Cleopatra VII

Last queen of the Ptolemaic dynasty, who allied first with Caesar and then with Antony.

Life

Ptolemaic princess

Cleopatra was a princess of the Ptolemaic dynasty who came to the throne jointly with her younger brother in 51 BCE. She was the first ruler of the Ptolemaic house in three hundred years to learn the Egyptian language, and she is said to have spoken many languages.

Caesar and Antony

In 48 BCE she allied with Caesar, regained her throne in the Alexandrian War, and bore Caesar a son. After Caesar was assassinated, she allied with Antony and the two jointly ran the East; Antony granted Rome's eastern territories to her children.

Actium

In 31 BCE the pair were defeated by Octavian at the Battle of Actium. The following year Octavian took Alexandria; Antony committed suicide, and she soon took her own life as well, by legend letting a venomous snake bite her. Egypt thereafter became a Roman province.

Legacy

Cleopatra was the last pharaoh of ancient Egypt, and her death marked the end of the Hellenistic period. Her later image as a seductress who beguiled Romans with her beauty stems largely from Roman propaganda; ancient writers more often praised her intelligence and conversation.

Did you know? She lived closer in time to us than to the building of the Pyramid of Khufu.

Key dates

• 51 BCEAccession
• 48 BCEAllied with Caesar
• 41 BCEMet Antony at Tarsus
• 31 BCEBattle of Actium
• 30 BCECommits suicide; Egypt annexed by Rome