Ancient Egypt

Additional Information Cleopatra Additional Information

Describe the legacy of Cleopatra Cleopatra Objective Describe the legacy of Cleopatra

Cleopatra (69 B.C. – 30 B.C.) The life of Cleopatra is a story of love, greed, and romance. Cleopatra was born in 69 B.C., long after the era of the pharaohs had passed, but she was worshipped by many Egyptian people. Cleopatra was born in Egypt but her ancestry was Greek. She was part of a ruling family that had controlled the ancient kingdom for hundreds of years. Alexander the Great was a military genius from Macedonia, a mountainous land north of Greece. Alexander led his army into Egypt and freed the Egyptian people from Persian rule. The grateful Egyptian people worshipped Alexander as a pharaoh. When Alexander died in 336BCE, his empire was divided among his top generals. Ptolemy became the ruler of Egypt and the first ruler of the Ptolemic dynasty.

Cleopatra (69 B.C. – 30 B.C.) Ptolemy XII was Cleopatra's father. When Ptolemy XII died in 51 B.C., his will decreed that seventeen-year-old Cleopatra and her twelve-year-old brother, Ptolemy XIII, were to marry and rule Egypt. Cleopatra was a very different ruler than the Ptolemies who came before her. She learned the Egyptian language; the other Ptolemies spoke only Greek. Cleopatra also practiced the religious customs of Egypt, and many of the Egyptians viewed her as a pharaoh. In 48 B.C., Cleopatra's generals found they could not control her, so they ousted Cleopatra and made her brother the sole monarch of Egypt. A few months later, a Roman army led by Julius Caesar arrived in Egypt. Caesar was pursuing another Roman army that tried to keep Caesar from returning to Rome. Caesar's army was much larger than the Egyptian forces, so Cleopatra concluded that Caesar could return her to power. Cleopatra arranged to have a huge carpet delivered to the 54-year-old Caesar. When Caesar unrolled the carpet, he found the 22-year-old former queen wrapped inside. Caesar and Cleopatra became lovers, and the Roman general led his army to capture and kill the people who removed Cleopatra from power. Ptolemy XIII drowned in the Nile while trying to flee Caesar's army.

Cleopatra (69 B.C. – 30 B.C.) Egyptian law did not allow a queen to rule without a king, so Cleopatra married another brother, Ptolemy XIV, but she was in love with Caesar. Caesar and Cleopatra spent the next several months traveling along the Nile, where Caesar saw how the Egyptian people worshipped Cleopatra. Caesar was a very powerful general who conquered many lands, but he knew that becoming a pharaoh was something he could never achieve. Caesar returned to Rome in 46 B.C. with Cleopatra and their newborn son, Caesarion. Caesar was very popular with the Roman people. They named him dictator (a ruler with complete power). Cleopatra was less popular with the Romans. She had enraged the Roman people by calling herself the "new Isis." Many Romans were unhappy that Caesar was planning to marry a foreigner. Caesar was murdered in 44 B.C., so Cleopatra left Rome to return to Egypt. Cleopatra apparently poisoned Ptolemy XIV and named her four-year-old son as the new Egyptian king.

Cleopatra (69 B.C. – 30 B.C.) Rome was in turmoil after Caesar's murder. Several armies competed for control. The two greatest Roman armies were those of Marc Antony and Octavian. Octavian was the adopted son of Julius Caesar, but Marc Antony was believed to have led a larger army. When Antony asked Cleopatra to meet with him, Cleopatra decided that she had another opportunity to return to power both in Egypt and in Rome. A legend says that when Cleopatra met Antony, the Egyptian queen adorned her ship with so many rose petals that the Romans knew of her fragrance before they could see her ship. She walked off the ship dressed as Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. Antony was immediately love-struck with the Egyptian queen. Antony was already married to Octavian's sister, but he took Cleopatra as his wife, and the couple had two children. Octavian's army defeated Marc Antony's forces and led an invasion of Egypt in 30 B.C. Antony committed suicide by falling on his sword. Fearing that she would be forced to live as a slave in the land she once ruled, Cleopatra decided it would be better to end her life. According to legend, the former queen asked that an asp, an Egyptian cobra, be delivered to her in a basket of figs. The asp was a symbol of royalty to the Egyptians, so by allowing the asp to bite her, Cleopatra is said to have become immortal.

Cleopatra Background Cleopatra came to power in Egypt at the age of 17 she reigned from 51 B.C. to 30 B.C. Cleopatra was Macedonian Her ancestry was Macedonian; however she was still an Egyptian queen Cleopatra was worshipped as a god

Egyptian Women Cleopatra was legally obliged to have either a brother or son for her consort (partner / companion) married brother Ptolemy XIII when he was 12 she dropped his name from any official documents regardless of the Ptolemaic insistence that the male presence be first among co-rulers she had her own portrait and name on coins of that time = ignored her brother's able to do so because Egyptian women were uniquely accepted as capable of holding office and handling affairs

Rolled in a Carpet Cleopatra wanted to rid herself of brother-spouse Ptolemy XIII Ptolemy had sent her into exile Cleopatra needed Roman support she supposedly enticed Caesar with the infamous gift = herself rolled up in a carpet Ptolemy was killed. In 47 B.C. Cleopatra dutifully married the next Ptolemy brother in line - Ptolemy XIV - an 11-year old then went on a cruise with her lover, Julius Caesar

Rolled in a Carpet Cleopatra's union with Julius Caesar would have placed Egypt firmly back on the map as a world power With this in mind, she promptly produced the necessary son and heir to launch the dynasty = Caesarion Republicans in Rome thwarted this by assassinating Caesar on the steps of the Senate before he was offered a Throne. Octavian (Cesar’s heir) later Caesarion strangled following Cleopatra's defeat and ritual suicide

Mark Antony in the wake of Caesar's March 15, 44 B.C. assassination and the Civil War, Mark Antony arranged to meet Queen Cleopatra of Egypt Antony fell in love with her, but married a Roman, Octavia, sister of Caesar's heir, Octavian Antony lived with Cleopatra Octavian led the Romans to believe that Mark Antony was in the process of handing over what should be theirs to the Egyptian queen = tensions mounted in Rome Ultimately Mark Antony divorced his Roman wife when Octavian declared war on him (and Cleopatra)

Rule of Egypt Passes to Rome in the end, defeated Antony committed suicide Cleopatra committed suicide, according to legend, by putting an asp to her breast the Macedonian / Greek Ptolemies had ruled Egypt from the time of the death of Alexander, in 323 B.C. after two centuries power shifted with Cleopatra's death, rule of Egypt finally passed to the Romans

Rule of Egypt Passes to Rome Cleopatra was the last, effectively ruling pharaoh Legacy of Cleopatra 1. skillful politician who wanted to rule a large empire 2. a seductress who had relationships with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony 3. the last of the Greek Ptolemy leaders of Egypt

The Infamous Cleopatra “For (as they say) it was not because her [Cleopatra's] beauty in itself was so striking that it stunned the onlooker, but the inescapable impression produced by daily contact with her: the attractiveness in the persuasiveness of her talk, and the character that surrounded her conversation was stimulating. It was a pleasure to hear the sound of her voice, and she tuned her tongue like a many-stringed instrument expertly to whatever language she chose...." From Plutarch's Life of Mark Antony

She was…CLEOPATRA She may not have been an Egyptian, but she was Egypt's queen, ruling on her own rather than in the name of her husband. Her relationships with the leaders of Rome led to scandals. Her death continues to inspire playwrights, movie producers, and romantics. Music Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVE7RqQwyi0

Describe the legacy of Cleopatra Cleopatra Objective Describe the legacy of Cleopatra