Who Is Responsible For Cleopatra's Downfall

Political turmoil also shaped this period. Soon after they assumed power, complications arose between Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIII. Eventually Cleopatra fled to Syria, where she assembled an army to defeat her rival in order to declare the throne for herself. In 48, she returned to Egypt with her military might and faced her brother at Pelusium, located on the empire’s eastern edge. Most of what we know about Cleopatra was written after her death when it was politically expedient to portray her as a threat to Rome and its stability. Thus, some of what we know about Cleopatra may have been exaggerated or misrepresented by those sources. Cassius Dio, one of the ancient sources that tells her story, summarizes her story as “She captivated the two greatest Romans of her day, and

Yet, it was not until after the death of her father in 51 BCE that Cleopatra ascended to the throne and married with her brother Ptolemy XIII, who was ten at the time. The marriage happened as per Egyptian custom and as instructed in her father’s will (Roberts 126). Although Cleopatra was married to her brother, a male with inherent power in the Egyptian culture, he was “kept firmly in the background” (Roberts 126). With the opportunity granted to her by her father’s death, she “made decisions of state” (Roberts 126). Unfortunately, Cleopatra taking over

Caesar had acclaimed himself to be the ruler of Egypt bringing 32 legionaries and 800 cavalry showing his true intentions of what he meant by being ruler of Egypt. He also brought twelve other soldiers who carried a bundle of rods with an axe with a blade that projected out. This was considered a badge of authority. After this Cleopatra’s sister Arsinoe and Ptolemy VIII declared rulers of Egypt as Arsinoe IV. Cleopatra wrapped herself up into a carpet and was delivered to Caesar’s palace. In his presence she became very seductive and managed to persuade Caesar to help her. The Alexandrian War started and during the war part of the Alexandrian library was burnt down along with some warehouses. During the war Caesar executed Pothinus and Ptolemy VIII drowned in the Nile trying to escape. Alexandria surrendered to Caesar who then captured Cleopatra’s younger sister and rightfully restored Cleopatra to the thrown.

Almost every pharaoh-queen was named Cleopatra, yet only one is ever thought of, Cleopatra Thea Philopator VII, “The Goddess and Beloved of her Father”. Every moment of her life from 69 BCE until August 12, 30 BCE was a story larger than life, epic in scale, and over the top in its grandeur. As the last reigning pharaoh of the Ptolemaic Dynasty in Ancient Egypt, she is remembered for her ability to rule as a political genius and a strong female leader living in a male-dominated world despite all odds being against her. Firstly, Cleopatra grew up in the Ptolemaic palace living a life of luxury, yet her subjects worshipped and even felt connected to her as more than just their queen. Secondly, after Cleopatra was exiled by her incompetent brother, Ptolemy XII, she came back with an army of mercenaries and took back Egypt to be its sole and more qualified ruler. Lastly, Cleopatra went to any means to secure her power and to ensure her nation’s financial and political strength; therefore what started off as a strategic alliance with Rome slowly became her dominance over most of the ancient world.

Cleopatra, Greek queen of Egypt, was born at the beginning of 69 B.C and one of the few women rulers in ancient Egypt. Her father was Ptolemy XII And Cleopatra was the last pharaoh in Egypt. She is known as clever, covetous, skilled, beguiling and manipulative. Cleopatra’s physical features are not certain and there is not enough information about her profile. “The colour of her eyes and of her hair is not known; nor can it be said whether her skin was white as alabaster, like that of many of her Macedonian fellow countrywomen, or whether it had that olive tone so often observed amongst the Greeks. Even her beauty, or rather the degree of her beauty, is not clearly defined.” Cleopatra was born at the finish of the Ptolemaic dynasty, because,

After Ptolemy XIII has his guardians revolt against Cleopatra, she was forced to flee to Syria, leaving the throne open to her brother and meaning she had to work to gain her power back. Cleopatra found an opportunity when Julius Caesar, one of the most powerful men in Rome at that time, arrived at Alexandria during his war with Pompey the Great. It was soon clear that Caesar and Ptolemy XIII were not amicable after Ptolemy presented the head of Pompey to Caesar, who, instead of being pleased with the defeat of his enemy, believed this move to be an insult to the greatness of his opponent. This gave Cleopatra the chance to create a connection between herself and Caesar, who prolonged his stay in Alexandria. Cleopatra smuggled herself in a rug into the palace where the Roman leader was staying, and impressed him with her intelligence, scheming and desirability that ran further, making her stand out from the rest of the women who tempted Caesar. It was not long before Caesar and Cleopatra began an affair, and he reinstated her power over Egypt, causing an end to the ruling of Ptolemy XIII and with it came the birth of Caesarion, their child and intended heir to the throne. Throughout this whole ordeal, it becomes apparent how calculating and knowledgeable Cleopatra was on how to influence the leader of Rome and to become appealing in a way that would

Cleopatra was an important figure in a pivotal age of Rome, when the empire’s entire political sphere was unstable; several men were vying for the ultimate control of Rome and ultimately the world at that time. Cleopatra VII became the queen of Egypt when she was only a teenager. She was different from past Egyptian rulers, because she was committed to seeing all sides of a situation and then calculating what to do. For example, Cleopatra’s family was actually of Greek descent, but Cleopatra tried to immerse herself in the Egyptian customs by

At the time Cleopatra gained power the future of the Dynasty was in danger. Places like Cyprus, Coele-Syria, and Cyrenaica were not under her kingdom anymore, and in the remaining places there was poverty and famine. But Cleopatra was an ambitious woman and wanted her kingdom to be a strong and great empire. Between Pompey and Julius Caesar there was a conflict which leads to in a struggle. Cleopatra supported him however he was defeated and after his defeat Caesar came in Egypt, in Alexandria.

When she first became co-ruler of Egypt with her brother, it was evident that “Cleopatra was the dominant ruler” (111). In order to gain more power, her brother banished her, because it was unacceptable for the woman to be more dominant in the eyes of her brother. The advisors at the time were sabotaging him against Cleopatra in order to gain control of Egypt. He banished her independently, and even though Cleopatra was clearly the higher ruler, he had the final word because he was male. Cleopatra continued to “hold the belief that she was the most qualified leader” for Egypt (168). The age difference between Cleopatra and her husband/brother made ruling together extremely difficult. Cleopatra realized that “both of her brothers had neither the influence nor intelligence to compete with the politics of the time”, and that she was going to make connections with men of power to make any kind of difference (90). Although exiled, she was still revered as a goddess-like powerful ruler. So she went to Thebaid to manipulate what godlike power she had left there. Her plan was to “muster her own military forces and prepare to wage a civil war for control of her kingdom” (119). However, when Cleopatra saw an alternative to military tactics, she seized the opportunity. Caesar’s victory marked a significant political shift in Rome. Recognizing that Caesar’s new unrivaled Roman power was a great

(“Cleopatra: The Woman…”) In 49 B.C., Cleopatra was forced to flee to Syria after Pothinus, Achillas, and Theodotus, who were Ptolemy XIII’s advisors, sought to overthrow her. They convinced the Egyptian people that Cleopatra was the cause of the famine that they were experiencing. (“Cleopatra.”)(“Cleopatra VII’s Childhood…”) She smuggled herself into the royal palace in a rug to plead her case with Julius Caesar. Cleopatra and Caesar became lovers. Ptolemy XIII discovered this and declared war on Caesar. Caesar overpowered Ptolemy XIII’s army and Ptolemy XIII drowned in the Nile River while trying to escape. (Cleopatra: The Woman…”)

While in Egypt, Caesar fought Pompey, his sons, and his troops and defeated them all. By winning this battle, Caesar made Cleopatra the ruler of all of Egypt. He gained great power and made himself the Roman dictator for as long as he lived. At this point, Caesar had practically become the master of the Roman world (Gruen 13). His power, though, would not last much longer.

Cleopatra was a woman. “Cleopatra stood at one of the most dangerous intersections in history: that of women and power. Clever women, Euripides had warned hundreds of years earlier, were dangerous” (112). The number of successful female leaders up until this day is drastically smaller than the male ones, and even now in 21st century the stereotype of a leader is a male. How did Cleopatra manage to go around this stereotype and become such a successful ruler? She got the men of her time obsessed with her. When thinking about power, we should remember Aristotle’s saying, “Yet what difference does it make weather the women rule or the rulers are ruled by women? The result is the same”. Cleopatra managed to be a ruler herself, while ruling the most influential men of her time. No one before, or after Cleopatra was ever able to do this again, but to this day she is a role model. She proved that not only men can be in charge and that women can do as much as a man

Cleopatra was kicked out of Egypt and of throne because of her brother. When she heard Julius Caesar was coming to Egypt, Cleopatra decided to meet him “seeking a political alliance and a return to the throne”, as stated in the website of Departments Kings Education. She knew it was too dangerous to go back to Egypt, so she smuggled herself in disguise into the palace of Caesar. The website KingTutOne.com states, “After being unrolled and revealed to Caesar, she captivated him with her intelligence. He was also amazed at her ambition and her goal to succeed”.

Cleopatra was a noteworthy Egyptian Pharaoh whose legacy and role was shaped by her experiences and achievements in ancient Egypt. It can be argued Cleopatra was a significant figure and her role and legacy was formed by her experiences, achievements because she stood for a symbol of power and strength in a time where society was male dominated. Cleopatra’s personality and early life impacted the beginning of her rise to power and in 51 BC she became sole leader of the Egypt. The key events in Cleopatra’s reign and the role she played during the alliance between herself and Caesar impacted on her reign. External factors informed her motives, which pushed her to make decisions during her rule, as it significantly impacted her relationship with Mark Antony. Cleopatra’s legacy had short and long-term effects; the consequences of her decisions pushed her to commit suicide, the events and choices she made during her life portrayed her significance.

The division of the royal family provided Cleopatra with an opportunity to use Caesar to kill her siblings in battle. As Cleopatra wanted, Caesar reinforced his troops and easily defeated the rebels resulting in Ptolemy drowning while retreating. Following this Caesar captured Arsinoe, who had survived and sent her back to his country of Rome as a prisoner. Caesar also executed numerous enemies of Cleopatra and imprisoned others who opposed her. Caesar also supplied Cleopatra with a child, whom after Ptolemy XIV’s death she made co-regent as a three year couldn't interfere with her plans (Schiff, 2010).