reinstalled as Queen. In 47BC, Cleopatra gave birth to Caesarion, though Caesar never publicly declared him to be his son.

For a time Cleopatra’s reign brought relatively stability to the region, bringing a degree of peace and prosperity to a country bankrupt by civil war. Although brought up to speak Greek like her family, she made an effort to learn Egyptian and later only spoke only in Egyptian. In 44BC, Julius Caesar was assassinated and the years following Caesar’s death led to a great power struggle between Mark Anthony and Caesar’s adopted son Octavian.

Despite being married to Octavian’s sister (Octavia), Mark Anthony began a relationship with Cleopatra, and together they had three children.  Octavian was able to worry Romans that Mark Anthony would give away Rome to this Egyptian Queen, who seemed to have Mark Anthony under her spell. It was also seen as a family insult that Mark Anthony was married to his sister, but was having an affair with Cleopatra. Together Cleopatra and Mark Anthony had three children.

The antagonism grew into civil war, and in 31BC, Cleopatra joined her Egyptian forces with the Roman forces of Mark Anthony and fought Octavian’s forces on the west coast of Greece.

Cleopatra and Mark Anthony were decisively beaten in battle, and scarcely escaped back to Egypt. However, Octavian’s forces pursued the couple and captured Alexandria in 30BC. With no chance of escape, Mark Anthony and Cleopatra both took their own lives, committing suicide on 12 August 30BC.  Octavian later had their son Caesarion strangled, ending the Cleopatra dynasty. Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire, and Cleopatra proved to be the last of the Egyptian Pharaohs.

More and source: http://www.biographyonline.net/women/cleopatra.html