Cleopatra

Cleopatra (c. 69-30 bc), the last member of the Ptolemaic dynasty to rule Egypt (51-30 bc), and celebrated for her love affairs with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. Cleopatra, or more precisely, Cleopatra VII, was the daughter of Ptolemy XII Auletes, king of Egypt. On her father's death in 51 bc Cleopatra, then about 17 years old, and her brother, Ptolemy XIII, a child of about 12 years, succeeded jointly to the throne of Egypt on condition that they marry. In the third year of their reign Ptolemy, encouraged by his advisers, assumed sole control of the government and drove Cleopatra into exile. She promptly gathered an army in Syria but was unable to assert her claim until the arrival at Alexandria of Julius Caesar, who became her lover and espoused her cause. He was for a time hard pressed by the Egyptians but ultimately triumphed, and in 47 bc Ptolemy XIII was killed. Caesar proclaimed Cleopatra queen of Egypt.

Cleopatra was then forced by custom to marry her younger brother, Ptolemy XIV, then about 11 years old. After putting their joint government on a secure basis, Cleopatra went to Rome, where she lived as Caesar's mistress. She gave birth to a son, Caesarion, later Ptolemy XV, whom she claimed was Caesar's. After his assassination in 44 bc, Cleopatra returned to Egypt where she is said to have poisoned Ptolemy XIV and made Caesarion her co-regent. She hesitated to take sides in the civil war following Caesar's death and in 41 bc was summoned to Tarsus (in modern Turkey) by Mark Antony to explain her conduct. He fell in love with her and returned with her to Alexandria where they lived together for some time. In 40 bc Antony was compelled to return to Rome, where he married Octavia, a sister of Octavian, later the Roman emperor Augustus. After Antony's departure Cleopatra gave birth to twins. In 36 bc Antony went to the East as commander of an expedition against the Parthians. He sent for Cleopatra, who joined him at Antioch. They were married, and a third child was born. In 34 bc, after a successful campaign against the Parthians, he celebrated his triumph at Alexandria and he and Cleopatra formally announced the division of the former empire of Alexander the Great between Cleopatra and her children. Antony continued to reside in Egypt and in 32 bc Octavian declared war against the couple and Antony divorced Octavia.

Cleopatra insisted on taking part in the campaign. At the naval battle of Actium in 31 bc, believing Antony's defeat to be inevitable, she withdrew her fleet from action, and she and Antony fled to Alexandria. Soon after, Antony was deceived by a false report of her death and committed suicide. On hearing that Octavian intended to exhibit her in his triumph at Rome, Cleopatra also killed herself, probably by poison, or, according to an old tradition, by the bite of an asp. Caesarion, the last of the Ptolemies, was put to death by Octavian, and Egypt passed into Roman hands.

Cleopatra's life has formed the basis for many literary works, the most notable of which are the plays Antony and Cleopatra (1606-1607) by William Shakespeare, All for Love (1678) by the English dramatist John Dryden, and Caesar and Cleopatra (1901) by the British playwright George Bernard Shaw.