The fifteenth pharaoh of the Ptolemaic Dynasty
Also known as: Kleopatra
Accession 51 BC
End of reign 30 BC
Duration 21 years
Cleopatra was the last pharaoh of the Macedonian Greek Ptolemies and thus also of Egypt. Cleopatra was a well-educated, multilingual and capable ruler known for her intelligence, political acumen and ambition to maintain Egypt's independence from Rome. Her romantic entanglements are famous, but she was a skilled diplomat and negotiator. She had a son with Julius Caesar and later formed an alliance with Mark Antony, with whom she had three further children. After the defeat at the Battle of Actium, her ambitions came to a halt, and she is believed to have committed suicide. It should be noted, however, that much of what we know about Cleopatra comes from Roman sources, so there may be some bias in how she is portrayed. Ancient Egypt was now a thing of the past.
Titulary & Hieroglyphs
References
- Gauthier, H. Le livre des rois d'Égypte. MIFAO 20 (1915): pp. 410–422
- Beckerath, J., 1999. “Handbuch der ägyptischen Königsnamen”, 2 ed., MÄS 49 (1999): pp. 244–245
- Leprohon, R. J., 2013. The Great Name: Ancient Egyptian Royal Titulary. pp. 187–188
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