Cleopatra vii: Egypt's last pharaoh

Cleopatra VII came from a long line of pharaohs from the Ptolemaic Dynasty of Ancient Egypt.  Her younger years were spent competing with her siblings to inherit the throne; however, it was she who outsmarted them all.  Her charm and intelligence are only part of her mystery as her success was a force to be reckoned with.   Cleopatra VII was more than just another ruler who refused to settle for less, instead, she made Egypt one the world's most powerful and wealthiest civilizations.

Cleopatra VII stopped at nothing to get what she wanted and used everything she had to ensure her legacy would last forever.

Cleopatra vii's Childhood & Ptolemy XII 

 

Cleopatra’s father was known as Ptolemy XII. Her father was also known as Auletes or the Piper because he played the flute. But just like the Ptolemy era before him, her father’s reign was filled with greed, corruption, and hard labor. The manner in which he ruled his empire did not offer very many benefits to the general public. This of course made him very unpopular; however, he ensured that his children were well taken care of in spite of his harsh rule over his kingdom.
 
Ptolemy XII had six children and all his siblings enjoyed Egypt’s finest luxury. He provided his children with the best foods and with clothing of the highest quality. In addition, his children attended the fanciest ceremonies and banquets. Although he spoiled his children to the utmost of his ability, he also believed that education was very important; therefore, he ensured that each child had his/her own tutors. They were also provided with servants to oversee their every need. Because of this attention to education, Cleopatra studied philosophy, literature, art, music, medicine, and was able to speak six different languages. These languages were Aramaic, Egyptian, Ethiopic, Greek, Hebrew, and Latin. Being very educated, she soon learned of all her political surroundings and of her father’s status and power he had as pharaoh. Because of this education and knowledge, Cleopatra as well as her siblings, longed to be in power and to control. 

  The palace was filled with Ptolemy’s children and they all were very ambitious. This was not safe because they all wanted to be in power and no one could be trusted. Cleopatra knew that many of her family members were killed by relatives so she had to make sure that she kept a close watch on all the people that were close to her. Because there were no laws governing who the next ruler or pharaoh would be, Auletes would have to choose one of his children to rule after his death. Of course, the tradition of choosing the next pharaoh added tension to the relationship of all the siblings and relatives and all those who were willing to do whatever it took to attain the throne. 

  While the siblings at the palace of Alexandria were competing for the throne, Rome was expanding its territory and the three most powerful generals (Julius Caesar, Cnaeus Pompeious Magnus (Pompey), and Marcus Licinius) were on their way to creating history. Auletes feared that one day the mighty soldiers of Rome would bring their armed forces to Alexandria and that the Ptolemaic Dynasty would end. He was also afraid that Roman laws and taxes would be imposed on the citizens of Egypt.  

Because Auletes did not want to lose his throne to the Romans, he devised a plan to ensure his rule. Auletes went to Rome and asked Caesar and Pompey to recognize him as the legal ruler of Egypt and to proclaim him a comrade and ally of Rome. Both powerful rulers agreed to do this; however it came at a high cost. This was to cost Auletes 6,000 talents. He didn’t have all the money to pay such a large sum so he borrowed from a wealthy Roman. After he borrowed the money, the plan fell through and soon he discovered that there were several plots devised to destroy him. He knew that he needed more help so he returned to Rome for help. It was during this trip that the oldest daughter, Cleopatra Tryphaina (Cleopatra’s older sister), seized the throne. 

Auletes was outraged but he was also desperate and he needed help. He found a well-known Roman named Aulus Gabinius, who agreed to restore his kingship, but only at a high price. This would now cost him 10,000 talents. While on his way to recover his throne, Cleopatra Tryphaina was killed and overthrown by her sister Berenice. This proved to be a fatal mistake because she was quickly overthrown and executed by Auletes followers. So both of the women were killed and Auletes restored his reign. Auletes was only to keep the throne two years after regaining it as he died in the spring of 51 B.C. His will stated that Cleopatra, who was 18 at the time, would marry her brother Ptolemy XIII. Ptolemy XIII was only ten years old at that time and they were to rule together.  

Cleopatra VII takes the BLAME

It was said that Cleopatra’s intelligence far outweighed her looks. According to Plutarch, a Greek essayist and biographer, Cleopatra was supposedly an irresistible person by her conversation and it was written that she was a bewitching character. It was said that she was a pleasure to be around, but because she was not considered to be a beauty, s

It just so happened that during Cleopatra’s first two years as queen, the Nile did not flood and therefore things were not as plentiful. Citizens in Alexandra were suffering from famine and this caused rebellion among the people. Of course, Pothinus found a way to blame Cleopatra for these hard times in Egypt and this helped to spread many lies about Cleopatra throughout the kingdom. Soon, the citizens were holding her responsible for all their turmoil. The odds were now against her and the people began to hate her. Her brother and his advisors were also out to destroy her. She soon left for Syria and gathered a small army where she planned to someday return to Egypt and again reclaim the throne. 

Meanwhile, the three Roman leaders (known as the Triumvirate) soon came to an end. Crassus died in Parthia fighting while Pompey and Caesar turned against each other. This conflict between the two remaining men led to a civil war that was won by Caesar at Pharsalia in Greece.  Caesar, who defeated his friend, became the world’s most powerful man. Pompey and his army, accepting defeat, sailed to Egypt seeking help. Achillas, Pothinus, and Theodotus saw another opportunity when Pompey arrived. They planned to murder him hoping that this would gain Caesar’s appreciation and he would help them wipe out Cleopatra. he had to rely on her intelligence to get to the top of the power chain. In addition, she had to come up with a plan to remove her ten year old brother from power.

 Because her brother was only ten at the time he could easily be influenced. However, he had three crooked advisers at his disposal. They were Pothinus, Achillas, and Theodotus, and all three also wanted to control Egypt. Each of these advisors helped him make the daily decisions for Egypt and they also influenced him in many ways. They especially influenced how he was to rule Egypt. Pothinus was the person who managed the guards as well as all the servants. The servants included maids, cooks, and gardeners. Achillas commanded the Egyptian army and Pothinus taught the boy public speaking. All three of his advisors hated Cleopatra and would stop at nothing to remove her from power because they all wanted the power for themselves. It was to their benefit that Ptolemy XIII be the sole pharaoh and that Cleopatra be taken out of the picture altogether. 

 Achillas, Pothinus, and Theodotus saw another opportunity when Pompey arrived. They planned to murder him hoping that this would gain Caesar’s appreciation and he would help them wipe out Cleopatra.

  Cleopatra's Brilliant Idea (part 2)

Once Pompey arrived in Egypt, messengers were sent to Ptolemy asking him to continue the friendship his father had set up before his death. The three advisors thought it would not be wise to support Pompey against Caesar. When Pompey arrived and reached the borders of Egypt, they were met by Achillas and a Roman soldier. Both men greeted the newly arrived guest and his wife and asked them to board a row boat as a friendly offer. His wife, who was very suspicious of the situation asked Pompey not to board the ship—but Pompey didn’t listen. Shortly after the boat picked up Pompey, the Roman soldier stabbed him in the back and eventually decapitated him once they reached shore. Theodotus kept the head as a gesture to prove Egypt’s companionship to Caesar.

Four days later after the brutal death of Pompey, Caesar arrived in Egypt with four thousand soldiers. The head of his comrade and opponent was revealed to him. This only angered him because Pompey had not been given a chance to fight a fair battle on the battlefield—instead he had been tricked. Caesar already outraged at the unfair death of his enemy, also wanted to collect the money owed to his father through the raiding of Egypt’s treasury. Another reason that Caesar had come to Egypt was to restore Egypt’s rulers. He wanted Cleopatra and Ptolemy to rule jointly as their father had wished. He did this because he wanted to enrich Rome though Egypt. Taxes and money would be taken from the country to support the Roman people along with his soldiers.

  Cleopatra got news of Caesars arrival to Egypt and heard he had summoned both siblings to the palace. Knowing it was too dangerous to enter Egypt, she needed a plan to enter without being detected. She came up with a brilliant plan which was to be wrapped inside a carpet and presented to Caesar. Her well trusted friend Apollodorus sailed to Alexandria and wrapped the queen. He then dressed as a servant and made his way to the chambers of Caesar. There, while Caesar was with his guards, the carpet was unrolled and Cleopatra stumbled out.

After being unrolled and revealed to Caesar, she captivated him with her intelligence. Caesar, a man thirty-one years older than Cleopatra (who was only twenty-one at the time), was amazed at her ambition and her goal to succeed. It’s suggested they both became lovers soon after but no one really knows for sure if this is true. Although Caesar was amazed at this young lady, he asked the two siblings to reunite and rule the throne together. Cleopatra agreed for she knew Rome held the most power and controlled almost everything in its path. Her younger brother, Ptolemy, still influenced by Pothinus, also agreed but only to stall for time. Ptolemy was waiting for Caesar to leave so that he could kill his sister and he would then have no problems maintaining his power.

Achillas, another advisor of young Ptolemy, also wanted to destroy Cleopatra. He knew she was supported by the strongest man in the world and Caesar would only leave Egypt if he was pushed back to Rome. Achillas, controlling the Egyptian army, ordered twenty thousand men to surround the palace and trap Caesar. The citizens of Alexandria knew Caesar was now confined and believed him to be weak. They began to join the soldiers in attacking the Romans, thereby helping the Egyptian army.

Caesar knew the soldiers could be held back and he kept the Royal family inside the palace. Cleopatra, Ptolemy, Pothinus, and Arsinoe, her half sister, were not allowed to leave the palace. Somehow Arsinoe slipped outside and joined Achillas in his struggle to remove Caesar. Taking advantage of the situation Arsinoe proclaimed herself queen and co-ruler with her younger brother Ptolemy. This proved to be a fatal mistake because as soon as Caesar got word of the three advisors intensions, he immediately arrested Pothinus and eventually had him killed.

While the standstill continued between both parties, Caesar’s army arrived from Syria and they eventually won the war against the Egyptians. Later her half sister Arsinoe was caught and taken to a prison while Ptolemy XIII was found drowned in the Nile wearing his gold plated armor. Achillas was also eventually killed by Ganymedes, Cleopatra’s advisor, for disagreeing over the intensions of taking over the throne. 

  After the defeat of Cleopatra’s enemies, Caesar now controlled Egypt. Although having full control of Egypt’s territory he had no intentions of ruling it. He trusted Cleopatra to be his ally but she would need a pharaoh to rule by her side. Seeing her younger brother Ptolemy XIV - he ordered them to rule jointly.

  Death of Julius Caesar (part 3)

Cleopatra was now in control of Egypt as she had always desired and she wanted to keep it that way. Caesar also stayed in Egypt after taking control of it and Cleopatra ordered her servants to prepare a large boat filled with Egypt’s finest accessories. This boat was to travel along the Nile and stop at many cities. It was protected by Caesar’s guards who traveled alongside. Soon after, Cleopatra found that she was pregnant with Caesar’s child. The small boy was born on June 23, 47 B.C. This child affirmed that Cleopatra and Caesar were lovers but they also needed each other to succeed. With both of them being extremely ambitious, they planned to make a dynasty like no other before and of course Egypt would be the center of this newly devised plan. This led Cleopatra to believe her son would be the first ruler of their newly planned empire.

 .

Meanwhile in Rome many messages were being sent to Caesar. He could not close his eyes anymore and soon had to return to his country and deal with the situation that was brewing. Caesar left behind three legions (soldiers) that were expected to care for Cleopatra and for Alexandria. They were left behind to maintain peace. Back home, Caesar celebrated his victorious wars. Many citizens of Rome stood along the streets and cheered Caesar. Many of his prisoners were marched through the streets including Cleopatra’s half sister Arsinoe. After celebrating his victories throughout Rome he asked for Cleopatra to visit him as his ally. Cleopatra quickly accepted the invitation and went to Rome. She took her younger brother Ptolemy XIV just in case her brother had any plans to start a revolt against her. To honor Cleopatra, Caesar erected a temple to the goddess Venus and he had a statue of Cleopatra erected. This angered many Romans and many saw Cleopatra as a woman using their beloved Caesar as a means to strengthen her power.

 Many of the people of Rome could not accept the fact that Caesar had erected a statue of Cleopatra in the center of the city. This angered many of them because they could not accept that a foreigner from Egypt was accepted among Rome’s greatest leader. Many believed Caesar had gone too far. They were afraid that Rome would fall and many were concerned and outraged. At the same time, many Roman citizens supported Caesar. Soon after the victorious celebrations, the Senate appointed him the sole counsel of Rome for five years. Once appointed the sole counsel, he began to remove many of the men from the senate and replaced them with his friends. Later he asked them to declare Cleopatra and Ptolemy as friends and allies of Rome. He also prepared a decree that would allow him to marry many women -- including Cleopatra.

Caesar once again returned to the battlefield and in the spring of 45 B.C. he won the battle between Munda, Pompey’s son. In addition, he soon set his eyes on Parthia, which was never conquered. To win Parthia would be the ultimate victory. If he conquered Parthia his statues would be god like. He would be considered a true warrior and would win the support of his country. Caesar, who had set his mind on conquering Parthia, began making plans to soon leave for this new campaign. Cleopatra decided to also leave Rome due to many enemies and the lack of support by Roman citizens.

While Caesar planned his mission, several high ranking Romans in the senate thought Caesar was ready to proclaim himself as emperor. Many of the men who disliked Caesar were led by two men named Brutus and Cassius. Both men gathered their henchmen and their plot to kill Caesar was begun. 

Word soon spread throughout Rome and many friends warned Caesar of the plans in place to assassinate him. He ignored them and on March, 44 B.C, he was stabbed to death by many of the Senators. The Senators had concealed knifes in their cloaks and thus their plot to kill Caesar had been carried out. Caesar was murdered and lay dead beside a statue of his enemy Pompey.   

Antony and Cleopatra (Part 4)

As Cleopatra was returning to Alexandria, she learned that Caesar had been assassinated. After Caesar’s murder, she realized that there would be no one to protect her so she devised a plan to have her only sibling Ptolemy XIV killed. By following through on this plan, it allowed her son from Caesar, Caesarion, to be co-ruler with her. She also believed that by making Caesarion her co-ruler it would strengthen her ties with Rome.

Antony outraged by Caesar’s murder, delivered a speech at Caesar’s funeral that touched the hearts of many. Thereafter, anyone accused of helping to assassinate Caesar, was murdered and all their belongings were confiscated. Later, after Caesar’s death, a second Triumvirate was formed. This Triumvirate consisted of Antony, Octavius, and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, the least prominent of the three.

 

  In the autumn of 42 B.C., Antony and Octavius led an army to northern Greece. Here, Brutus and Cassius’ army waited to do battle with Antony and Octavius. This battle could not be lost to Brutus and Cassius because then Rome and Cleopatra’s Egypt would be controlled by Rome’s old republican government. This could not happen. Many lives were lost in this battle, especially Roman lives; however, Antony and Octavius won the battle. Upon winning the battle they returned to Rome and the Roman territories were divided between them. Because Antony was the strongest and the most prominent of the three, he was given Roman territories in Greece, Asia Minor, the Middle East, and independent territories such as Egypt.

Since Antony now controlled the better sections of the Roman kingdoms, he began to finance a war against Parthia, a territory considered unconquerable. Antony also knew that Egypt was very rich and had many things to offer so he summoned Cleopatra to meet with him.

Cleopatra was very much aware that Antony was the strongest of the three. She knew if would benefit her if Antony and her developed a close friendship. Therefore, she decided to make the trip to Asia Minor in Tarsus to meet with him. But to make an impression, she arrived on a huge barge that was decorated with Egypt’s best. The ship was gold plated and adorned with sails of purple. As she arrived, there was music playing that had the sounds of soft tunes of the flute and harp. She covered herself with a canopy of gold and ensured that she was alone. She gave herself the appearance of dressing like Venus and had young boys fanning her as she arrived to greet Antony. She was sure to make this trip as elaborate as possible to entice Antony. Upon Cleopatra’s arrival, Antony soon boarded the ship and within a short week they became lovers. Her plan worked.

Cleopatra soon agreed to finance the war against Parthia and Antony promised that he would ensure her safety both inside and outside of Egypt. Right about this time, Cleopatra’s half sister, Arsinoe, was murdered. Cleopatra agreed to finance the difficult war and had to stay until the spring. As a result, Antony spent the winter in Alexandria and enjoyed the lavish feasts and ceremonies that Egypt could offer. She spoiled him with all that Egypt had.

All this time that Antony was with Cleopatra, he was married to Fulvia. In 40 B.C. while Antony was away in Egypt, Fulvia and her brother Lucius started a rebellion in Italy against Octavius. They were hoping that Antony would leave Cleopatra and he would return home and focus on his other responsibilities. The rebellion failed and Lucius was murdered. Antony’s wife Fulvia had to flee to Greece and he immediately went to meet her there but only stayed a short time with her. Fulvia died shortly after her arrival to Greece.

By this time, Cleopatra was pregnant by Antony’s departure and was extremely saddened that he had left her but she returned to her daily routines. During this time Antony and Octavius had resolved their differences and they signed a treaty known as the Treaty of Brundisuim. In order for Antony to prove his loyalty to Octavius, Antony married Octavius’s sister. This would confirm the Treaty between the two.

When Cleopatra found out about Antony’s marriage she was extremely angry. She thought that he loved her as much as she loved him but he had now married another woman. In addition to everything else, she 

was pregnant with Antony’s child. Cleopatra gave birth to twins, a girl and a boy, whom she named Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene. She was so in love with Antony and believed that he would one day return to her. Until then, she resolved herself to running Egypt independently.       

The End of Cleopatra's Kingdom (Part 5)

Because there were no longer any siblings to get in Cleopatra’s way or to give her the burden of trying to overthrow her kingdom, Cleopatra was able to rule independently. This turned out to be a positive thing for Egypt. She was free to do what she wished. It was said that she was a compassionate ruler and she also helped to boost Egypt’s economy. She had achieved what others could not. She had broken almost 300 years of the Ptolemaic rule that had been filled with rebellion, riots, and high taxes. Now, it was different, the people of Alexandria liked Cleopatra. In addition, Cleopatra lowered taxes for farmers in hopes that many would work harder to produce large amounts of grain. She knew she would be in an advantageous position if she had a stable kingdom that produced excess grain and food.
 

Cleopatra truly cared for her people. She would once again prove her loyalty to her people by using the native tongue of the Egyptians. This of course was a wise move because it helped make her people like her and be loyal to her. Almost all the Ptolemaic kings before Cleopatra had not learned the people’s language and of course many of the people were insulted that they would not do so.

   

In addition, Cleopatra took the role as Isis -- the goddess of the heavens. Of course this helped to make her even more popular among the Egyptian people. Here was this Greek person, yet she was associating herself with a popular and ancient goddess Isis. She went to great lengths to let them know that she was truly the “New Isis” and made many public appearances dressed as the goddess and also visited the temples quite frequently.

All this time that Cleopatra was ruling Egypt, Antony and Octavius agreed to keep the Triumvirate alive. They agreed that Antony would help Octavius defeat Sextus Pompeius, the son of Pompey who controlled Sicily. But instead, Octavius later asked Marcus Agrippa to lead the campaign against Sicily. The rumors of this change in strategy and of their disagreement over this change quickly spread throughout Rome. This made Antony flee to his territories. It so occurred, that right about this time Octavius’s sister fell ill. She was pregnant with Antony’s son and was sent home to Rome. Octavius was outraged that Antony had left and he took it as a personal insult.

Antony wanted to defeat Parthia but he missed Cleopatra so he returned to Egypt. Antony made another deal with Cleopatra to have a fleet of ships built and Cleopatra agreed. In return Antony appointed her the owner of his eastern territories. Cleopatra was now a queen, but a queen that held Egypt’s largest domain in history. Because of this, Antony caused a great scandal in his home country by giving this to Cleopatra and the citizens of Rome were again outraged. They believed the territories belonged to Rome and that Antony could not give them away and especially to Cleopatra – a non Roman. Rome had always disliked Cleopatra, and this new deal sealed the hated even more. To most citizens, she was a foreigner who trapped Rome’s great leaders with her riches and her life of pleasure. To add to Antony’s woes, although he wanted to badly destroy Parthia, he was not able to do so. He had been tricked halfway into this war campaign by the Armenian king and was forced to turn back. The war he longed for was out of his grasp.

Eventually Antony went after the king who betrayed him and paraded him through streets but kept him as a prisoner of war. While Antony was in Egypt living a life filled with glorious riches, Octavius was outraged at Antony giving away Rome’s territories. Many other people were just as angry about Antony’s decision and were easily persuaded to hate Antony. Because Octavius was so clever, he used propaganda to destroy Antony’s public image. Very quickly, citizens of Rome came to dislike the Egyptians and Cleopatra. Antony was quickly losing ground with the people of Rome and Octavius. Antony was aware that tensions were building up and that something had to be done.

Antony believed he could lead and win a campaign against Octavius and still continue to be with Cleopatra. Because he was so confident of his rank and military status, he decided to lead his army to the eastern seas of Greece. This would prove to be a mistake because Octavius led his fleet of ships and defeated Antony’s and Cleopatra’s fleet. And to top it off, all the surrounding empires that once supported Egypt now turned against it. They had to side with Rome to ensure their status as independent nations. They soon began to attack Egypt along its borders. Egypt was soon defeated.

Antony made one last ditch effort to regain his power by leading a small army against Octavius. This proved to be unsuccessful. Cleopatra, still the very smart independent ruler as always was hoping to bribe Octavius with her many gifts and riches so she sent Octavius many things. She was hoping that he would allow Egypt to remain independent. He accepted the gifts, of course, but this did not change his mind about how he felt about Cleopatra.

After the failure of Antony’s last attempt to regain his power, he received a false message that Cleopatra was dead. After all of this, Antony took his own life. In his last breath he asked Cleopatra not to pity him and then he died.

That day Octavius came to Egypt and he heard the news almost immediately that Antony was dead. He let Cleopatra attend the funeral and explained to her that she would be taken to Rome and paraded down the street just as her half sister Arsinoe.

Cleopatra would have her last say and she refused to be degraded in that manner so she asked one of her loyal servants to smuggle an Egyptian snake into her chambers knowing that she would allow the snake to bite her. The snake bite took her life and the Ptolemaic Dynasty was finally over. Cleopatra was the last pharaoh to rule Egypt.         

 source 

Posted in: Queens