Preview

Cleopatra VII: The Last Ruler Of The Macedonian Greek Dynasty

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
944 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Cleopatra VII: The Last Ruler Of The Macedonian Greek Dynasty
Masyn Northcutt
Ms. Dellinger
English 2
2 May 2017
Cleopatra VII
This research paper is about the life, reign, men and story of Cleopatra VII. The last ruler of the Macedonian Greek Dynasty, Cleopatra VII was born in 69 B.C. in Alexandria, Egypt to King Ptolemy XII Amulets. There are speculations as to whom her mother is, but she is unknown. Her father died in 51 B.C., leaving the throne to Cleopatra and her younger brother, Ptolemy XIII. Being only eighteen, and a woman, she had to marry her twelve year old brother due to Egyptian rule. She was not fond of sharing the throne.
Cleopatra soon dropped the Ptolemy XIII name. She then ruled the throne alone for the next three years to come. Being led by Pothinus, her brothers advisors began
…show more content…
She had herself wrapped inside a rolled rug which was smuggled into Alexandria and delivered to Caesar” (Grochowski). Despite being married, she quickly charmed and seduced him. Also occurring in 48 B.C., was a civil war between Julius and Pompey. Pompey was murdered in Egypt on the orders of Ptolemy XIII. This did not make Caesar happy, and being involved with Cleopatra, he decided to dethrone Ptolemy XIII. He did so on March 27, 47 B.C. and established Cleopatra as queen (Cleopatra and Julius …show more content…
He even said he would willingly give up his reign if Octavia would do so too. She said no; Mark Anthony and Cleopatra moved to Athens to prepare for hostilities and divorce proceedings were initiated against Octavia (Cleopatra and Mark Antony). By 32 B.C. they were named enemies of Rome and a war began against them. Octavian was said to have attempted to make a deal with Cleopatra saying that if she killed Antony he would spare her.
Octavian was victorious as Cleopatra and Mark Antony both attempted to flee. Mark Antony died in Cleopatra’s arms after stabbing himself with a sword. Cleopatra was then captured and taken back to Rome to be executed. She wasn’t about to let them have that satisfaction, so she killed herself by being bitten by an asp, or an Egyptian Cobra.
She died on August 12, 30 B.C., she was thirty nine. They then strangled her first born son and her other children were sent to be raised by her enemy Octavia. Her death symbolized the end of the Ptolemaic Dynasty which lasted three hundred years. This paper explained her life, reign, men and story. As you have seen her life impacted the Roman and Egyptian empires greatly. Her reign impacted both empires as well. Her men impacted her reign and her story impacted many. She took a circumstance and used it to her advantage. She reigned for twenty one years in total; her legacy still lives to this

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Pomeroy, Sarah. Women in Hellenistic Egypt: from Alexander to Cleopatra (New York: Schocken Books), 1984.…

    • 1813 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cleopatra VII was born in 69 B.C. in Alexandria. Cleopatra’s father Ptolemy XII (12) died and in his will he left the kingdom in the hands of Cleopatra and her younger brother Ptolemy XIII (13). Cleopatra was only eighteen when she took her joint claim to the throne. She had to wed her brother and co-rule due to Egyptian law, which called for any female ruler to have a consort who was either a brother or a son. Ptolemy XIII was only twelve years of age at the time and Cleopatra took full advantage of the age difference between her and her sibling and the situation they had been thrown into. Cleopatra dropped Ptolemy’s name from all administrative documents ignoring her brother's role of co-regent for three years. Cleopatra ruled alone until one of her brothers advisors Pothinus began plotting against her. In 48 B.C. they removed Cleopatra from her power and she was forced into exile in Syria along with her younger sister Arsinoe IV (4). Cleopatra would not give up her place on the throne easily and she began forming an army. Cleopatra made plans to meet Julius Caesar in her own…

    • 974 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    rulers included Cleopatra the VII who came to the throne in her own power. Another…

    • 1001 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Cleopatra Research Paper

    • 481 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Marc Antony a close friend of Caesar fell in love with Cleopatra even though he to was married…

    • 481 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    What is most interesting, at least according to Schiff, is that Cleopatra entered the relationship “of her will” without any outside influence (72). Caesar first appears in Cleopatra’s history right before the Alexandria War begins. The Egyptian queen and her brother Ptolemy XIII were at war with each other. Cleopatra had backed Pompey, the family patron who was opposing the famous general, Caesar. Consequently, this put her on the wrong side. After the brutal beheading of Pompey by mercenaries hired by Ptolemy XIII, the fledgling female pharaoh now had to convince Caesar that she was allying herself with him. To do this, she had herself smuggled into the palace, which Caesar had taken over. While we are ignorant about how she convinced him she wasn’t his enemy, we do know that he did not kill her and forged an alliance with her. Caesar and Cleopatra endure the Alexandrian War, which is waged by Caesar against Cleopatra’s brother to restore her to the throne. They “emerged as close allies” (19). A close political alliance was not the only result between the young queen and the Roman general. Cleopatra became pregnant during the palace siege in November of…

    • 1250 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    After their father, Ptolemy XII Auletes, died in 51 B.C., Cleopatra and her ten-year-old brother Ptolemy XIII had been given and equal share of power over Egypt. At the time of her birth, rulers in Egypt has already become a third-rate power due to the ever growing Roman Empire. The kings and queens of…

    • 1579 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cleopatra Research Paper

    • 404 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Cleopatra was born in the city of Alexandria in 69B.C. When she was born her father, King Ptolemy XII (12th) had been in power for 10 years. Originating from Rome, Cleopatra’s father only kept in power accordingly only because of the Roman army. The weak man was accordingly self-indulgent, powerless who ruled his country with no respect and dignity. Cleopatra’s father Ptolemy XII (12th) was disliked and all around bad king nevertheless Egypt suffered. Egypt grew poorer, so the lower class began to suffer. Frustrated, the people of Egypt drove Ptolemy XII (12th) out of the country and back to his home, Rome. He left his 5 children in Alexandria in 58 B.C., leaving his second oldest daughter Berenice to rule Egypt. Determined to get back to power, Ptolemy XII (12th) got help from the Roman army and had his own…

    • 404 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Cleopatra VII, queen had an alliance with Julius Caesar of Rome. During that time Cleopatra had linked with the Roman Empire. While she was also Pharaoh she consummated alliance with Julius Caesar. Cleopatra also had devised a plan to meet Julius Caesar on her own terms seeking political alliance and a return…

    • 362 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Antony took his armies east, where he hooked up with Caesar’s old paramour, Cleopatra. Octavian and Antony fought for many years until Octavian prevailed. In 30 B.C., Antony committed suicide. Octavian, later known as Augustus, ruled the Roman Empire for many more years.…

    • 624 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Ptolemy was a generous and a loving ruler. He was born on 62 BCE and he died 47 BCE. Ptolemy was married to Cleopatra VII, his older sister. He ruled during the Ptolemaic dynasty. During his ruling he went to war with Julius Caesar and his wife. He ruled over upper and lower egypt. He did not have any kids because he became pharaoh at age 9 and died at age 15 trying to flee the romans and drowned in the nile river.…

    • 290 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Mark Antony twisted the “dagger” of Caesar’s death ever so slightly and then threatened to unleash them on the Senators. But Caesar had named his grandnephew Gaius Octavius his sole heir. Octavius, who came into rule when he was 18, became Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus or Octavian, the son of the great Caesar. “While Antony dealt with Decimus Brutus in the first round of the new civil wars, Octavian consolidated his tenuous…

    • 247 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Mark Antony Research Paper

    • 1617 Words
    • 7 Pages

    "It was the boiling point when Octavian declared war on Cleopatra, and off the coast of Greece in the Adriatic Sea they met in one of the most famous battles in history: Actium." In this battle Cleopatra and Mark Antony were defeated, opening the way for a roman invasion of Egypt.…

    • 1617 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gaius Octavius was Caesar’s grandnephew that had been adopted into his will. When Caesar was assassinated, Octavian had been in Greece attending school and quickly returned to lay claim to Caesar’s legacy. Together with Marc Antony and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, the three formed the Second Triumvirate (or the Avengers) to fight against Caesar’s assassins, the Liberators, in 43 BC. While Lepidus remained in Rome to look after things, Antony went to face Cassius and was able to defeat him while Octavian finally managed to defeat Brutus after two battles (Mathisen 2012: 326). After this the three members divided the Roman world among themselves, this did not last long. In 31 BC Octavian and Antony’s armies met anticlimactically, and culminated at the Battle of Actium in which Octavian defeated an escaping Marc Antony (Tacitus, The Augustan…

    • 889 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Importance Of Cleopatra

    • 621 Words
    • 3 Pages

    During the spring of 51 BC Auletes died and declared Cleopatra (now 18yrs) would wed her brother Ptolemy XIII (now 10yrs) and rule together. Cleopatra wanted to plan a way to eliminate her brother from power. The first two years of Cleopatra’s reigning, the Nile did not flood and Alexandra civilisation was deteriorating from the famine. This rooted a rebellion amongst society holding Cleopatra responsible and also she had her brother trying to eradicate her. She then left for Syria and compiled an army to return to Egypt and restore her position on the throne. Cleopatra realised that with the help of Caesar (Roman support) she would more likely repossess her position. Both Caesar and Cleopatra were intent to use the other. Caesar desired the repayment of Auletes’s debt and Cleopatra was insistent on regaining the throne. They later became lovers and spent the winter surrounded by forces in Alexandria. The following Spring Roman reinforcement arrived and Ptolemy XII had tried to skip town but drowned in the Nile. Cleopatra got married to her brother Ptolemy XIV and regained her…

    • 621 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cleopatra

    • 286 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Soon after the siblings' ascension to the throne, Ptolemy's advisers acted against Cleopatra, who was forced to flee Egypt for Syria in 49 B.C. She raised an army of mercenaries and returned the following year to face her brother's forces at Pelusium, on Egypt's eastern border. Meanwhile, after allowing the Roman general Pompey to be murdered, Ptolemy XIII welcomed the arrival of Pompey's rival, Julius Caesar, to Alexandria. In order to help her cause, Cleopatra sought Caesar's support, reportedly smuggling herself into the royal palace to plead her case with…

    • 286 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays