Cleopatra

                                                                                                             

                      CLEOPATRA

         "Women of Surpassing beauty & Bold Coquette"   

 

                                                                               "Beauty is eternity Gazing......... "

                                       

Cleopatra VII  Thea Philopator , was an Egyptian queen and  Last Pharaoh of  ancient Egypt . She was born to Ptolemy XII Auletes . Her mother was reckon to be Cleopatra VI Tryphaena. She was believed to be born on 69 BC at the palace of Alexandria , Ptolemy kingdom. She was a member of Ptolemaic dynasty , a Greek speaking throne that ruled Egypt in 300 BC. Cleopatra family belongs to the descendant of Alexander, the great. She learnt disparate languages. She didn't went to school for education. She learnt mathematics, Philosophy, Oratory, Astronomy , Egyptian sources by going to museum. She had two elder sisters , one died earlier and the other one is Berenike . Berenike ruled the Egypt in the absence of her father between 58-55 BC. After the return of his father  Ptolemy XII , she was guillotined by him. Cleopatra also had a younger sister, Arsinoe IV and two younger brothers Ptolemy XIII and ptolemy XIV. 

 

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Role in Egypt :

           After the death of Ptolemy , the Ptolemy  XII , the throne was left to Cleopatra. She married her younger brother Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator and Ptolemy XIV , who were 12 years old at her age of 18. During ancient times this type of marriages are done to maintain pure blood lines. Then she started ruling Egypt , the country became more wealthier and prosperous. She reduced taxes and increased the productivity of grain. She also saved the collected taxes and helped the people of Egypt during the famine . Even though she was not wholeheartedly accepted by the people of Egypt because Cleopatra was not actually an Egyptian , her native language was Koine Greek. Later she learnt Egyptian language to satisfy the people of Egypt. She became more fame. She succeeded in establishing a great empire.After the sibling's ascension of throne they became envious on Cleopatra and thrown her out of the Egypt. For saving her life , she moved to Rome.

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Cleopatra in Roman empire :

             Cleopatra was forced to flee to Syria in 49 BC. She raised an  army of mercenaries and returned to Egypt and faced her brother at  Pelusiun on Egyptian Eastern border. In 48 BC , Egypt become embroiled in conflict in Rome between Julius Caesar and pompey . Meanwhile , Pompey fled to Egyptian capital Alexandria, where the Pompey  was murdered on order of Ptolemy. Then Cleopatra was redeemed as queen with the help of Roman military. Gradually , Caesar and Cleopatra started falling for each others.

                                                             

           After four months of war, Ptolemy XIII  was forced to flee Alexandria and was believed to have drowned in the Nile river . Caesar entered Alexandria as an unlikable conqueror and restored the dynasty to Cleopatra & her brother Ptolemy XIV. He reminded with his beloved Cleopatra & in 47 BC she gave birth to child called Ptolemy Caesar known as Caesarion. 

            Intermittently , in 46-45 BC , she traveled with her brother and Caesarion to Rome to visit Caesar, who had returned earlier. After Caesar was murdered in march 44 BC, she went back to Egypt and Ptolemy XIV was died soon after it. Her 3 years old son, Caesarion was named as Co-regent. She identified herself with Goddess of  motherhood Iris, the wife of the ruler of underworld and mother of sky god Horus to declare herself as a holy royalty and she was often called New Iris .

 

     " So I learned two things that night , and the next day , from him : the perfection of a moment and the fleeting nature of it " - ( Memoirs)

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Cleopatra & Mark Antony :

              With her infant son as Co regent, Cleopatra's power was more secure in Egyptian throne. Still , capricious flooding of the Nile resulted in falling  crops , leading to inflation and hunger . Meanwhile, a conflict was raging in Rome between a second triumvirate of Caesar's allies and his assassins , Brutus and  Cassius. In 42 BC , after defeating the forces of Brutus & Cassius in the battles of Philippi, Mark Antony & Octavian divided the power in Rome. In 41 BC , general Mark Antony , part of the second triumvirate ruled the Rome following the assassination of Caesar , summoned Cleopatra to the Cicilian  city of Tarsus to explain her allegiance lies after the death of the empire's leader.

          She accepted his request & made an extravagant lavish entrance into the city of Tarsus to grab his attention. Captivated by her beauty and her powerful personality , Antony began a love affair with Cleopatra . She returned to Egypt , followed thereafter by Antony, who left behind his 3rd wife, Fulvia and their children in Rome. He spent the winter of 41 - 40 BC in Alexandria, during which Antony and Cleopatra famously formed a drinking society called " The Inimitable Livers" . In 40 BC , after Antony's return to Rome , she eventually gave birth to three children including twins named Alexander Helios (sun) , Cleopatra Selene (moon).Antony returned with Cleopatra to Alexandria with a triumphant flair in 34 BC as crowds swarmed to the Gymnasium to catch a glimpse of the beautiful celebrity couple seated on the golden throne elevated on silver platforms .

 

   

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Clutch and Clash :

  After Fulvia's death , Antony was forced to prove his loyalty to Octavian by marrying Octavian's half sister Octavia , Egypt grew more flourishing and successful under Cleopatra's rule and in 37 BC . Antony again met her to obtain funds for military campaign against Parthia . In return , he agreed to give of his Egypt's eastern empire , including Cyprus , Crete , Cyrenaica , Jericho and large portions of Syria and Lebanon . They again become lovers and she gave birth to another son , Ptolemy Philadelphous , in 36 BC .

     In 34 BC , Antony publicly announced in " Donations Of Alexandria" as Caesarion as Caesar's and Cleopatra's real son as the rightful heir to the throne , rather than Caesar adoptive son Octavian . This commenced a was of advocacy between Caesarion's and the tuming Octavian , who claimed that Antony was entirely under Cleopatra's control and that there were plans to abandon Rome and create a new capital in Egypt . In late 32 BC , the Roman senate stripped Antony of all his tiles and declared war on Cleopatra . On September of 31 BC , Cleopatra and Antony combined forces attempted the defeated Octavian in a raging sea battle at Actium , on Greece's west coast . The battle proved how the egyptian force was unready for the attacks which leaded Cleopatra fled to Egypt and Antony to Alexandria to defend the city .

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Surmount & Fatality :

    On September 2 , 31 BC , Octavian's massive forces vanquished most of Antony and Cleopatra forces in the Battle of Actium . Cleopatra's ships deserted the battle and fled to egypt and Antony followed her . Antony was mendaciously informed that Cleopatra had committed suicide . He fell on his sword and died as news arrived that the rumour had been false . Cleopatra followed her lover's demise by committing suicide using a poisonous snake , a symbol of divine royalty . She died at the age of 39 and her son caesarion was arrested and executed soon after . They were buried together , as they had wished and Egypt became a province of the Roman dynasty under Caesar Augustus and officially called Aegyptus .

     

 

"Honour was not yielded , but Conquered merely"

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