Early childhood Cleopatra VII was born in early 69 BC to the ruling
Ptolemaic pharaoh Ptolemy XII and an uncertain mother, presumably Ptolemy XII's wife
Cleopatra V Tryphaena (who may have been the same person as
Cleopatra VI Tryphaena), Cleopatra Tryphaena disappears from official records a few months after the birth of Cleopatra in 69 BC. The three younger children of Ptolemy XII, Cleopatra's sister
Arsinoe IV and brothers
Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator and
Ptolemy XIV Philopator, were born in the absence of his wife. Cleopatra's childhood tutor was Philostratos, from whom she learned the
Greek arts of oration and
philosophy. During her youth Cleopatra presumably studied at the
Musaeum, including the
Library of Alexandria.
Reign and exile of Ptolemy XII and pearl-studded hairpins, from Roman
Herculaneum, Italy, 1st century AD In 65 BC the
Roman censor Marcus Licinius Crassus argued before the
Roman Senate that Rome should annex Ptolemaic Egypt, but his
proposed bill and the similar bill of
tribune Servilius Rullus in 63 BC were rejected. Ptolemy XII responded to the threat of possible annexation by offering
remuneration and lavish gifts to powerful Roman statesmen, such as
Pompey during
his campaign against
Mithridates VI of Pontus, and eventually
Julius Caesar after he became
Roman consul in 59 BC. However, Ptolemy XII's profligate behavior bankrupted him, and he was forced to acquire loans from the
Roman banker Gaius Rabirius Postumus. In 58 BC the Romans
annexed Cyprus and on accusations of piracy drove Ptolemy of Cyprus, Ptolemy XII's brother, to commit suicide instead of enduring exile to
Paphos. Ptolemy XII remained publicly silent on the death of his brother, a decision which, along with ceding traditional Ptolemaic territory to the Romans, damaged his credibility among subjects already enraged by his economic policies. Ptolemy XII was then exiled from Egypt by force, traveling first to
Rhodes, then
Athens, and finally the
villa of
triumvir Pompey in the
Alban Hills, near
Praeneste, Italy. Ptolemy XII spent up to a year there on the outskirts of Rome, ostensibly accompanied by his daughter Cleopatra, then about 11. Berenice IV sent an embassy to Rome to advocate for her rule and oppose the reinstatement of her father. Ptolemy had assassins kill the leaders of the embassy, an incident that was covered up by his powerful Roman supporters. When the Roman Senate denied Ptolemy XII the offer of an armed escort and provisions for a return to Egypt, he decided to leave Rome in late 57 BC and reside at the
Temple of Artemis in
Ephesus. The Roman financiers of Ptolemy XII remained determined to restore him to power. Pompey persuaded
Aulus Gabinius, the
Roman governor of Syria, to invade Egypt and restore Ptolemy XII, offering him 10,000
talents for the proposed mission. Although it put him at odds with
Roman law, Gabinius invaded Egypt in the spring of 55 BC by way of
Hasmonean Judea, where
Hyrcanus II had
Antipater the Idumaean, father of
Herod the Great, furnish the Roman-led army with supplies. As a young cavalry officer,
Mark Antony was under Gabinius's command. He distinguished himself by preventing Ptolemy XII from massacring the inhabitants of
Pelousion and for rescuing the body of Berenice's husband,
Archelaos, after he was killed in battle, ensuring him a proper royal burial. Cleopatra, then 14 years of age, would have traveled with the Roman expedition into Egypt; years later, Antony would profess that he had fallen in love with her at this time. (green) and
Ptolemaic Egypt (yellow) in 40 BC Gabinius was put on trial in Rome for abusing his authority, for which he was acquitted. However, his second trial, for accepting bribes, led to his exile. He was recalled from exile seven years later, in 48 BC, by Caesar. Crassus replaced him as governor of Syria and extended his provincial command to Egypt, but Crassus was killed by the
Parthians at the
Battle of Carrhae in 53 BC. Ptolemy XII had Berenice and her wealthy supporters executed, seizing their properties. He allowed Gabinius's largely
Germanic and
Gallic Roman garrison, the
Gabiniani, to harass people in the streets of Alexandria and installed his longtime Roman financier Rabirius as his chief financial officer. Within a year, Rabirius was placed under protective custody and sent back to Rome after his life was endangered for draining Egypt of its resources. Despite these problems, Ptolemy XII created a will designating Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIII as his joint heirs, oversaw major construction projects such as the
Temple of Edfu and a temple at
Dendera, and stabilized the economy. On 31 May 52 BC, Cleopatra was made a regent to Ptolemy XII, as indicated by an inscription in the
Temple of Hathor at Dendera. Rabirius was unable to collect the entirety of Ptolemy XII's debt by the time of the latter's death, and so it was passed on to his successors Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIII.
Reign Accession to the throne Ptolemy XII died sometime before 22 March 51 BC, when Cleopatra, in her first act as queen, began her voyage to
Hermonthis, near
Thebes, to install a new sacred
Buchis bull, worshiped as an intermediary for the god
Montu in the
Ancient Egyptian religion. Cleopatra faced several pressing issues and emergencies shortly after taking the throne. These included famine caused by drought and a low level of the annual
flooding of the Nile, and lawless behavior instigated by the
Gabiniani, the now unemployed and assimilated Roman soldiers left by
Gabinius to garrison Egypt. Inheriting her father's debts, Cleopatra also owed the
Roman Republic 17.5 million
drachmas. In 50 BC,
Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus,
proconsul of Syria, sent his two eldest sons to Egypt, most likely to negotiate with the Gabiniani and recruit them as soldiers in the desperate defense of Syria
against the Parthians. The Gabiniani tortured and murdered these two, perhaps with secret encouragement by rogue senior administrators in Cleopatra's court. Cleopatra sent the Gabiniani culprits to Bibulus as prisoners awaiting his judgment, but he sent them back to Cleopatra and chastised her for interfering in their adjudication, which was the prerogative of the Roman Senate. Bibulus, siding with Pompey in
Caesar's Civil War, failed to prevent Caesar from landing a naval fleet in Greece, which ultimately allowed Caesar to reach Egypt in pursuit of Pompey. By 29 August 51 BC, official documents started listing Cleopatra as the sole ruler, evidence that she had rejected her brother Ptolemy XIII as a co-ruler. She had probably married him, but there is no record of this. The Ptolemaic practice of
sibling marriage was introduced by
Ptolemy II and his sister
Arsinoe II. A
long-held royal Egyptian practice, it was loathed by contemporary
Greeks. By the reign of Cleopatra, however, it was considered a normal arrangement for Ptolemaic rulers. Despite Cleopatra's rejection of him, Ptolemy XIII still retained powerful allies, notably the eunuch
Potheinos, his childhood tutor, regent, and administrator of his properties. Others involved in the cabal against Cleopatra included
Achillas, a prominent military commander, and
Theodotus of Chios, another tutor of Ptolemy XIII. Cleopatra seems to have attempted a short-lived alliance with her brother Ptolemy XIV, but by the autumn of 50 BC Ptolemy XIII had the upper hand in their conflict and began signing documents with his name before that of his sister, followed by the establishment of his first
regnal date in 49 BC.
Assassination of Pompey made during the reign of
Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD), a copy of an original from 70 to 60 BC, and located in the
Venice National Archaeological Museum, Italy In the summer of 49 BC, Cleopatra and
her forces were still fighting against Ptolemy XIII within Alexandria when Pompey's son
Gnaeus Pompeius arrived, seeking military aid on behalf of his father. After returning to Italy from
the wars in Gaul and
crossing the Rubicon in January of 49 BC, Caesar had forced Pompey and his supporters to
flee to Greece. In perhaps their last joint decree, both Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIII agreed to Gnaeus Pompeius's request and sent his father 60 ships and 500 troops, including the Gabiniani, a move that helped erase some of the debt owed to Rome. Losing the fight against her brother, Cleopatra was then forced to flee Alexandria and withdraw to the region of Thebes. By the spring of 48 BC Cleopatra had traveled to
Roman Syria with her younger sister, Arsinoe IV, to gather an invasion force that would head to Egypt. She returned with an army, but her advance to Alexandria was blocked by her brother's forces, including some Gabiniani mobilized to fight against her, so she camped outside Pelousion in the eastern
Nile Delta. In Greece, Caesar and Pompey's forces engaged each other at the decisive
Battle of Pharsalus on 9August 48 BC, leading to the destruction of most of Pompey's army and his forced flight to
Tyre, Lebanon. Given his close relationship with the Ptolemies, Pompey ultimately decided that Egypt would be his place of refuge, where he could replenish his forces. Ptolemy XIII's advisers, however, feared the idea of Pompey using Egypt as his base in a protracted Roman civil war. In a scheme devised by Theodotus, Pompey arrived by ship near Pelousion after being invited by a written message, only to be ambushed and stabbed to death on 28 September 48 BC. Ptolemy XIII believed he had demonstrated his power and simultaneously defused the situation by having Pompey's head, severed and
embalmed, sent to Caesar, who arrived in Alexandria by early October and took up residence at the royal palace.
Relationship with Julius Caesar '' (1866), a painting by
Jean-Léon Gérôme Ptolemy XIII arrived at Alexandria at the head of his army, in clear defiance of Caesar's demand that he disband and leave his army before his arrival. Cleopatra initially sent emissaries to Caesar, but upon allegedly hearing that Caesar was inclined to having affairs with royal women, she came to Alexandria to see him personally. Historian
Cassius Dio records that she did so without informing her brother, dressed in an attractive manner, and charmed Caesar with her wit.
Plutarch provides an entirely different account that alleges she was bound inside a bed sack to be smuggled into the palace to meet Caesar. When Ptolemy XIII realized that his sister was in the palace consorting directly with Caesar, he attempted to rouse the populace of Alexandria into a riot, but he was arrested by Caesar, who used his oratorical skills to calm the frenzied crowd. Caesar then brought Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIII before the
assembly of Alexandria, where Caesar revealed the written will of Ptolemy XII—previously possessed by Pompey—naming Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIII as his joint heirs. Caesar then attempted to arrange for the other two siblings, Arsinoe IV and Ptolemy XIV, to rule together over Cyprus, thus removing potential rival claimants to the Egyptian throne while also appeasing the Ptolemaic subjects still bitter over the loss of Cyprus to the Romans in 58 BC. After Caesar managed to execute Potheinos, Arsinoe joined forces with Achillas and was declared queen, but soon afterward had her tutor
Ganymedes kill Achillas and take his position as commander of her army. Ganymedes then tricked Caesar into requesting the presence of the erstwhile captive Ptolemy XIII as a negotiator, only to have him join Arsinoe's army. The resulting
siege of the palace, with Caesar and Cleopatra trapped together inside, lasted into the following year of 47 BC. , a contemporary Roman sculpture of
Julius Caesar located in the Archaeological Museum of
Turin, Italy Sometime between January and March of 47 BC, Caesar's reinforcements arrived, including those led by
Mithridates of Pergamon and
Antipater the Idumaean. Ptolemy XIII and Arsinoe IV withdrew their forces to the
Nile,
where Caesar attacked them. Ptolemy XIII tried to flee by boat, but it capsized, and he drowned. Ganymedes may have been killed in the battle.
Theodotus was found years later in Asia, by
Marcus Junius Brutus, and executed. Caesar paraded Arsinoe in his
triumph in Rome before exiling her to the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus. Cleopatra was conspicuously absent from these events and resided in the palace, most likely because she had been pregnant with Caesar's child since September 48 BC. Caesar's term as consul had expired at the end of 48 BC. However, Antony, an officer of his, helped to secure Caesar's appointment as
dictator lasting for a year, until October 47 BC, providing Caesar with the legal authority to settle the dynastic dispute in Egypt. Wary of repeating the mistake of Cleopatra's sister Berenice IV in having a female monarch as sole ruler, Caesar appointed the 12-year-old Ptolemy XIV as joint ruler with the 22-year-old Cleopatra in a nominal sibling marriage, but Cleopatra continued living privately with Caesar. The exact date at which Cyprus was returned to her control is not known, although she had a governor there by 42 BC. Caesar is alleged to have joined Cleopatra for a cruise of the Nile and sightseeing of
Egyptian monuments, although this may be a romantic tale reflecting later well-to-do Roman proclivities and not a real historical event. The historian
Suetonius provided considerable details about the voyage, including use of
Thalamegos, the
pleasure barge constructed by
Ptolemy IV, which during his reign measured in length and in height and was complete with dining rooms, state rooms, holy shrines, and
promenades along its two decks, resembling a floating villa. Caesar could have had an interest in the Nile cruise owing to his fascination with geography; he was well-read in the works of
Eratosthenes and
Pytheas, and perhaps wanted to discover the source of the river, but turned back before reaching Ethiopia. Caesar departed from Egypt around April 47 BC, allegedly to confront
Pharnaces II of Pontus, the son of Mithridates VI of Pontus, who was stirring up trouble for Rome in Anatolia. It is possible that Caesar, married to the prominent Roman woman
Calpurnia, also wanted to avoid being seen together with Cleopatra when she had their son. He left three legions in Egypt, later increased to four, under the command of the
freedman Rufio, to secure Cleopatra's tenuous position, but also perhaps to keep her activities in check. queen, possibly Cleopatra, , located in the
Brooklyn Museum Caesarion, Cleopatra's alleged child with Caesar, was born sometime in 47, possibly on 23 June 47 BC if
stele at the
Serapeum of Saqqara that mentions "King Caesar" refers to him. Perhaps owing to his still childless marriage with Calpurnia, Caesar remained publicly silent about Caesarion (but perhaps accepted his parentage in private). Cleopatra, on the other hand, made repeated official declarations about Caesarion's parentage, naming Caesar as the father. Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIV visited Rome sometime in late 46 BC, presumably without Caesarion, and were given lodging in Caesar's villa within the
Horti Caesaris. As with their father Ptolemy XII, Caesar awarded both Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIV the legal status of "friend and ally of the Roman people" (), in effect client rulers loyal to Rome. Cleopatra's visitors at Caesar's villa across the
Tiber included the senator
Cicero, who found her arrogant.
Sosigenes of Alexandria, one of the members of Cleopatra's court, aided Caesar in the calculations for the new
Julian calendar, put into effect 1January 45 BC. The
Temple of Venus Genetrix, established in the
Forum of Caesar on 25 September 46 BC, contained a golden statue of Cleopatra (which stood there at least until the 3rd century AD), associating the mother of Caesar's child directly with the goddess
Venus, mother of the Romans. The statue also subtly linked the Egyptian goddess
Isis with the
Roman religion. Cleopatra's presence in Rome most likely had an effect on the events at the
Lupercalia festival a month before Caesar's assassination. Antony attempted to place a royal
diadem on Caesar's head, but Caesar refused in what was most likely a staged performance, perhaps to gauge the Roman public's mood about accepting Hellenistic-style kingship. Cicero, who was present at the festival, mockingly asked where the diadem came from, an obvious reference to the Ptolemaic queen whom he abhorred.
Caesar was assassinated on the
Ides of March (15 March 44 BC), but Cleopatra stayed in Rome until about mid-April, in the vain hope of having Caesarion recognized as Caesar's heir. However, Caesar's will named his grandnephew
Octavian as the primary heir, and Octavian
arrived in Italy around the same time Cleopatra decided to depart for Egypt. It is suggested, based on Cicero's letter, that Cleopatra might have been pregnant at that time with her and Caesar's second child; if so, this pregnancy ended in the loss of the baby. A few months later, Ptolemy XIV died—allegedly poisoned by Cleopatra—and she elevated her son Caesarion as her co-ruler.
Liberators' civil war in Tarsos (now
Tarsus, Mersin, Turkey), the site where she met
Mark Antony in 41 BC Octavian, Antony, and
Marcus Aemilius Lepidus formed the
Second Triumvirate in 43 BC, in which they were each
elected for five-year terms to restore order in the Republic and
bring Caesar's assassins to justice. Cleopatra received messages from both
Gaius Cassius Longinus, one of Caesar's assassins, and
Publius Cornelius Dolabella, proconsul of Syria and Caesarian loyalist, requesting military aid. She decided to write Cassius an excuse that her kingdom faced too many internal problems, while sending the four legions left by Caesar in Egypt to Dolabella. These troops were captured by Cassius in
Palestine. While
Serapion, Cleopatra's governor of Cyprus, defected to Cassius and provided him with ships, Cleopatra took her own fleet to Greece to personally assist Octavian and Antony. Her ships were heavily damaged in a Mediterranean storm, and she arrived too late to aid in the fighting. By the autumn of 42 BC, Antony had defeated the forces of Caesar's assassins at the
Battle of Philippi in Greece, leading to the suicides of Cassius and Brutus. By the end of 42 BC, Octavian had gained control over much of
the western half of the Roman Republic and Antony the eastern half, with Lepidus largely marginalized. In the summer of 41 BC, Antony established his headquarters at
Tarsos in Anatolia and summoned Cleopatra there in several letters, which she rebuffed until Antony's envoy
Quintus Dellius convinced her to come. The meeting would allow Cleopatra to clear up the misconception that she had supported Cassius during the civil war and address territorial exchanges in the
Levant, but Antony also undoubtedly desired to form a personal, romantic relationship with the queen. Cleopatra sailed up the
Kydnos River to Tarsos in
Thalamegos, hosting Antony and his officers for two nights of lavish banquets on board the ship. Cleopatra managed to clear her name as a supposed supporter of Cassius, arguing she had really attempted to help Dolabella in Syria, and convinced Antony to have her exiled sister, Arsinoe, executed at Ephesus. Cleopatra's former rebellious governor of Cyprus was also handed over to her for execution.
Relationship with Mark Antony depicting
Mark Antony minted by
Marcus Barbatius Cleopatra invited Antony to come to Egypt before departing from Tarsos, which led Antony to visit Alexandria by November 41 BC. Antony was well received by the populace of Alexandria, both for his heroic actions in restoring Ptolemy XII to power and coming to Egypt without an occupation force like Caesar had done. In Egypt, Antony continued to enjoy the lavish royal lifestyle he had witnessed aboard Cleopatra's ship docked at Tarsos. He also had his subordinates, such as
Publius Ventidius Bassus,
drive the Parthians out of Anatolia and Syria. Cleopatra carefully chose Antony as her partner for producing further heirs, as he was deemed to be the most powerful Roman figure following Caesar's demise. With his powers as a triumvir, Antony also had the broad authority to restore former Ptolemaic lands, which were currently in Roman hands, to Cleopatra. While it is clear that both
Cilicia and Cyprus were under Cleopatra's control by 19 November 38 BC, the transfer probably occurred earlier in the winter of 41–40 BC, during her time spent with Antony. By the spring of 40 BC, Antony left Egypt due to troubles in Syria, where his governor
Lucius Decidius Saxa was killed and his army taken by
Quintus Labienus, a former officer under Cassius who now served the
Parthian Empire. Cleopatra provided Antony with 200 ships for his campaign and as payment for her newly acquired territories. She would not see Antony again until 37 BC, but she maintained correspondence, and evidence suggests she kept a spy in his camp. By the end of 40 BC, Cleopatra had given birth to twins, a boy named
Alexander Helios and a girl named
Cleopatra Selene II, both of whom Antony acknowledged as his children.
Helios (the Sun) and
Selene (the Moon) were symbolic of a new era of societal rejuvenation, as well as an indication that Cleopatra hoped Antony would repeat the
exploits of Alexander the Great by conquering the
Parthians. Mark Antony's Parthian campaign in the east was disrupted by the events of the
Perusine War (41–40 BC), initiated by his ambitious wife
Fulvia against Octavian in the hopes of making her husband the undisputed leader of Rome. It has been suggested that Fulvia wanted to cleave Antony away from Cleopatra, but the conflict emerged in Italy even before Cleopatra's meeting with Antony at Tarsos. Fulvia and Antony's brother
Lucius Antonius were eventually besieged by Octavian at
Perusia (modern
Perugia, Italy) and then exiled from Italy, after which Fulvia died at
Sicyon in Greece while attempting to reach Antony. Her sudden death led to a reconciliation of Octavian and Antony at
Brundisium in Italy in September 40 BC. Although the agreement struck at Brundisium solidified Antony's control of the Roman Republic's territories east of the
Ionian Sea, it also stipulated that he concede
Italia,
Hispania, and
Gaul, and marry Octavian's sister
Octavia the Younger, a potential rival for Cleopatra. In December 40 BC, Cleopatra received
Herod in Alexandria as an unexpected guest and refugee who fled a turbulent situation in
Judea. Herod had been installed as a
tetrarch there by Antony, but he was soon at odds with
Antigonus II Mattathias of the long-established Hasmonean dynasty. Antigonus had imprisoned Herod's brother and fellow tetrarch
Phasael, who was executed while Herod was fleeing toward Cleopatra's court. Cleopatra attempted to provide him with a military assignment, but Herod declined and traveled to Rome, where the triumvirs Octavian and Antony named him
king of Judea. This act put Herod on a collision course with Cleopatra, who would desire to reclaim the former Ptolemaic territories that comprised his new
Herodian kingdom. Relations between Antony and Cleopatra perhaps soured when he not only married Octavia, but also sired her two children,
Antonia the Elder in 39 BC and
Antonia Minor in 36 BC, and moved his headquarters to Athens. However, Cleopatra's position in Egypt was secure. Her rival Herod was occupied with civil war in Judea that required heavy Roman military assistance, but received none from Cleopatra. Since the authority of Antony and Octavian as triumvirs had expired on 1January 37 BC, Octavia arranged for a meeting at
Tarentum, where the triumvirate was officially extended to the end of 33 BC. With two
legions granted by Octavian and a thousand soldiers lent by Octavia, Antony traveled to
Antioch, where he made preparations for war against the Parthians. Antony summoned Cleopatra to Antioch to discuss pressing issues, such as Herod's kingdom and financial support for his Parthian campaign. Cleopatra brought her now three-year-old twins to Antioch, where Antony saw them for the first time and where they probably first received their surnames Helios and Selene as part of Antony and Cleopatra's ambitious plans for the future. In order to stabilize the east, Antony not only enlarged Cleopatra's domain, he also established new ruling dynasties and client rulers who would be loyal to him, yet would ultimately outlast him. In this arrangement Cleopatra gained significant former Ptolemaic territories in the Levant, including nearly all of
Phoenicia (Lebanon) minus
Tyre and
Sidon, which remained in Roman hands. She also received
Ptolemais Akko (modern
Acre, Israel), a city that was established by Ptolemy II. Given her
ancestral relations with the Seleucids, she was granted the region of
Coele-Syria along the upper
Orontes River. She was even given the region surrounding
Jericho in Palestine, but she leased this territory back to Herod. At the expense of the
Nabataean king Malichus I (a cousin of Herod), Cleopatra was also given a portion of the
Nabataean Kingdom around the
Gulf of Aqaba on the
Red Sea, including Ailana (modern
Aqaba, Jordan). To the west Cleopatra was handed
Cyrene along the Libyan coast, as well as
Itanos and
Olous in
Roman Crete. Although still administered by Roman officials, these territories nevertheless enriched her kingdom and led her to declare the inauguration of a new era by double-dating
her coinage in 36 BC. bearing the portraits of
Mark Antony (left) and
Octavian (right), issued in 41 BC to celebrate the establishment of the
Second Triumvirate by Octavian, Antony and
Marcus Aemilius Lepidus in 43 BC Antony's enlargement of the Ptolemaic realm by relinquishing directly controlled Roman territory was exploited by his rival Octavian, who tapped into the public sentiment in Rome against the empowerment of a foreign queen at the expense of their Republic. Octavian, fostering the narrative that Antony was neglecting his virtuous Roman wife Octavia, granted both her and
Livia, his own wife, extraordinary privileges of
sacrosanctity. Some 50 years before,
Cornelia Africana, daughter of
Scipio Africanus, had been the first living Roman woman to have a statue dedicated to her. She was now followed by Octavia and Livia, whose statues were most likely erected in the Forum of Caesar to rival that of Cleopatra's, erected by Caesar. In 36 BC, Cleopatra accompanied Antony to the
Euphrates in his journey toward invading the Parthian Empire. She then returned to Egypt, perhaps due to her advanced state of pregnancy. By the summer of 36 BC, she had given birth to
Ptolemy Philadelphus, her third child and second son with Antony.
Antony's Parthian campaign in 36 BC turned into a complete debacle for a number of reasons, in particular the betrayal of
Artavasdes II of Armenia, who defected to the Parthian side. After losing some 30,000 men, more than Crassus at Carrhae (an indignity he had hoped to avenge), Antony finally arrived at Leukokome near
Berytus (modern
Beirut, Lebanon) in December, engaged in heavy drinking before Cleopatra arrived to provide funds and clothing for his battered troops. Antony desired to avoid the risks involved in returning to Rome, and so he traveled with Cleopatra back to Alexandria to see his newborn son.
Donations of Alexandria minted by
Antony in 34 BC with his portrait on the
obverse, which bears the inscription reading "ANTONI ARMENIA DEVICTA" (For Antony,
Armenia having been vanquished), alluding to his
Armenian campaign. The reverse features Cleopatra, with the inscription "CLEOPATR[AE] REGINAE REGVM FILIORVM REGVM" (For Cleopatra,
Queen of Kings and of the children of kings). The mention of her children on the reverse refers to the
Donations of Alexandria. As Antony prepared for another Parthian expedition in 35 BC, this time aimed at their ally
Armenia, Octavia traveled to Athens with 2,000 troops in alleged support of Antony, but most likely in a scheme devised by Octavian to embarrass Antony for his military losses. Antony received these troops but told Octavia not to stray east of Athens as he and Cleopatra traveled together to Antioch, only to suddenly and inexplicably abandon the military campaign and head back to Alexandria. When Octavia returned to Rome, Octavian portrayed his sister as a victim wronged by Antony, although she refused to leave Antony's household. Octavian's confidence grew as he eliminated his rivals in the west, including
Sextus Pompeius and even Lepidus, the third member of the triumvirate, who was placed under house arrest after revolting against Octavian in Sicily. Dellius was sent as Antony's envoy to Artavasdes II in 34 BC to negotiate a potential
marriage alliance that would wed the Armenian king's daughter to Alexander Helios, the son of Antony and Cleopatra. When this was declined, Antony marched his army into Armenia, defeated their forces and captured the king and the Armenian royal family. Antony then held a military parade in Alexandria as an imitation of a Roman triumph, dressed as
Dionysus and riding into the city on a chariot to present the royal prisoners to Cleopatra, who was seated on a golden throne above a silver dais. News of this event was heavily criticized in Rome as a perversion of time-honored Roman rites and rituals to be enjoyed instead by an Egyptian queen. ) received in February 33 BC granting tax exemptions to a person in Egypt with (; "make it happen" or "so be it") added in Greek, possibly by Cleopatra's own hand In an event held at the
gymnasium soon after the triumph, Cleopatra dressed as Isis and declared that she was the
Queen of Kings with her son Caesarion,
King of Kings, while Alexander Helios was declared king of Armenia,
Media, and Parthia, and two-year-old
Ptolemy Philadelphus was declared king of Syria and Cilicia. Cleopatra Selene II was bestowed with Crete and Cyrene. Antony and Cleopatra may have been wed during this ceremony. Antony sent a report to Rome requesting ratification of these territorial claims, now known as the
Donations of Alexandria. Octavian wanted to publicize it for propaganda purposes, but the two consuls, both supporters of Antony, had it censored from public view. In late 34 BC, Antony and Octavian engaged in a heated war of propaganda that would last for years. Antony claimed that his rival had illegally deposed Lepidus from their triumvirate and barred him from raising troops in Italy, while Octavian accused Antony of unlawfully detaining the king of Armenia, marrying Cleopatra despite still being married to his sister Octavia, and wrongfully claiming Caesarion as the heir of Caesar instead of Octavian. The litany of accusations and gossip associated with this propaganda war has shaped the popular perceptions about Cleopatra from
Augustan-period literature through to various media in modern times. Cleopatra was said to have brainwashed Mark Antony with
witchcraft and sorcery and was as dangerous as
Homer's
Helen of Troy in destroying civilization.
Pliny the Elder claims in his
Natural History that Cleopatra once dissolved a pearl worth tens of millions of sesterces in vinegar just to win a dinner-party bet. The accusation that Antony had stolen books from the
Library of Pergamum to restock the Library of Alexandria later turned out to be an admitted fabrication by
Gaius Calvisius Sabinus. A papyrus document (
Papyrus Bingen 45) received on 23 February 33 BC, later used to wrap a
mummy, possibly contains an autograph of Cleopatra. The official ordinance grants certain tax exemptions in Egypt to either Quintus Caecillius or
Publius Canidius Crassus, a former Roman consul and Antony's confidant who would command his land forces at
Actium. A subscription in a different handwriting at the bottom of the papyrus reads "make it happen" or "so be it" (); this is possibly the autograph of the queen, as it was Ptolemaic practice to
countersign documents to avoid forgery.
Battle of Actium as a younger Octavian, dated In a speech to the Roman Senate on the first day of his consulship on 1January 33 BC, Octavian accused Antony of attempting to subvert Roman freedoms and territorial integrity as a slave to his Oriental queen. Before Antony and Octavian's joint
imperium expired on 31 December 33 BC, Antony declared Caesarion as the true heir of Caesar in an attempt to undermine Octavian. In 32 BC, the Antonian loyalists
Gaius Sosius and
Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus became consuls. The former gave a fiery speech condemning Octavian, now a private citizen without public office, and introduced pieces of legislation against him. During the next senatorial session, Octavian entered the Senate house with armed guards and levied his own accusations against the consuls. Intimidated by this act, the consuls and over 200 senators still in support of Antony fled Rome the next day to join the side of Antony. Antony and Cleopatra traveled together to Ephesus in 32 BC, where she provided him with 200 of the 800 naval ships he was able to acquire. Ahenobarbus, wary of having Octavian's propaganda confirmed to the public, attempted to persuade Antony to have Cleopatra excluded from the campaign against Octavian. Publius Canidius Crassus made the counterargument that Cleopatra was funding the war effort and was a competent monarch. Cleopatra refused Antony's requests that she return to Egypt, judging that by blocking Octavian in Greece she could more easily defend Egypt. Cleopatra's insistence that she be involved in the battle for Greece led to the defections of prominent Romans, such as Ahenobarbus and
Lucius Munatius Plancus. of Cleopatra struck in 32/31 BC showing her wearing the royal
diadem During the spring of 32 BC, Antony and Cleopatra traveled to Athens, where she persuaded Antony to send Octavia an official declaration of divorce. This encouraged Plancus to advise Octavian that he should seize Antony's will, invested with the
Vestal Virgins. Although a violation of sacred and legal rights, Octavian forcefully acquired the document from the
Temple of Vesta, and it became a useful tool in the propaganda war against Antony and Cleopatra. Octavian highlighted parts of the will, such as Caesarion being named heir to Caesar, that the Donations of Alexandria were legal, that Antony should be buried alongside Cleopatra in Egypt instead of Rome, and that Alexandria would be made the new capital of the Roman Republic. In a show of loyalty to Rome, Octavian decided to begin construction of
his own mausoleum at the
Campus Martius. Octavian's legal standing was also improved by being elected consul in 31 BC. With Antony's will made public, Octavian had his
casus belli, and Rome declared war on Cleopatra, not Antony. The legal argument for war was based less on Cleopatra's territorial acquisitions, with former Roman territories ruled by her children with Antony, and more on the fact that she was providing military support to a private citizen now that Antony's triumviral authority had expired. Antony and Cleopatra had a larger fleet than Octavian, but the crews of Antony and Cleopatra's navy were not all well-trained; some of them perhaps from merchant vessels, whereas Octavian had a fully professional force. Antony wanted to cross the
Adriatic Sea and blockade Octavian at either Tarentum or Brundisium, but Cleopatra, concerned primarily with defending Egypt, overrode the decision to attack Italy directly. Antony and Cleopatra set up their winter headquarters at
Patrai in Greece, and by the spring of 31 BC they had moved to Actium, on the southern side of the
Ambracian Gulf. Cleopatra and Antony had the support of various allied kings, but Cleopatra had already been in conflict with Herod, and an earthquake in Judea provided him with an excuse to be absent from the campaign. They also lost the support of Malichus I, which would prove to have strategic consequences. Antony and Cleopatra lost several skirmishes against Octavian around Actium during the summer of 31 BC, while defections to Octavian's camp continued, including Antony's long-time companion Dellius and the allied kings
Amyntas of Galatia and
Deiotaros of Paphlagonia. While some in Antony's camp suggested abandoning the naval conflict to retreat inland, Cleopatra urged a naval confrontation to keep Octavian's fleet away from Egypt. On 2 September 31 BC the naval forces of Octavian, led by
Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, met those of Antony and Cleopatra at the
Battle of Actium. Cleopatra, aboard her flagship, the
Antonias, commanded 60 ships at the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf, at the rear of the fleet, in what was likely a move by Antony's officers to marginalize her during the battle. Antony had ordered that their ships should have sails on board for a better chance to pursue or flee from the enemy, which Cleopatra, ever concerned about defending Egypt, used to swiftly move through the area of major combat in a strategic withdrawal to the
Peloponnese. Burstein writes that partisan Roman writers would later accuse Cleopatra of cowardly deserting Antony, but their original intention of keeping their sails on board may have been to break the blockade and salvage as much of their fleet as possible. Antony followed Cleopatra and boarded her ship, identified by its
distinctive purple sails, as the two escaped the battle and headed for
Tainaron. Antony reportedly avoided Cleopatra during this three-day voyage, until her ladies in waiting at Tainaron urged him to speak with her. The Battle of Actium raged on without Cleopatra and Antony until the morning of 3September, and was followed by massive defections of officers, troops, and allied kings to Octavian's side.
Downfall and death , early 1st century AD, most likely depicting Cleopatra, wearing her royal
diadem and consuming poison in an act of suicide, while her son
Caesarion, also wearing a royal diadem, stands behind her While Octavian occupied Athens, Antony and Cleopatra landed at
Paraitonion in Egypt. The couple then went their separate ways, Antony to Cyrene to raise more troops and Cleopatra to the harbor at Alexandria in an attempt to mislead the oppositional party and portray the activities in Greece as a victory. She was afraid that news about the outcome of the battle of Actium would lead to a rebellion. It is uncertain whether or not, at this time, she actually executed Artavasdes II and sent his head to his rival,
Artavasdes I of Media Atropatene, in an attempt to strike an alliance with him.
Lucius Pinarius, Antony's appointed governor of Cyrene, received word that Octavian had won the Battle of Actium before Antony's messengers could arrive at his court. Pinarius had these messengers executed and then defected to Octavian's side, surrendering to him the four legions under his command that Antony desired to obtain. Antony nearly committed suicide after hearing news of this, but was stopped by his staff officers. In Alexandria, he built a reclusive cottage on the island of
Pharos that he nicknamed the
Timoneion, after the philosopher
Timon of Athens, who was famous for his cynicism and
misanthropy. Herod, who had personally advised Antony after the Battle of Actium that he should betray Cleopatra, traveled to Rhodes to meet Octavian and resign his kingship out of loyalty to Antony. Octavian was impressed by his speech and sense of loyalty, so he allowed him to maintain his position in Judea, further isolating Antony and Cleopatra. Cleopatra perhaps started to view Antony as a liability by the late summer of 31 BC, when she prepared to leave Egypt to her son Caesarion. Cleopatra planned to relinquish her throne to him, take her fleet from the Mediterranean into the Red Sea, and then set sail to a foreign port, perhaps in
India, where she could spend time recuperating. However, these plans were ultimately abandoned when Malichus I, as advised by Octavian's governor of Syria,
Quintus Didius, managed to burn Cleopatra's fleet in revenge for his losses in a war with Herod that Cleopatra had largely initiated. Cleopatra had no other option but to stay in Egypt and negotiate with Octavian. Although most likely later pro-Octavian propaganda, it was reported that at this time, Cleopatra started testing the strengths of various poisons on prisoners and even her own servants. Cleopatra had Caesarion enter into the ranks of the
ephebi, which, along with reliefs on a stele from
Koptos dated 21 September 31 BC, demonstrated that Cleopatra was now grooming her son to become the sole ruler of Egypt. In a show of solidarity, Antony also had
Marcus Antonius Antyllus, his son with Fulvia, enter the
ephebi at the same time. Separate messages and envoys from Antony and Cleopatra were then sent to Octavian, still stationed at Rhodes, although Octavian seems to have replied only to Cleopatra. Cleopatra requested that her children should inherit Egypt and that Antony should be allowed to live in exile in Egypt, offered Octavian money in the future, and immediately sent him lavish gifts. Octavian sent his diplomat Thyrsos to Cleopatra after she threatened to burn herself and vast amounts of her treasure within a tomb already under construction. Thyrsos advised her to kill Antony so that her life would be spared, but when Antony suspected foul intent, he had this diplomat flogged and sent back to Octavian without a deal. After lengthy negotiations that ultimately produced no results, Octavian set out to invade Egypt in the spring of 30 BC, stopping at
Ptolemais in Phoenicia, where his new ally Herod provided his army with fresh supplies. Octavian moved south and swiftly took Pelousion, while
Cornelius Gallus, marching eastward from Cyrene, defeated Antony's forces near Paraitonion. Octavian advanced quickly to Alexandria, but Antony returned and won a small victory over Octavian's tired troops outside the city's
hippodrome. However, on 1 August 30 BC, Antony's naval fleet surrendered to Octavian, followed by Antony's cavalry. Cleopatra hid herself in her tomb with her close attendants and sent a message to Antony that she had committed suicide. In despair, Antony responded to this by stabbing himself in the stomach and taking his own life. According to Plutarch, he was still dying when brought to Cleopatra at her tomb, telling her he had died honorably and that she could trust Octavian's companion
Gaius Proculeius over anyone else in his entourage. It was Proculeius, however, who infiltrated her tomb using a ladder and detained the queen, denying her the ability to burn herself with her treasures. Cleopatra was then allowed to embalm and bury Antony within her tomb before she was escorted to the palace. Octavian entered Alexandria on 1 August 30 BC, occupied the palace, and seized Cleopatra's three youngest children. When she met with Octavian, Cleopatra told him bluntly, "I will not be led in a triumph" (), according to
Livy, a rare recording of her exact words. Octavian promised that he would keep her alive but offered no explanation about his future plans for her kingdom. When a spy informed her that Octavian planned to move her and her children to Rome in three days, she prepared for suicide as she had no intentions of being paraded in a Roman triumph like her sister Arsinoe. It is unclear if
Cleopatra's suicide on 12 August 30 BC, at age 39, took place within the palace or her tomb. Horace corroborates the common belief that it was a venomous snake, but instead states that it was several (, 'serpents'). Vergil agrees that it was several serpents. Both this and Horace's account suggest that this belief stemmed from Octavian's propaganda. No venomous snake was found with her body, but she did have tiny puncture wounds on her arm that could have been caused by a needle. Cleopatra decided in her last moments to send Caesarion away to Upper Egypt, perhaps with plans to flee to
Kushite Nubia, Ethiopia, or India. Caesarion returned to Alexandria after Octavian guaranteed him recognition as king. Octavian had him executed around 29 August 30 BC. Octavian was convinced by the advice of the philosopher
Arius Didymus that there was room for only one Caesar in the world. With the fall of the Ptolemaic Kingdom, the
Roman province of
Egypt was established, marking the end of the Hellenistic period. In January of 27 BC Octavian was renamed Augustus ("the revered") and
amassed constitutional powers that
established him as the first
Roman emperor, inaugurating the
Principate era of the
Roman Empire. == Cleopatra's kingdom and role as a monarch ==