Following her father’s passing, Cleopatra was next to take the throne at the tender age of 18 in 51 B.C. Aaron Jakubenko as Commodus. Cleopatra fled with her forces at the height of the battle. Recorded in ancient texts, written into exciting tales and her face decorated onto walls, paintings, vases and statues, Cleopatra’s legacy survives in ancient and modern works of art. The Ides of March 43m. Cleopatra VII was the last active ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt. This all came to a head when Ceasar’s conspirators continued to wage war against his legacy led by the assassins themselves Brutus and Cassius (both Roman senators). Sean Bean as Narrator. Incest, that intimate relationship between first-degree relatives, is now prohibited by law, but in the past, it has been a widespread practice, especially in royal families. She came from a long line of Hellenistic rulers, going back to the general Ptolemy who took Egypt as his inheritance after the death of Alexander the Great. It is at this time, according to some historians, that the great library at Alexandria was accidentally burned, though this claim has been challenged. After attempting to take sole possession of the throne, Ptolemy XIII ran her out of Egypt, which ended in the famous civil war between them. In around 47 BC, Cleopatra gave birth to a son, Ptolemy Caesar. As you can see Cleopatra had many ties to Rome, both helping them and causing them trouble during her reign in Egypt. She was a queen of Egypt. In the past, this had sometimes led to strong rule, but in later generations, any such strength was sapped by a pattern of family intrigues. With unreliable flooding of the Nile resulting in failing crops, and conflict raging in Rome, the two regions were again brought together in their troubles. Calum Gittins as Saoterus. Part of this force was a massive, and expensive, naval build-up that seemed like the match of anything that Octavian could send against him. Having won the war, he wished to push through his program for the reconstitution of the Roman state, and that meant convincing a number of very stubborn minds. What did seriously threaten Octavian's political position, however, was the acknowledgement of Caesarion as legitimate and heir to Caesar's name. Roman Empire: Reign of Blood: (Trailer) Episodes Roman Empire ... Caesar is victorious in the war, then swiftly makes a powerful new ally and lover in Egypt's ruler, Cleopatra. She entered Rome as if she were Caesar’s wife, although he was known to have one already; she also seemed to many as if she were frighteningly like Rome’s Queen, and fiercely Republican Rome would have nothing of this prospect. The legendary queen also suffered from history’s tendency to … Ptolemy XIII turned to his general Achillas for support and warbroke out in Alexandria between Caesar’s legions and the Egyptian army. During his time in Rome, other family members assumed the throne; after some dithering, Rome sent troops to defeat the latest upstart, and replace Ptolemy XII upon his throne. Pertinax. In all of these things, they were mistaken. With her infant son as co-regent, Cleopatra’s power over Egypt was more secure than ever. Finally, Rome had a civil war of its own, the one between Julius Caesar and Gnaeus Pompey, and both factions desired access to the wealth of Egypt. With Caesar already notorious for his sexual energy, the two became lovers almost immediately. It is believed that Cleopatra and Ceasar lived together for a while, having an affair. The two sides spent the summer in search of an advantageous position and in avoidance of direct contact, but then, on a single day in September, the fleet that Antony and Cleopatra had so meticulously created was crushed decisively. Although Egypt remained a large and wealthy empire, a new, more powerful force was rising. With the love affairs, the scandals and the children which resulted along with her dramatic death, it is no wonder that Cleopatra remains a dominant figure in popular culture. Tai Berdinner-Blades as Lucilla. Although she was to be Queen of Egypt, Cleopatra was a Greek, both by ancestry and culture. Cleopatra Thea Philopator, or Cleopatra VII, was a remarkable and talented ruler who inherited a weak position and never managed to improve it significantly. Cleopatra was born in 69 BC - 68 BC. Unlike her forebears, she took the trouble to learn the language and customs of her country, and under better circumstances, she might have been a great Pharaoh. To Cleopatra, however, Antony represented more than just the prospect of maintaining her position, and even regaining some of Egypt’s freedom of action: a successful Antony offered the prospect of splitting the Roman world into eastern and western states. He deposed Ptolemy XIII, who soon thereafter turned up dead. If Caesar and Cleopatra were equals, Antony and Cleopatra were mismatched. Antony killed himself in response, and shortly thereafter, Cleopatra followed suit, hoping to rob Octavian of the pleasure of parading her about Rome in his Triumph. At the death of Ptolemy Auletes, the Egyptian succession was already under foreign influence: the disposition of Ptolemy’s will, including the succession, was left in the care of the Republic of Rome. Rome was not merely a disinterested observer when these quarrelsome siblings took the throne. Their relationship had a political component—Cleopatra needed Antony to protect her crown and maintain Egypt’s independence, while Antony needed access to Egypt’s riches and resources—but they were also famously fond of each other’s company. Cleopatra at Dendara. She was seen as cunning, charming and beautiful, an overly captivating individual. Chronicles some of the most famous leaders of the Roman Civilization. As it so transpired, however, Ptolemy’s advisors overstepped themselves in their effort to ingratiate themselves with Caesar, while Cleopatra made the most of her own considerable gifts. Ptolemy had Pompey executed, and presented Caesar with his opponent’s head, but earned only Caesar’s indignation. 5. She had ascended a shaky throne and only stabilized her own power at the expense of her country’s already wavering independence. She is celebrated for her beauty and her love affairs with the Roman warlords Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. Egypt was a wealthy country, despite the mismanagement that depleted its treasury, and wealth was always handy to a militaristic state bent upon further expansion. Still, this was not to be the last of Cleopatra’s interactions with Rome. Edwin Wright as Cassius Dio. She was both well-educated and natively clever, and she had a dramatic flair that made her intoxicating to powerful men. Menu. This was a consequence of the intrigues of the later years of the older king’s life. Disastrous mismanagement had sparked riots in Alexandria, and Ptolemy XII fled to Rome for protection. And so, little Ptolemy Caesar at 3 years old became co-regent of Egypt with his mother. +39 069 028 0651Via Venti Settembre, 118, 00187 Roma RM, Italy (By appointment only), © Copyright 2021 | Sightseeing Tours Italy |, Rome Day Tour with Colosseum & Vatican €101. Ceasar returned the throne to Cleopatra and her youngest brother Ptolemy XIV (then only 13 years old). Taken as a whole, Cleopatra did little for her own country. If Antony had succeeded in winning sole control of Rome with Cleopatra as his queen, He could have changed the course of the Roman Empire, making the world we live in today a different place. Octavian was far quicker in gathering his forces than Antony, and in 31 B.C. When Octavian arrived (summer 30), first Antony and then Cleopatra committed suicide. Distributing Roman lands and lands never conquered by Rome amongst the children of Cleopatra was not a peace move, but it was not a serious problem either. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window). Whether this is true or not, we can’t be sure, but the two did begin a long-lasting love affair which ultimately resulted in their deaths. In the end, Cleopatra made that possible. Cast. As a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, she was a descendant of its founder Ptolemy I Soter, a Macedonian Greek general and companion of Alexander the Great. Roman Influence. Cleopatra VII (69-30 BCE) had the misfortune to ascend the throne at a time when Egypt’s wealth and military power were in decline and an aggressive and assertive Roman Empire was expanding. Only in the waning years of his reign as Emperor Augustus did the memories of Cleopatra begin to fade, and the official story increasingly emphasized the need to get rid of Antony for his own excesses. Cleopatra VII and Ptolemy XIII drew to themselves advisors only too happy to capitalize upon their charges’ squabbling, and Egypt was on a course destined for civil war. In the early years of Octavian’s rule as Emperor, the threat posed by Cleopatra was most important as a justification of the war, and by extension, of all that Octavian had done to reform Rome. After burying Antony, Cleopatra locked herself in her chambers and joined her lover in death. The specter of an oriental despot imposing her style of governance upon Roman citizens through her intoxicating effect on Antony rendered both of them dangerous enough to justify another round of civil war to remove them. She hastened Egypt’s dependence upon Roman power even as she alienated herself from such goodwill as she might have enjoyed in the beginning. Cleopatra sided with the latter and met with Mark Antony many times. Upon the death of her father, Ptolemy XII Auletes, she had to share power with her indolent and insolent younger brother, Ptolemy XIII. Although it is impossible to quantify the effect that Cleopatra had on those who plotted against Caesar, it is safe to say that she magnified the fears of those who were already concerned about Caesar’s extraordinary rule. Queen Cleopatra of Egypt and How She Affected the Roman Empire. To his peril, Antony had lost sight of Roman popular opinion. When that war was resolved, however, and Octavian and Antony set up spheres of influence within the Roman world, Cleopatra presented herself to Antony in a grand feat of showmanship, beginning a liaison that would dominate the rest of their lives. A number of Roman historians and writers (the poets Horace and Lucan for example) reinforced the image of Cleopatra Empire an incestuous, adulterous whore who used sex to try and emasculate the Roman Empire. Caesar did his part for Cleopatra. There was an additional complication. She was the lover of Ceasar and Antony. Cleopatra, (Greek: “Famous in Her Father”) in full Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (“Cleopatra the Father-Loving Goddess”), (born 70/69 bce —died August 30 bce, Alexandria), Egyptian queen, famous in history and drama as the lover of Julius Caesar and later as the wife of Mark Antony. Her death allowed him to package the story as he wished, without the possibility that Cleopatra might manage to win over the Roman crowd’s sympathy. After the death of Cleopatra, Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire, marking the end of the second to last Hellenistic state and the age that had lasted since the reign of Alexander(336–323 BC). On one level, Rome was fascinated by this exotic figure; on another, however, the people were repulsed, and this took some of the gloss from Caesar’s own glory. If that were successful, the eastern state would necessarily be a Hellenistic one, and Egypt would be a major partner in this resurgent Greek world. Cleopatra VII was the last active ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt. (Those calling Gadot a “colonizer” would do well to remember this.) Cleopatra first began her legendary love affair with the Roman general Mark Antony in 41 B.C. We shouldn’t forget however, that Cleopatra had a long and successful reign before she met either of her Roman men. Furthermore, much of Egypt’s wealth lay in its agricultural surpluses, which were most tempting to a state whose capital had long outstripped the capacity of its own countryside and suffered from occasional subsistence crises. Great as he was, Antony was decidedly a lesser man than Julius Caesar. Cleopatra Thea Philopator, or Cleopatra VII, was a remarkable and talented ruler who inherited a weak position and never managed to improve it significantly. Movies. Caesar and Cleopatra were besieged in the royal palace for six months until Roman reinforcements were able to arrive and break the Egyptian lines. Indeed, Cleopatra also had a “most delicious voice and knowledge of how to make herself agreeable to everyone,” according to the ancient Roman historian Lucius Cassius Dio. Fate did not give her the chance. the two sides were encamped in close quarters with each other. Cleopatra was secure as the effective ruler of Egypt, although she technically still needed to share power with a younger sibling. Her story is one of success, battle, love and tragedy. She was both well-educated and natively clever, and she had a dramatic flair that made her intoxicating to powerful men. Her story is one of success, battle, love and tragedy. He became the family patron. Together Ceasar and Cleopatra were conquerors! 323 BCE: Alexander dies in Babylon upon his return from the conquest of what is now Afghanistan, … Due to traditional customs, Cleopatra was to marry her brother, Ptolemy XIII, who was then only ten years old and become joint ruler with Cleopatra. The family moved briefly to Rome, but when Ceasar was murdered in 44 BC, Cleopatra returned to Egypt, where her youngest brother died soon after. Cleopatra VII Philopator (Koinē Greek: Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ; 69 – 10 or 12 August 30 BC) was the last active ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt. Antony failed to show his loyalty to Octavian when he rejected Octavian’s half-sister, Octavia, declaring Ptolemy Caesar the rightful ruler of Rome. It’s known, in part from a first century AD Roman poem, that the niches were made to hold the great bronze marine battering rams from some of … The secret meetings worked in her favour as Ceasar brought a Roman army to Alexandria, outnumbering Ptolemy’s XIII forces. Caesar’s Palace By the age of 14, Cleopatra became co-regent and deputy of her father, the king. And war was indeed declared by the Roman Senate – interestingly on Cleopatra as queen of Egypt rather than Antony. Adding insult to injury, he had children by her and named them his heirs. In 48 B.C., as Cleopatra plotted to regain power amid a civil war with her brother, the Roman historian Cassius Dio wrote that Egypt’s last pharaoh “reposed in her beauty all her claims to the throne.” She arranged a meeting with the Roman dictator Julius Caesar — a man notorious for his affairs with noblewomen — to ask his help. For her part, Cleopatra gave Caesar his only son, Ptolemy Kaisarion, and waited patiently when Caesar went off to dispense with the last remnants of his foes in North Africa. Ella Becroft as Bruttia Crispina. She was a powerful queen and a much stronger monarch than any of the latter Ptolemaic Dynasty. Cleopatra joined Caesar when he returned to Rome for his Triumph. Jared Turner as Cleander. Even so, Octavian had to work hard in the arena of propaganda to garner enough support to make war on Antony. With Aaron Irvin, Corey Brennan, Jerry Toner, Steve West. Cleopatra fled, with Antony soon following behind her; after a winter’s respite, Octavian arrived in Egypt with his forces. However, Cleopatra did not like sharing the throne with her husband/brother, and soon began to rule out his name in official documents. After losing the battle Antony heard rumours that Cleopatra had committed suicide, the news causing him to fall on his sword and die just as news arrived that the rumour was false. Caesar was assassinated in 44 B.C., setting the stage for another wave of civil wars, and Cleopatra fled Rome before the wrath of the plotters might visit itself upon her. This mess concluded in the Battle of Actium where Octavian’s forces soundly defeated those of Antony and Cleopatra in 31 BC. Antony, having lost the battle and the war, joined her there.