Cleopatra Research Paper

Meanwhile, there were issues in Rome between Marc Antony, Octavian, and Lepidus (Julius Caesar’s allies), and Caesar's’ assassins, Brutus and Cassius. Both sides seeked Egypt’s support and Cleopatra joined forces with Caesar’s allies. In 42 B.C., Mark Antony and Octavian divided the power in Rome after defeating Brutus and Cassius in the battles of Philippi. Like all divided thrones, only one wants to be in charge. Marc Antony and Octavian, which was Caesar’s great-nephew became rivals. Marc Anthony sent for Cleopatra to get answers about Rome’s former leader, Caesar. Cleopatra accepted the request and welcomed him. Soon, Marc Antony fell in love with Cleopatra’s beauty and how she was as a person, then fell into a love affair with her. They had three children,there were twins named Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene. She had motivations of her own, in exchange for her help, she seeked for the eastern eastern Egypt’s empire to be under her power once again, that also included large areas of Lebanon and Syria. Marc Antony returned to Alexandria triumphant with Cleopatra by his side, in 34 B.C. People were all over them to take a look at the couple that were seated on golden thrones where they looked down upon everyone and sitting beside them were their

Political turmoil also shaped this period. Soon after they assumed power, complications arose between Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIII. Eventually Cleopatra fled to Syria, where she assembled an army to defeat her rival in order to declare the throne for herself. In 48, she returned to Egypt with her military might and faced her brother at Pelusium, located on the empire’s eastern edge. Most of what we know about Cleopatra was written after her death when it was politically expedient to portray her as a threat to Rome and its stability. Thus, some of what we know about Cleopatra may have been exaggerated or misrepresented by those sources. Cassius Dio, one of the ancient sources that tells her story, summarizes her story as “She captivated the two greatest Romans of her day, and

Cleopatra married another brother, Ptolemy XIV. Law in Egypt prevented women from ruling, alone which is why she married him. Even though she married Ptolemy XIV she was in love with Caesar. Cleopatra spent the next several months with Caesar travelling along the Nile. In 46 BC Cleopatra gave birth to Caesar’s son who was named Caesarian or little Caesar. She emphasized that it was Caesar’s child and Caesar never formally accepted paternity over the child. Even

In 51 BCE along with her brothers Ptolemy XII and Ptolemy XIV, she ascended the throne. Cleopatra ruled alongside her brother, who after the death of her father exiled her from the country. During her reign, she had formed political alliances and became romantically involved with Roman military leaders Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. After the assassination of Caesar in 44 BC, Cleopatra soon formed a relationship with Mark Antony. Although this relationship would not last long due to.. .Her

On September 2, 31 B.C., Octavian’s forces soundly defeated those of Antony and Cleopatra in the Battle of Actium. Cleopatra’s ships abandoned the battle and fled to Egypt, and Antony soon managed to break away and follow her with a few ships. With Alexandria under attack from Octavian’s forces, Antony heard a rumor that Cleopatra had committed suicide. He fell on his sword and died just as news arrived that the rumor had been false.

Cleopatra, Greek queen of Egypt, was born at the beginning of 69 B.C and one of the few women rulers in ancient Egypt. Her father was Ptolemy XII And Cleopatra was the last pharaoh in Egypt. She is known as clever, covetous, skilled, beguiling and manipulative. Cleopatra’s physical features are not certain and there is not enough information about her profile. “The colour of her eyes and of her hair is not known; nor can it be said whether her skin was white as alabaster, like that of many of her Macedonian fellow countrywomen, or whether it had that olive tone so often observed amongst the Greeks. Even her beauty, or rather the degree of her beauty, is not clearly defined.” Cleopatra was born at the finish of the Ptolemaic dynasty, because,

Caesar was then assassinated which caused her to flee Rome for safety. Couple of years later she met Mark Antony and started an affair which lead Antonio to divorce his wife Octivia for Cleopatra, who was also sister to Octivian. Tempers flared between octivian and Antonio and Cleopatra which made Octivian declare the war of Actium. Octivian won the war which made Cleopatra and Antonio to seek refuge in Alexandria. Soon Octivian invaded Egypt too, Antonio took his own life and so did Cleopatra

Cleopatra, in the end, left her mark on Egypt. She was one of the most influential rulers ancient Egypt has ever had. Her power hungry nature allowed her to conquer land, enemies, and even seduce some of the most powerful rulers of her time. Not only did she show the world power, but she wasn’t afraid to take what she wanted, regardless of her age or gender. Her death marked the end of Egyptian Pharaohs, but she achieved her dream to never be forgotten, and is remembered today as a strong, independent woman who was not afraid to do what she had to, for the benefit of her family, country, and

In 51 BC, Ptolemy XII died, meaning the throne was given to Cleopatra and her little brother. Years going into throne, problems arose between them. Cleopatra declared war against her brother to take over Egypt for herself. Which caused her to meet Julius Caesar. Cleopatra and Julius Caesar fell in love.

The first time that Cleopatra shows exceptional amounts of intelligence and control is when her father, Ptolemy Auletes, died when Cleopatra was eighteen, leaving herself and her younger brother, Ptolemy XIII as co-rulers of Egypt. From the start, Cleopatra was forced to act efficiently, as a harsh famine was plaguing Egypt, the Roman Empire was already rising beyond control, and her desperation to become the dominant leader of Egypt was staunched due to laws of a mandatory inter-familial consort, leaving her to compete her brother for the power over their country. With all of these problems, Cleopatra resorted to tactics that would set her apart from her lazy and generally unimpressive father and her brother; she learnt how to speak Egyptian, unlike many of her other family members, giving her the opportunity to

Queen Cleopatra VII was a powerful, intelligent, and passionate woman born from royal blood of the Ptolemaic Dynasty. As a successor of Hellenistic people and Alexander the Great she was not of an Egyptian blood but born in Alexandria and speaking Egyptian language. When her father Ptolemy Auletes died, Cleopatra was in the age of eighteen. She had three sisters Cleopatra VI, Berenice IV, Arsinoe IV two of them were older than her and one younger, and two younger brothers named Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV too. Cleopatra VII and her brother Ptolemy XIII inherited the kingdom of their father as it was written his will. Because of the law in Egypt of that time Cleopatra was unable to rule by her own without the presence of a male coruler, a brother or son. As a result she ruled together with her brother who she get married to although he was only twelve years old.

When she first became co-ruler of Egypt with her brother, it was evident that “Cleopatra was the dominant ruler” (111). In order to gain more power, her brother banished her, because it was unacceptable for the woman to be more dominant in the eyes of her brother. The advisors at the time were sabotaging him against Cleopatra in order to gain control of Egypt. He banished her independently, and even though Cleopatra was clearly the higher ruler, he had the final word because he was male. Cleopatra continued to “hold the belief that she was the most qualified leader” for Egypt (168). The age difference between Cleopatra and her husband/brother made ruling together extremely difficult. Cleopatra realized that “both of her brothers had neither the influence nor intelligence to compete with the politics of the time”, and that she was going to make connections with men of power to make any kind of difference (90). Although exiled, she was still revered as a goddess-like powerful ruler. So she went to Thebaid to manipulate what godlike power she had left there. Her plan was to “muster her own military forces and prepare to wage a civil war for control of her kingdom” (119). However, when Cleopatra saw an alternative to military tactics, she seized the opportunity. Caesar’s victory marked a significant political shift in Rome. Recognizing that Caesar’s new unrivaled Roman power was a great

(“Cleopatra: The Woman…”) In 49 B.C., Cleopatra was forced to flee to Syria after Pothinus, Achillas, and Theodotus, who were Ptolemy XIII’s advisors, sought to overthrow her. They convinced the Egyptian people that Cleopatra was the cause of the famine that they were experiencing. (“Cleopatra.”)(“Cleopatra VII’s Childhood…”) She smuggled herself into the royal palace in a rug to plead her case with Julius Caesar. Cleopatra and Caesar became lovers. Ptolemy XIII discovered this and declared war on Caesar. Caesar overpowered Ptolemy XIII’s army and Ptolemy XIII drowned in the Nile River while trying to escape. (Cleopatra: The Woman…”)

Her dynasty was over, and she proved to be the last pharaoh. With her death Cleopatra has achieved immortality through the personal story of love and tragedy. When we think of Cleopatra we automatically think of this story. But upon the research I learned that there were others and she was actually Cleopatra 7. Many books, plays, movies and stories have been made about the great queen of the Nile. Some tell us different sides of the story. Each have a little bit of difference in them so who really knows which one to believe. One thing is certain; Cleopatra was a great female ruler for her 22 years as the Egyptian queen. Ironically enough she wasn’t even Egyptian or roman for that matter. She and her family were Greek. There are also many works that suggest that she was not a very pretty woman. Cleopatra’s happiness didn’t last, which seems that just like in all love stories her life doesn’t have a happy ending. Another side of the story is that Marc killed himself after being surrounded by Octavia’s troops, and then Cleopatra being held prisoner which is why she killed herself. I was very intrigued by each story that I read of Cleopatra’s life and death and her rule, and I feel like I learned a lot. I think I will go on to watch some of the movies to see them played

The division of the royal family provided Cleopatra with an opportunity to use Caesar to kill her siblings in battle. As Cleopatra wanted, Caesar reinforced his troops and easily defeated the rebels resulting in Ptolemy drowning while retreating. Following this Caesar captured Arsinoe, who had survived and sent her back to his country of Rome as a prisoner. Caesar also executed numerous enemies of Cleopatra and imprisoned others who opposed her. Caesar also supplied Cleopatra with a child, whom after Ptolemy XIV’s death she made co-regent as a three year couldn't interfere with her plans (Schiff, 2010).