At that time, two Roman generals were fighting to be the leaders of the Roman Republic. They were Pompey and Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar defeated Pompey at the Battle of Pharsalus in Greece, 48 BC. Pompey fled to Egypt from Pharsalus, and was murdered by the orders of Ptolemy.
Ptolemy and his supporters thought Caesar would be pleased, but that was a big mistake. Caesar had pardoned many of the senators who fought against him. His reason was to lay the ground for peace in Rome. The murder of Pompey cut right across Caesar's plans. Worse, Pompey was a Roman consul, and the widower of Caesar's only daughter, Julia. Worse still, Pompey was beheaded in front of his fifth wife and children, who were on the ship from which he had just disembarked. This made sure that Pompey's powerful family and supporters would never forget, and would always be enemies of Caesar.
Then Caesar came to Alexandria, the capital of Egypt. Economically, Egypt was a bread-basket which could feed the people of Rome. Cleopatra received Caesar in her own unique way. She lay down on a carpet. Then her servants rolled up the carpet with Cleopatra inside. Then the carpet was taken to the palace where Caesar was staying. The guards saw some people carrying a carpet and they did not stop them. They carried the carpet to Caesar. Then Cleopatra came out of the carpet. Caesar fell in love with her and they became lovers. At the time, Cleopatra was 21 years old and Caesar was 52 years old.
Caesar decided to make Cleopatra queen again. Ptolemy did not like that. There was a lot of fighting, but Caesar won. Ptolemy tried to leave, but he fell in the river Nile and drowned. Another younger brother became king, but Cleopatra was again the real leader of Egypt. Cleopatra did not marry Julius Caesar, but they did have a son. He was called Caesarion.
Soon after Caesarion was born, Caesar was murdered as he walked to the Senate in Rome. Cleopatra and her entourage were in Rome when Caesar was assassinated on 15 March 44 BC. Cleopatra fled back to Egypt.
Mark Antony, who was Caesar's military commander, and Octavian, Caesar's legal heir, defeated the group who had conspired against Caesar. This group was led by Brutus and Cassius, who took their army to the Eastern Mediterranean, and controlled much of that area. The issue was finally settled by the Battle of Philippi, fought in Macedonia.
Caesar's place was taken by three joint Consuls, the Second Triumvirate. Their names were Octavian, Mark Antony and Lepidus. Lepidus was a minor character, and the long-term fate of the Empire was decided by a conflict between Antony and Octavian. Mark Antony came to see Cleopatra, and they fell in love, though Antony already had a wife. Cleopatra had three more children. Two were twins, and the father of all three was Mark Antony.
The conflict between Octavian and Antony became serious, and soon there was war. Cleopatra was wealthy, and she used her money to help Antony. But Octavian won the war. He became the ruler of the Roman Empire and was known as Augustus or Caesar Augustus. He took control of Egypt from Cleopatra. After her kingdom was conquered, she committed suicide by letting an asp (a poisonous snake and small cobra) bite her. Antony also committed suicide.
Ceasarion was murdered by Octavian, and her other children were taken as prisoners to Rome. Two of them died of illness, but her daughter, Cleopatra Selene II, married an African King Juba II of Numidia. The couple were sent to Mauritania to rule by Octavian. They lived a full life there, and had children.
There are many stories told of how rich Cleopatra was, but we cannot be sure if these are true. For example, one story says that she took baths in milk, to make her skin softer. Another story says that she made a bet with Antony that she could make the most expensive meal ever. To win the bet, she took a pearl earring, dissolved it in vinegar, and drank it.
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Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer and actress. Clarkson won the first season of the television series "American Idol".
Clarkson has recorded four albums. Clarkson has sold over 10.6 million albums in the United States, becoming the highest-selling American Idol winner. According to Nielsen SoundScan, Clarkson is also ranked on the top 200 album sellers of the Nielsen SoundScan era at number 187.
Kelly Clarkson was born in Fort Worth,Texas,United States of America. She is the third and youngest child of Jeanne Rose Clarkson a first grade teacher, and Stephen Michael Clarkson.She began music career of successful life as Kelly Clarkson became singer as position her celebrity.
Clarkson's parents divorced when she was six years old, after having been married for seventeen years. The family then moved to Burleson,Texas, where her mother remarried. She is of Greek (from a maternal great-grandfather), English, Irish, German, and Scottish ancestry. Her mother is a descendant of Republican state senator Isaiah Rose, whose life story was discussed on Clarkson's episode of "Who Do You Think You Are?", in 2013.
Clarkson went to Pauline G Hughes Middle School and Burleson High School. She originally wanted to be a marine biologist, but changed her mind after she saw the movie "Jaws". In seventh grade, one of her teachers overheard her singing in a hallway and asked her to audition for the school choir.
In high school, Clarkson performed in musicals such as "Annie Get Your Gun", "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" and "Brigadoon". She sang at her high school talent show, after which an audience member shared some inspiring words with her: "God has given you this gift. You've got to sing. You're destined to sing." Clarkson continued singing and soon started classical training, hoping that music would be her ticket to a college scholarship.
After finishing high school, Clarkson was offered full scholarships to The University of Texas at Austin, the University of North Texas, and the Berklee College of Music. However, she decided against college to pursue a career in music saying, "you're never too old to go to college."
On September 4, 2002, Clarkson won the first season of "American Idol", beating Justin Guarini by a margin of 58% to 42%. After the results were announced, Clarkson performed the song "A Moment Like This", which was written for the winner of "American Idol" and would be released on her first CD "Thankful". When it was released as a single in October 2002, it set a record on the U.S. "Billboard" Hot 100 chart when it rose from number 52 to number one. "Thankful" sold 236,000 copies in its first week in the U.S.
Clarkson married Brandon Blackstock in 2013. They have a daughter, River Rose, and a son, Remington. Blackstock also has two children from a previous relationship. In June 2020, it was announced that Clarkson had filed for divorce.
Maurice Ravel
Maurice Ravel (born Ciboure, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, 7 March 1875; died Paris, 28 December 1937) was a French composer. His name is often thought of together with that of Claude Debussy, but their music is really very different. Ravel liked children and animals and his music is often about them. He liked to write about fairy tales and stories from far away lands. He wrote some lovely piano music, most of which is difficult to play. "Boléro" is a 17-minute piece for orchestra. A short version was used by ice-skaters Torvill and Dean for the dance that made them Olympic champions in 1984.
Maurice Ravel was born in Ciboure in France. His father was an engineer. Both parents were interested in culture. Soon after he was born the family moved to Paris and stayed there.
It soon became clear that Maurice was musically gifted, so his father arranged for him to have piano lessons with a well-known teacher. In 1889 he entered the Paris Conservatoire.