Cleopatra

❓ When did Cleopatra's father, Ptolemy Auletes, die and leave his kingdom to her?
💡 In 51 BC. He left his kingdom to his 18-year-old daughter Cleopatra and her 12-year-old brother Ptolemy XIII.

❓ What was Cleopatra’s family background?
💡 She was born in 69 BC in Alexandria, Egypt. She had two older sisters (Cleopatra VI and Berenice IV), a younger sister (Arsinoe IV), and two younger brothers (Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV).

❓ Who was left in charge of Cleopatra and her siblings after their father’s death?
💡 Pompey, a Roman leader, was left in charge of the children.

❓ What was the political situation between the Ptolemies and Rome before Ptolemy Auletes’ death?
💡 For the two preceding centuries, the Ptolemies were allied with the Romans. The Ptolemaic strength was failing while the Roman Empire was rising, forcing them into a pact.

❓ How did Cleopatra assert her authority after being made co-regent with her brother Ptolemy XIII?
💡 She soon dropped his name from official documents and had only her own portrait and name placed on coins, ignoring her brother’s.

❓ What major political strategy did Cleopatra adopt to try to save Alexandria?
💡 She became a consort to powerful Roman leaders: first Julius Caesar and, after his death, Mark Antony.

❓ When did Julius Caesar arrive in Alexandria, and what did he do for Cleopatra?
💡 In 48 BC, he arrived with 3,200 legionaries, 800 cavalry, and 12 lictors.
He made Cleopatra the sole ruler of Egypt.

❓ What significant event happened when Mark Antony returned to Cleopatra after four years?
💡 He married her.

❓ Where and when was Antony severely defeated by Octavian’s navy?
💡 At Actium, Greece, on September 2, 31 BC.

❓ How did Mark Antony die and in what year?
💡 He committed suicide by falling on his own sword in 30 BC.

❓ What was Octavian’s plan for Cleopatra after Antony’s death?
💡 She would be displayed as a slave in the cities she had ruled over.

❓ How did Cleopatra die and when?
💡 She died from an asp (Egyptian cobra) bite on August 12, 30 BC.

❓ Why did Cleopatra choose death by snakebite according to Egyptian religion?
💡 It would secure immortality.

❓ What did Cleopatra’s death mark the end of?
💡 The end of the Egyptian monarchs; she was the last pharaoh.