“Her dowry was Egypt, through her marriages she expected to win dominion over the Roman world.” Cleopatra VII was the final Ptolemaic queen of Egypt and, most likely, one of the most influential and powerful of her time. Not only was she one of the first queens of the Macedonian era to know many languages in order to avoid translators during her rule, she also used powerful tools such as likening herself to the Goddess Isis to gain respect of her people. Despite all of these things, one of the strongest assets that Cleopatra used to gain power and maintain her image was through her relationships. Throughout her life in the various obstacles she had to overcome, Cleopatra VII used her wit, intelligence, and beauty to control some of the most powerful men in the era: Ptolemy XIII, Julius Caesar, and Marc Antony. Cleopatra VII, despite being very different from other Ptolemaic rulers of the time, followed the general tradition of marrying with one her brothers. After Alexander the Great fell in 323 BCE, Egypt fell to the Ptolemaic rule. From the beginning of time, pharaohs married their brothers and sisters and “the Ptolemaic kings apparently found it prudent to adopt many of the customs of their royal predecessors, including brother-sister marriage.” Cleopatra VII was the daughter of Ptolemy XII. At his death in 51 BCE, he left in his will that the kingdom be left to Cleopatra VII and her brother, Ptolemy XIII. He expected the Romans to see that the kingdom was handed down successfully. She ruled in concession with her brother, Ptolemy XIII, however with much strife. To add to this distress, Cleopatra and her brother had a rough couple of years with harvest due to floods, and the sibling duo issued a number of decrees. As, the two were not known to rule well together, about 6 months after becoming ruler, we see that Ptolemy XIII is not in any existing legal documents, or his face on any coinage. Furthermore, around the year 49 BCE, Ptolemy XIII, set up a cabinet consisting of Potheinos, Achillas and Theodotus of Chios. This cabinet eventually exiled Cleopatra VII, so Ptolemy XIII was the only leader of Egypt. To this end, Cleopatra lost her power of Egypt and her status as a strong ruler. At this time, we are in the Republic era in Rome, 509-27 BCE, and occurring in Rome are numerous civil wars. One particular outcome of a civil war that is a catalyst for retuning Cleopatra to the power of Egypt and for bringing Julius Caesar to Egypt is the assassination of Pompey. Pompey lost the Battle of Pharsalus and migrated to Egypt where he thought he would be safe.
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This relationship was with Marc Antony. “She would have known that with Caesar dead, Antony was, in theory at least, the most powerful man in Rome.” After returning to Egypt to check on her dynasty, Antony summoned Cleopatra to Tarsus in 41 BCE. Once again, we see Cleopatra use beauty to form an alliance with Marc Antony. As Plutarch wrote, “she was going to visit Antony at the very time when women have the most brilliant beauty and are at the acme of intellectual power.” She was so beautiful that “Antony the triumvir was reduced to the uncertainty of a naive boy, stammering his amazement at such opulence.” As such, we see the relationship between the two develop. Soon after, in 40 BCE, Cleopatra had twins by Antony. Antony publicly acknowledged and gave them highest honors with the names of Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene meaning the “sun” and the “moon” which denoted much significance for the Greeks and Romans. Around 36 BCE, Antony moved to Egypt for good, destroying his marriage with Octavia. During this time, Antony and Cleopatra produced one more child, Ptolemy Philadelphus. As Cleopatra had gained three heirs with Antony and a committed relationship, her relationship with Antony gained Cleopatra a lot of power over lands. She gained many cities on the coast of Syria, the kingdom of Ituraea, some control of cities on the border of modern day Israel and Jordan, and finally territories in Cilicia. As Tyldesley states in her book, “Cleopatra was the wealthiest monarch in the world.” Unfortunately, this gain of land would be short
This relationship was with Marc Antony. “She would have known that with Caesar dead, Antony was, in theory at least, the most powerful man in Rome.” After returning to Egypt to check on her dynasty, Antony summoned Cleopatra to Tarsus in 41 BCE. Once again, we see Cleopatra use beauty to form an alliance with Marc Antony. As Plutarch wrote, “she was going to visit Antony at the very time when women have the most brilliant beauty and are at the acme of intellectual power.” She was so beautiful that “Antony the triumvir was reduced to the uncertainty of a naive boy, stammering his amazement at such opulence.” As such, we see the relationship between the two develop. Soon after, in 40 BCE, Cleopatra had twins by Antony. Antony publicly acknowledged and gave them highest honors with the names of Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene meaning the “sun” and the “moon” which denoted much significance for the Greeks and Romans. Around 36 BCE, Antony moved to Egypt for good, destroying his marriage with Octavia. During this time, Antony and Cleopatra produced one more child, Ptolemy Philadelphus. As Cleopatra had gained three heirs with Antony and a committed relationship, her relationship with Antony gained Cleopatra a lot of power over lands. She gained many cities on the coast of Syria, the kingdom of Ituraea, some control of cities on the border of modern day Israel and Jordan, and finally territories in Cilicia. As Tyldesley states in her book, “Cleopatra was the wealthiest monarch in the world.” Unfortunately, this gain of land would be short