Women on the throne.. Cleopatra VII, the most famous queen in history

Perhaps no woman in history has ever been as famous as Cleopatra VII, the last king of the Ptolemaic dynasty, which is considered a meeting point between the Greek, Pharaonic and Roman civilizations. The events that Cleopatra experienced greatly contributed to increasing this fame, until the beautiful queen became one of the legends of history and the heroines of novels, stories, films and dramas.Birth and upbringing

Cleopatra VII, daughter of the ruler of Egypt (Ptolemy XII), was born in 69 BC. History does not mention her mother, although some writings indicate that (Cleopatra V) is the mother of her sister (Berenice IV). Cleopatra VII received her education in the royal palace at the hands of Greek professors and philosophers, and completed her studies at the Alexandria Museum, where she mastered languages, history, geography and political science.

Cleopatra VII was close to her father, Ptolemy XII, to the point that she accompanied him on his trip to Rome in 58 BC when he was exiled after the revolution that occurred in the country. When he returned to Egypt again in 55 BC, Cleopatra VII returned with him and stayed with him for four years until he died in 51 BC. He had left in his will what indicated that his daughter Cleopatra would share the rule of the country with her brother (Ptolemy XIII).The Road to Rule Egypt

The struggle for rule over Egypt was intense between Cleopatra VII and her brother Ptolemy XIII, shortly after the death of their father Ptolemy XII, at a time when Egypt was going through a number of crises, most notably the drought problem that led to a major famine; as a result of the decline in the Nile waters, in addition to the tendency of Roman soldiers in Egypt to loot and plunder, in addition to the large debts left by the former king Ptolemy XII to the Roman Republic, which exceeded 18 million drachmas.

Historical evidence indicates that Cleopatra VII completely refused to share rule with her brother Ptolemy XIII, and relied on great popular support, in addition to a number of political and military figures who supported the rule of Egypt, but her brother Ptolemy XIII also enjoyed the support of a number of Roman leaders, and some military leaders within the army; Cleopatra was forced to form an alliance with her younger brother Ptolemy XIV, but Ptolemy XIII managed to seize power and control the army by 49 BC, as indicated by documents and correspondence bearing his seal and signature at the time.

With Cleopatra not accepting surrender and the idea of ​​relinquishing rule of Egypt, battles began between the forces loyal to Cleopatra VII and the forces loyal to her brother Ptolemy XIII; which led to Cleopatra's defeat and her escape from Alexandria, then her travel to (Roman Syria) in order to gather a military force through which she could control the rule of the country again, but her brother learned of her arrival, so he besieged her in the Delta region, and prevented her from entering Alexandria again.

The turning point in Cleopatra's return to events and perhaps her return to the throne of Egypt was the arrival of Julius Caesar, the Roman ruler, to Egypt, where events and conflicts escalated between the Roman parties on the one hand and the Egyptian parties on the other. With Caesar's arrival in Alexandria, he tried to calm things down between Cleopatra and her brother Ptolemy XIII, as Cleopatra was able, with her beauty and intelligence, to arouse Caesar's interest, which angered her brother Ptolemy XIII. Events developed in a new direction when Ptolemy XIII united in the union and allied with some of the Roman forces opposed to Caesar, and asked for their help to fight Cleopatra and Caesar, a battle that ultimately led to the killing of Ptolemy XIII while he was escaping in a boat in the waters of the Nile River, which ended the conflict over the throne of Egypt, so that Cleopatra VII became the ruler of the country without a partner or competitor, and with the support and blessing of Caesar, the ruler of Rome, who had just begun his relationship with Cleopatra VII, which resulted in a child named (Caesarion).Cleopatra VII's Achievements

Although all the news and blogs about Queen Cleopatra VII talk about her struggle to take over the rule and her relationship with Julius Caesar, then her relationship with Mark Antony, there are some great achievements attributed to the queen who took over the rule at the age of sixteen, as she was the most famous woman to rule Egypt from a foreign dynasty, the Ptolemaic dynasty, and she was also the first ruler to speak a number of languages, as she was fluent in Greek, Roman, and ancient Egyptian, in addition to Hebrew and Arabic.

Cleopatra was able to regain all the lands that the Romans had seized during their presence in Egypt, and returned the lands to the farmers again, and was able to confront the Roman garrison, and impose order, security and internal stability that was absent during the reign of her father and brother.

Cleopatra VII also cared about irrigation and agricultural projects, securing trade routes, and issuing laws related to transactions and contracts, which greatly helped in returning commercial prosperity to Egypt after the famine caused by the low level of the Nile River.

Cleopatra established a perfume factory and another factory for manufacturing medicines, and was able to benefit from the plants that grow in Egypt in manufacturing a number of chemicals used in industry, treatment and cosmetics.

Cleopatra established a number of rules that organized the affairs of government, such as dividing the country into a group of administrative sections through which the affairs of the country could be managed, areas of neglect could be identified, and projects and plans could be implemented. She also approved a new system of accountability, which is to hold accountable government officials who exploit their positions or neglect their duties, whether in civil or military positions.Cleopatra's Fall Journey

Although Cleopatra VII was able to rule Egypt alone with the help of Julius Caesar, things began to turn upside down, and Cleopatra returned once again to the struggle to remain on the throne, as events began with Cleopatra VII's visit to Rome at the end of 46 BC, at the invitation of Julius Caesar, who never recognized his son from Cleopatra, and who hoped to convince him to recognize him; To be a partner in the rule, and while Cleopatra was in Rome, Julius Caesar was assassinated, which brought her back to the point of conflict again.

After Caesar's murder, power in Rome was divided between Antony and Octavian, and Cleopatra had to join one of the two camps in order to maintain her rule in Egypt, and she chose Antony's camp, which controlled the eastern half of the Roman Empire by 42 BC, which prompted Cleopatra to welcome him to Egypt in 41 BC with great enthusiasm, and she became close to him; To be her partner as Caesar was before, and indeed she was able to benefit from this relationship, as Antony regained for her all the lands that were previously controlled by the Ptolemaic state, and she became under the leadership of Cleopatra again.

The relationship between Cleopatra and Antony continued, and she gave birth to twins, so he got to know them, and gave them many gains that provoked the people of Rome and the men of power and rule in the Roman Empire; Which hastened a major clash between the commander of the western part of the empire Octavius ​​and the commander of the eastern part of the empire, and Mark Antony witnessed the Battle of Actium in which Octavius ​​defeated the army of Antony and Cleopatra in 31 BC, and it was a terrifying end to the story of the beautiful queen with intelligence and cunning and her husband, the famous Roman commander.

Cleopatra's Suicide

After the defeat in the naval battle of Actium, Antony tried to maneuver and try to restore resistance again, while Cleopatra, for her part, tried with several letters to appease Octavian, and try to reach an agreement, so that her son Caesarion would take over the rule in Egypt, and Cleopatra would be exiled and leave the country, or offer concessions and money in the future to Octavian, but he did not accept that and marched to attack Egypt.

Before Octavian entered Egypt, Cleopatra sent to Antony to tell him that she had committed suicide, which made him stab himself until he died at the age of 53, while she backed down from committing suicide until Octavian arrived, who rejected all her requests, and insisted on taking her and her three children to Rome, where (the victory parade) is an ancient Roman tradition, so that the people of Rome would see them in chains, which Cleopatra did not accept; because it represents an insult and humiliation to the queen who ruled the country and the heads of men bowed to her, so she committed suicide.

Unconfirmed accounts say that she allowed the Egyptian cobra to bite her and she died of poisoning, while some other sayings indicate that she used a type of ointment containing a strong combination of toxins. Thus, Cleopatra died at the age of 39 after living through many events and conflicts in her short life, leaving behind her son Caesarion, who was declared ruler of Egypt for only 18 days, then Octavian issued orders to execute him, so the Ptolemaic state fell and became part of history full of events, facts and lies as well.