Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Philopator ( ; Late 69 BC – August 12 , 30 BC ) , known to history as Cleopatra , was the last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt . She was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty , a family of Greek origin that ruled Ptolemaic Egypt after Alexander the Great ' s death during the Hellenistic period . The Ptolemies , throughout their dynasty , spoke Greek and refused to speak Egyptian , which is the reason that Greek as well as Egyptian languages were used on official court documents such as the Rosetta Stone . By contrast , Cleopatra did learn to speak Egyptian and represented herself as the reincarnation of an Egyptian goddess , Isis . Cleopatra originally ruled jointly with her father , Ptolemy XII Auletes , and later with her brothers , Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV , whom she married as per Egyptian custom , but eventually she became sole ruler . As pharaoh , she consummated a liaison with Julius Caesar that solidified her grip on the throne . She later elevated her son with Caesar , Caesarion , to co - ruler in name . After Caesar ' s assassination in 44 BC , she aligned with Mark Antony in opposition to Caesar ' s legal heir , Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus ( later known as Augustus ) . With Antony , she bore the twins Cleopatra Selene II and Alexander Helios , and another son , Ptolemy Philadelphus ( her unions with her brothers had produced no children ) . After losing the Battle of Actium to Octavian ' s forces , Antony committed suicide . Cleopatra followed suit , according to tradition killing herself by means of an asp bite on August 12 , 30 BC . She was briefly outlived by Caesarion , who was declared pharaoh by his supporters but soon killed on Octavian ' s orders . Egypt became the Roman province of " Aegyptus " . To this day , Cleopatra remains a popular figure in Western culture . Her legacy survives in numerous works of art and the many dramatizations of her story in literature and other media , including William Shakespeare ' s tragedy " Antony and Cleopatra " , Jules Massenet ' s opera " Cléopâtre " and the 1963 film " Cleopatra " . In most depictions , Cleopatra is portrayed as a great beauty , and her successive conquests of the world ' s most powerful men are taken as proof of her aesthetic and sexual appeal . Biography . Accession to the throne . The identity of Cleopatra ' s mother is unknown , but she is generally believed to be Cleopatra V Tryphaena of Egypt , the sister or cousin and wife of Ptolemy XII Auletes , or possibly another Ptolemaic family member who was the daughter of Ptolemy X and Cleopatra Berenice III Philopator if Cleopatra V was not the daughter of Ptolemy X and Berenice III . Cleopatra ' s father Auletes was a direct descendant of Alexander the Great ' s general , Ptolemy I Soter , son of Arsinoe and Lagus , both of Macedon . Centralization of power and corruption led to uprisings in and the losses of Cyprus and Cyrenaica , making Ptolemy XII ' s reign one of the most calamitous of the dynasty . When Ptolemy went to Rome with Cleopatra , Cleopatra VI Tryphaena seized the crown but died shortly afterwards in suspicious circumstances . It is believed , though not proven by historical sources , that Berenice IV poisoned her so she could assume sole rulership . Regardless of the cause , she did until Ptolemy Auletes returned in 55 BC , with Roman support , capturing Alexandria aided by Roman general Aulus Gabinius . Berenice was imprisoned and executed shortly afterwards , her head allegedly being sent to the royal court on the decree of her father , the king . Cleopatra was now , at age 14 , put as joint regent and deputy of her father , although her power was likely to have been severely limited . Ptolemy XII died in March 51 BC , thus by his will making the 18 - year - old Cleopatra and her brother , the 10 - year - old Ptolemy XIII joint monarchs . The first three years of their reign were difficult , due to economic failures , famine , deficient floods of the Nile , and political conflicts . Although Cleopatra was married to her young brother , she quickly made it clear that she had no intention of sharing power with him . In August 51 BC , relations between Cleopatra and Ptolemy completely broke down . Cleopatra dropped Ptolemy ' s name from official documents and her face appeared alone on coins , which went against Ptolemaic tradition of female rulers being subordinate to male co - rulers . In 50 BC Cleopatra came into a serious conflict with the Gabiniani , powerful Roman troops of Aulus Gabinius who had left them in Egypt to protect Ptolemy XII after his restoration to the throne in 55 BC . The Gabiniani killed the sons of the Roman governor of Syria , Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus , when they came to ask for the assistance of the Gabiniani for their father against the Parthians . Cleopatra handed the murderers over in chains to Bibulus , whereupon the Gabiniani turned into bitter enemies of the queen . This conflict was one of the main causes of Cleopatra ' s fall from power shortly afterward . The sole reign of Cleopatra was finally ended by a cabal of courtiers , led by the eunuch Pothinus , in connection with a half - Greek general , Achillas , and Theodotus of Chios . Circa 48 BC , Cleopatra ' s younger brother Ptolemy XIII became sole ruler . She tried to raise a rebellion around Pelusium , but was soon forced to flee with her only remaining sister , Arsinoë . Relations with Rome . Assassination of Pompey . While Cleopatra was in exile , Pompey became embroiled in the Roman civil war . After his defeat at the Battle of Pharsalus , in the autumn of 48 BC , Pompey fled from the forces of Caesar to Alexandria , seeking sanctuary . Ptolemy , only thirteen years old at that time , had set up a throne for himself on the harbour , from where he watched as on September 28 , 48 BC , Pompey was murdered by one of his former officers , now in Ptolemaic service . He was beheaded in front of his wife and children , who were on the ship from which he had just disembarked . Ptolemy is thought to have ordered the death to ingratiate himself with Caesar , thus becoming an ally of Rome , to which Egypt was in debt at the time , though this act proved a miscalculation on Ptolemy ' s part . When Caesar arrived in Egypt two days later , Ptolemy presented him with Pompey ' s severed head ; Caesar was enraged . Although he was Caesar ' s political enemy , Pompey was a Roman consul and the widower of Caesar ' s only legitimate daughter , Julia , who died in childbirth . Caesar seized the Egyptian capital and imposed himself as arbiter between the rival claims of Ptolemy and Cleopatra . Relationship with Julius Caesar . Eager to take advantage of Julius Caesar ' s anger toward Ptolemy , Cleopatra had herself smuggled secretly into the palace to meet with Caesar . Plutarch in his " Life of Julius Caesar " gives a vivid description of how she entered past Ptolemy ’ s guards rolled up in a carpet that Apollodorus the Sicilian was carrying . She became Caesar ’ s mistress , and nine months after their first meeting , in 47 BC , Cleopatra gave birth to their son , Ptolemy Caesar , nicknamed Caesarion , which means " little Caesar . " At this point , Caesar abandoned his plans to annex Egypt , instead backing Cleopatra ' s claim to the throne . After Mithridates raised the siege of Alexandria , Caesar defeated Ptolemy ' s army at the Battle of the Nile ; Ptolemy XIII drowned in the Nile and Caesar restored Cleopatra to her throne , with another younger brother Ptolemy XIV as her new co - ruler . When Caesar left Egypt he stationed there a Roman occupying army of three legions under the command of Rufio . Although Cleopatra was 21 years old when they met and Caesar was 52 , they became lovers during Caesar ’ s stay in Egypt between 48 BC and 47 BC . Cleopatra claimed Caesar was the father of her son and wished him to name the boy his heir , but Caesar refused , choosing his grandnephew Octavian instead . During this relationship , it was also rumored that Cleopatra introduced Caesar to her astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria , who first proposed the idea of leap day s and leap year s . Cleopatra , Ptolemy XIV and Caesarion visited Rome in the summer of 46 BC . The Egyptian queen resided in one of Caesar ' s country houses . The relationship between Cleopatra and Caesar was obvious to the Roman people and it was a scandal because the Roman dictator was already married to Calpurnia Pisonis . But Caesar even erected a golden statue of Cleopatra represented as Isis in the temple of Venus Genetrix ( the mythical ancestress of Caesar ' s family ) , which was situated at the Forum Julium . The Roman orator Cicero said in his preserved letters that he hated the foreign queen . Cleopatra and her entourage were in Rome when Caesar was assassinated on 15 March 44 BC . She returned with her relatives to Egypt . When Ptolemy XIV died – allegedly poisoned by his older sister – Cleopatra made Caesarion her co - regent and successor and gave him the epithets " Theos Philopator Philometor " ( = " Father - and motherloving God " ) . Cleopatra in the Roman Civil War . In the Roman civil war between the Caesarian faction , led by Mark Antony and Octavian , and the faction including the assassins of Caesar , led by Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus , Cleopatra sided with the Caesarian party because of her past . Brutus and Cassius left Italy and sailed to the east of the Roman Empire , where they conquered large areas and established military bases . At the beginning of 43 BC , Cleopatra formed an alliance with the leader of the Caesarian party in the east , Publius Cornelius Dolabella , who also recognized Caesarion as her co - ruler . But soon , Dolabella was encircled in Laodicea and committed suicide ( July 43 BC ) . Cassius wanted to invade Egypt to seize the treasures of that country and for her support for Dolabella . Egypt seemed an easy target because it did not have strong land forces and there was famine and an epidemic . Cassius also wanted to prevent Cleopatra from bringing reinforcements for Antony and Octavian . But he could not execute an invasion of Egypt because at the end of 43 BC , Brutus summoned him back to Smyrna . Cassius tried to blockade Cleopatra ’ s route to the Caesarians . For this purpose Lucius Staius Murcus moved with 60 ships and a legion of elite troops into position at Cape Matapan in the south of the Peloponnese . Nevertheless , Cleopatra sailed with her fleet from Alexandria to the west along the Libyan coast to join the Caesarian leaders , but she was forced to return to Egypt because her ships were damaged by a violent storm and she became ill . Staius Murcus learned of the queen ' s misfortune and saw wreckage from her ships on the coast of Greece . He then sailed with his ships into the Adriatic Sea . Cleopatra and Mark Antony . In 41 BC , Mark Antony , one of the triumvirs who ruled Rome in the power vacuum following Caesar ' s death , sent his intimate friend Quintus Dellius to Egypt to summon Cleopatra to Tarsus to meet Antony and answer questions about her loyalty . During the Roman civil war she allegedly had paid much money to Cassius . It seems that in reality Antony wanted Cleopatra ’ s promise to support his intended war against the Parthians . Cleopatra arrived in great state , and so charmed Antony that he chose to spend the winter of 41 BC – 40 BC with her in Alexandria . To safeguard herself and Caesarion , she had Antony order the death of her sister Arsinoe , who had been banished to the Temple of Artemis in Roman - controlled Ephesus for her role in leading the Siege of Alexandria . The execution was carried out in 41 BC on the steps of the temple , and this violation of temple sanctuary scandalised Rome . Cleopatra had also executed her strategos of Cyprus , Serapion , who had supported Cassius against her wishes . On 25 December 40 BC , Cleopatra gave birth to twins fathered by Antony , Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene II . Four years later , Antony visited Alexandria again en route to make war with the Parthians . He renewed his relationship with Cleopatra , and from this point on , Alexandria was his home . He married Cleopatra according to the Egyptian rite ( a letter quoted in Suetonius suggests this ) , although he was at the time married to Octavia Minor , sister of his fellow triumvir Octavian . He and Cleopatra had another child , Ptolemy Philadelphus . At the Donations of Alexandria in late 34 BC , following Antony ' s conquest of Armenia , Cleopatra and Caesarion were crowned co - rulers of Egypt and Cyprus ; Alexander Helios was crowned ruler of Armenia , Media , and Parthia ; Cleopatra Selene II was crowned ruler of Cyrenaica and Libya ; and Ptolemy Philadelphus was crowned ruler of Phoenicia , Syria , and Cilicia . Cleopatra was also given the title of " Queen of Kings " by Antonius . Her enemies in Rome feared that Cleopatra , " . . . was planning a war of revenge that was to array all the East against Rome , establish herself as empress of the world at Rome , cast justice from Capitolium , and inaugurate a new universal kingdom . " Caesarion was not only elevated having coregency with Cleopatra , but also proclaimed with many titles , including god , son of god and king of kings , and was depicted as Horus . Egyptians thought Cleopatra was a reincarnation of the goddess Isis , as she called herself " Nea Isis " . Relations between Antony and Octavian , disintegrating for several years , finally broke down in 33 BC , and Octavian convinced the Senate to levy war against Egypt . In 31 BC Antony ' s forces faced the Romans in a naval action off the coast of Actium . Cleopatra was present with a fleet of her own . According to Plutarch , Cleopatra took flight with her ships at the height of the battle and Antony followed her . Following the Battle of Actium , Octavian invaded Egypt . As he approached Alexandria , Antony ' s armies deserted to Octavian on August 1 , 30 BC . There are a number of unverifiable stories about Cleopatra , of which one of the best known is that , at one of the lavish dinners she shared with Antony , she playfully bet him that she could spend ten million sestertii on a dinner . He accepted the bet . The next night , she had a conventional , unspectacular meal served ; he was ridiculing this , when she ordered the second course — only a cup of strong vinegar . She then removed one of her priceless pearl earrings , dropped it into the vinegar , allowed it to dissolve , and drank the mixture . The earliest report of this story comes from Pliny the Elder and dates to about 100 years after the banquet described would have happened . The calcium carbonate in pearls does dissolve in vinegar , but slowly unless the pearl is first crushed . Death . The ancient sources , particularly the Roman ones , are in general agreement that Cleopatra killed herself by inducing an Egyptian cobra to bite her . The oldest source is Strabo , who was alive at the time of the event , and might even have been in Alexandria . He says that there are two stories : that she applied a toxic ointment , or that she was bitten by an asp on her breast . Several Roman poets , writing within ten years of the event , all mention bites by two asps , as does Florus , a historian , some 150 years later . Velleius , sixty years after the event , also refers to an asp . Other authors have questioned these historical accounts , stating that it is possible that Augustus had her killed . In 2010 , the German historian Christoph Schaefer challenged all other theories , declaring that the queen had actually been poisoned and died from drinking a mixture of poisons . After studying historical texts and consulting with toxicologists , the historian concluded that the asp could not have caused a slow and pain - free death , since the asp ( Egyptian cobra ) venom paralyses parts of the body , starting with the eyes , before causing death . Schaefer and his toxicologist Dietrich Mebs decided Cleopatra used a mixture of hemlock , wolfsbane and opium . Plutarch , writing about 130 years after the event , reports that Octavian succeeded in capturing Cleopatra in her mausoleum after the death of Antony . He ordered his freedman Epaphroditus to guard her to prevent her from committing suicide , because he allegedly wanted to present her in his triumph . But Cleopatra was able to deceive Epaphroditus and kill herself nevertheless . Plutarch states that she was found dead , her handmaiden Iras dying at her feet , and another handmaiden , Charmion , adjusting her crown before she herself fell . He then goes on to state that an asp was concealed in a basket of figs that was brought to her by a rustic , and , finding it after eating a few figs , she held out her arm for it to bite . Other stories state that it was hidden in a vase , and that she poked it with a spindle until it got angry enough to bite her on the arm . Finally , he indicates that in Octavian ' s triumphal march back in Rome , an effigy of Cleopatra that had an asp clinging to it was part of the parade . Suetonius , writing about the same time as Plutarch , also says Cleopatra died from an asp bite . Although classical sources say that Cleopatra was bitten on the arm , she is more usually depicted in medieval and Renaissance iconography with asps at her breast , a tradition followed by Shakespeare . Plutarch tells us of the death of Antony . When his armies deserted him and joined with Octavian , he cried out that Cleopatra had betrayed him . She , fearing his wrath , locked herself in her monument with only her two handmaidens and sent messengers to tell Antony that she was dead . Believing them , Antony stabbed himself in the stomach with his sword , and lay on his couch to die . Instead , the blood flow stopped , and he begged any and all to finish him off . Another messenger came from Cleopatra with instructions to bring him to her , and he , rejoicing that Cleopatra was still alive , consented . She wouldn ' t open the door , but tossed ropes out of a window . After Antony was securely trussed up , she and her handmaidens hauled him up into the monument . This nearly finished him off . After dragging him in through the window , they laid him on a couch . Cleopatra tore off her clothes and covered him with them . She raved and cried , beat her breasts and engaged in self - mutilation . Antony told her to calm down , asked for a glass of wine , and died upon finishing it . The site of their mausoleum is uncertain , though the Egyptian Antiquities Service believes it is in or near the temple of Taposiris Magna , southwest of Alexandria . Cleopatra ' s son by Caesar , Caesarion , was proclaimed pharaoh by the Egyptians , after Alexandria fell to Octavian . Caesarion was captured and killed , his fate reportedly sealed when one of Octavian ' s advisers paraphrased Homer : " It is bad to have too many Caesars . " This ended not just the Hellenistic line of Egyptian pharaohs , but the line of all Egyptian pharaohs . The three children of Cleopatra and Antony were spared and taken back to Rome where they were taken care of by Antony ' s wife , Octavia Minor . The daughter , Cleopatra Selene , was married through arrangements of Octavian to Juba II of Mauretania . Character and cultural depictions . Cleopatra was regarded as a great beauty , even in the ancient world . In his " Life of Antony " , Plutarch remarks that " judging by the proofs which she had had before this of the effect of her beauty upon Caius Caesar and Gnaeus the son of Pompey , she had hopes that she would more easily bring Antony to her feet . For Caesar and Pompey had known her when she was still a girl and inexperienced in affairs , but she was going to visit Antony at the very time when women have the most brilliant beauty . " Later in the work , however , Plutarch indicates that " her beauty , as we are told , was in itself neither altogether incomparable , nor such as to strike those who saw her . " Rather , what ultimately made Cleopatra attractive were her wit , charm and " sweetness in the tones of her voice . " Cassius Dio also spoke of Cleopatra ' s allure : " For she was a woman of surpassing beauty , and at that time , when she was in the prime of her youth , she was most striking ; she also possessed a most charming voice and knowledge of how to make herself agreeable to everyone . Being brilliant to look upon and to listen to , with the power to subjugate everyone , even a love - sated man already past his prime , she thought that it would be in keeping with her role to meet Caesar , and she reposed in her beauty all her claims to the throne . " These accounts influenced later cultural depictions of Cleopatra , which typically present her using her charms to influence the most powerful men in the Western world . Ancestry . The high degree of inbreeding amongst the Ptolemies is also illustrated by Cleopatra ' s immediate ancestry , of which a reconstruction is shown below . Through three uncle – niece marriages and three sister – brother marriages , her family tree collapses to a single couple at four , five or six generations back ( counting through different lines ) . External links . Paintings . < / small >