Cleopatra

Cleopatra (69-30 BC), Queen of Egypt.

Cleopatra shared the throne with her young brother, Ptolemy XII, but his guardians took her crown away.

Then in 48 BC, Julius Caesar arrived in Egypt. He fell in love with Cleopatra and helped her to reclaim the throne. Afterwards, she went to Rome and stayed there until Caesar's death.

In 37 BC Mark Antony settled in Egypt and married Cleopatra. They began to ignore messages from Octavian (Augustus Caesar) in Rome and Octavian declared war on them.

After Antony's defeat in the sea battle of Actium (Greece) Cleopatra is said to have placed a snake on her arm and died of its bite. When Antony heard of this on his return to Alexandria, he killed himself.

Cleopatra has been the subject of two famous plays, one by William Shakespeare and one by George Bernard Shaw, and several movies.

See Diane Stanley Cleopatra