History of Cleopatra VII

1
History of Cleopatra VII

• By Francesca G and Joshua C
• Rhodes Middle School

2
Cleopatra VII The Last Pharaoh

• Cleopatra VII was born in 69 B.C. in Alexandria,
  the capitol of Egypt.
• First married at about age 17 or 18.
• Most likely died form suicide.
• Died at age 39.

3
The Family

• Cleopatra VII was the daughter of Egypts
  Pharaoh, Ptolemy XII and Cleopatra V, Ptolemy VII
  s sister.
• She had 2 older sisters, Bernice and Cleopatra
  VI, 1 younger sister, Arsinoe, and 2 younger
  brothers both named Ptolemy after their father.
  She stood 3rd place in age of her siblings.
• Her and her family were not truly Egyptian, but
  Macedonian.

4
Father Overthrown.

• In 58 B.C. Cleopatras father, Ptolemy XII, was
  over throne by Alexandria and hid out in Rome
  while her eldest sister Bernice, took over the
  throne. After reaching Rome, Ptolemy had gotten
  help from Pompey, a Roman General. Bernice took
  over for about 3 years. During these 3 years,
  Cleopatras older sister Cleopatra VI died of and
  unknown cause. In 55 B.C., her father returned
  and had his daughter Bernice beheaded which left
  Cleopatra VII as the oldest child.

5
Queen of Egypt

• After her father died in 51 B.C., he left his
  children in the care of Pompey. Cleopatra VII and
  her oldest brother Ptolemy XIII, took over the
  throne. At just age 17 or so, Cleopatra was the
  Queen of Egypt. She married her brother Ptolemy
  XIII when she was 18 and he was at the age 12.
  They were only married through convenience and he
  stayed in the background as Cleopatra ruled Egypt
  alone for the next 3 years.

6
His Jealous Rage

• In 48 B.C., Ptolemy was fed up with Cleopatras
  independence and with the leader of his
  henchmen, Pothinus, he stripped her of her power.
  She was forced to exile in Syria, her younger
  sister Arsinoe went with her. She was determined
  to regain her throne so she got an army on the
  Egyptian border on her side. She also got the
  help of Julius Caesar.

7
Pompey vs. Caesar

• Pompey was competing with Julius Caesar for
  control over Rome. After losing the Battle of
  Pharsalos, he sailed back to Egypt. Ptolemy knew
  they were both coming. Pompey needed Ptolemys
  help and thought he could go to him. Though
  Ptolemy thought he should side with Caesar so
  upon his arrival, he had Pompey stabbed to death.

8
Caesar Reaches Egypt

• Shortly after Caesar arrived in Alexandria, he
  had gotten a little present from Ptolemy. He
  had sent him Pompeys head. Caesar was upset
  after remembering that he and Pompey were once
  good friends. He charged into the palace and
  Ptolemy and Cleopatra were to send out his armies
  but she knew if she entered Alexandria, Ptolemy
  would probably kill her.

9
Caesar Gets a Surprise

• Knowing the risk, Cleopatra had herself smuggled
  to Caesar. Rolled in and oriental rug, she had
  herself shipped to Caesar. That night he had been
  bewitched by her charm and that very night, they
  became lovers. The next day Ptolemy saw the two
  together and was extremely angry.

10
The Alexandrian War

• Caesar had Ptolemy arrested but his army led by
  Arsinoe and Pothinus led a siege to the palace.
  Caesar let Ptolemy free trying to please the army
  but the Alexandrian War led on for another 6
  months which ended after Pothinus was killed in
  battle and Ptolemy had drowned in the Nile while
  trying to run away. Caesar captured her sister
  Arsinoe and restored Cleopatra to her throne. She
  then married her only other brother Ptolemy XIV.

11
Cleos Rendezvous

• Cleopatra and Caesar enjoyed a two month cruise
  on the Nile River. It is said that she had gotten
  pregnant at this time. She gave birth to a son
  who she named Ptolemy XV or Caesarion, which
  meant Little Caesar. Caesar was probably not
  the true father of Caesarion but he treated him
  with the love and care of his son. After the 2
  month cruise, he went back to Rome and Cleopatra
  and her son went back to Alexandria.

12
They Meet Again

• In 46 B.C., Julius invited Cleopatra to come
  visit him in Rome so she arrived in autumn with
  her son, and her husband Ptolemy XIV. She lived
  with him for the next two years. He intended to
  pass a law that allowed him to marry her despite
  his current wife at the time Calpurina. He also
  wanted to make their son the heir to the
  throne. On March 14, 44 B.C., Julius Caesar was
  surrounded by a mob and was stabbed to death.

13
Returning Home

• After the death of her beloved Julius Caesar, she
  returned to Alexandria knowing that she might be
  in trouble too. Shortly after reaching
  Alexandria, Ptolemy XIV died possibly of poison
  that she herself commanded her servants to use.
  After Julius died, Rome was split up into the
  care of 3 men, Octavian ( Caesars nephew),
  Marcus Lepidus, and Marcus Antonius later known
  as Mark Antony.

14
Mark Antony

• In 42 B.C., Mark Antony called on Cleo to ask if
  she was supporting his enemies. He was impressed
  by her and like Julius, was enchanted by her
  charm and beauty. He invited her to dinner and
  fell in love. He dropped all of his
  responsibilities and left with her to Alexandria
  where he spent the winter with her. Later he said
  his goodbyes and went back to Rome to pick up his
  duties. About 6 months after he left she gave
  birth to twins. She named them Cleopatra Selene
  and Alexander Helios.

15
Reunited

• About 4 years later, she saw Antony again. Before
  then he had married Octavians half sister
  Octavia and had two children both named Antonia.
  He had visited Cleo again on his way to invade
  Parthia. In 36 B.C. they had married and she gave
  birth to yet another son who they named Ptolemy
  Philadelphus.

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The Other Woman

• Back in Rome, Octavia, Antonys other wife stayed
  loyal to him and decided to go visit him. After
  reaching Athens, she got a letter from him saying
  he would meet her there. Cleopatra was determined
  to keep him away form her so she broke out into a
  jealous rage and started crying and starved
  herself and fainted until he finally agreed not
  to go. Octavia left without seeing him. Cleopatra
  yet again, got her way.

17
The Romans Arent Too Dandy

• The Romans were angry on how he had treated
  Octavia and he and Cleopatra started calling
  themselves Gods. Even more so that they claimed
  Cleopatra Selene the Queen of Cyrenaica and
  Crete, Alexander Helios the King of Armenia,
  Ptolemy Philadelphus the King of Syria and
  Caesarion the King of Kings and Cleopatra The
  Queen of Kings. Octavian was outraged and had the
  Roman Senate declare war on Egypt.

18
The Sea Battle

• In 31 B.C., a Sea Battle took place between
  Antonys forces and the Romans on the shores of
  Actium, Greece. Cleopatra arrived and saw how
  badly Antony was losing to Rome and left though
  Antony left his armies to follow her. During
  their way back he refused to look at or talk to
  Cleopatra. He returned to her after he had
  received word that his armies surrendered to
  Octavian at the Sea Battle. Soon after, Cleo
  started experimenting with different poisons to
  see which ones would create the least painful
  death.

19
The Mausoleum

• Cleopatra built a great mausoleum in which she
  stored all of her gold, silver, diamonds, and
  jewels in. In 30 B.C., Octavian reached
  Alexandria and Antony brought his armies out to
  meet him. His armies and his cavalry joined
  Octavian. He returned to the palace angry that
  Cleo had betrayed him. Afraid that he would hurt
  her, she locked herself in her mausoleum and
  ordered her servants to tell Mark Antony she was
  dead. He believed what he was told.

20
Antonys Misery

• After comprehending that his love was really
  dead, he cried out , "Now, Antony, why delay
  longer? Fate has snatched away your only reason
  for living. He went to his room where he swore
  he would be with his love soon. He ordered his
  lead servant Eros to kill him but Eros refused
  and instead, killed himself. "Well done, Eros,
  you show your master how to do what you didn't
  have the heart to do yourself." Antony said as he
  saw his servant dying at his feet. He then
  stabbed himself in the stomach and passed out.

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Happiness Leads To His Death

• Shortly after awakening, one of Cleopatras
  servants told him that she wanted to see him. He
  was overjoyed that she was alive and went to her
  side calling him her lord, husband and emperor.
  He asked her not to pity over him and died in her
  arms.

22
Heres OCTAVIAN

• When Octavian arrived in Alexandria, Cleopatra
  refused to let him in. As he had one man keep her
  busy, he and the rest of his army climbed in
  through the windows. After seeing them she tried
  to stab herself to death. She was disarmed and
  taken as prisoner along with her children.
  Octavian allowed her to give Antony a burial and
  then she cried out to Octavian that she wanted to
  live, though this was just a false sense of
  security.

23
The Last Feast

• Cleopatra ordered a great feast (which was to be
  her last). A basket of figs arrived and were
  checked by the guards. Since they found nothing
  interesting, they were allowed to be given to
  Cleopatra. After eating, she sent Octavian a
  letter asking if she would please be buried in
  Antonys tomb. Octavian sent out the word that
  she was going to commit suicide but it was too
  late. Once they reached her room, all they found
  were two maids and the body of 39 year old
  Cleopatra lifeless on her bed.

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How? That Is The Question

• It is said that the way she committed suicide was
  an asp ( a venomous snake) since they later found
  2 pricks on her arm. She might have allowed the
  asp to bite her which was brought in with the
  figs unseen. Some say it was poison that did her
  in. The theory that she was killed was almost
  eliminated since the only two in her room were
  her maids unless maybethey were the answer to
  her death wish. Nobody is quite sure how she died
  but scientists are digging up more clues all the
  time.

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How Did She Change Our World Today?

• Most people think of Cleopatra when they hear the
  word EGYPT. She is a woman who changed history
  from little kids dressed up as her for Halloween,
  to the hit 80s song Walk Like An Egyptian from
  The Bangles. We think that she has effected the
  world by making
• Egypt what it is today which is now a very well
  balanced country due to her rule over it while
  she was alive