How Cleopatra Died

Here we will tell you how Cleopatra, the beautiful queen of the Egyptian empire, died but we will also explain some parts of the story that were related to her personal life and reign. Cleopatra was the last queen of the so-called Hellenistic period of Ancient Egypt, remembered for her great beauty and personality. She belonged to the Ptolemaic or Lagida dynasty, founded by Ptolemy I Sóter, a general of Alexander the Great. Her full name was Cleopatra Filopátor Nea Thea or also called Cleopatra VII.

She was the daughter of Cleopatra V Tryphena and Ptolemy XII Auletes, she was born in January 69 BC in Alexandria, Egypt and died in 30 BC. She had several brothers, including one of her six years her junior, Ptolemy XIII, who later married her as the custom of this dynasty ordered and as her father left in his will.

Cleopatra inherited the throne in 51 BC, when she was only 18 years old. She was queen with her brother Ptolemy XII until 47 BC, then she continued with Ptolemy XIV until 44 BC and finally with Caesarion until 30 BC, the year in which she died.

Ptolemy XII, Cleopatra’s father, was not very loved by his people since he was not very interested in the problems of Egypt, he was corrupt and a lover of parties, while the needs of his people were left aside. He remained on the throne thanks to Roman support and for the Roman Empire helping Ptolemy XII was convenient: the gold that abounded in Egypt was very tempting.

What do you need for Cleopatra died?

• Information through Ancient History books
• Computer with internet connection

Instructions for Died Cleopatra

1. In the year 58 BC, due to a popular uprising, Cleopatra’s father had to go into exile in Rome, leaving his country in charge of his wife and daughter Berenice IV for a year. Her own daughter Berenice was the one who had her father displaced. When her mother died, Berenice was left as the sole queen of Egypt.
2. Ptolemy got the support of Rome to defeat the army of his daughter Berenice’s husband, Archelaus, returned to the throne of Egypt and ordered the execution of his own daughter. Thus he reigned until the day of his death in the year 51 BC, his daughter Cleopatra VII inheriting the throne and his son Ptolemy XIII.
3. Cleopatra was the first of the Lagida dynasty to learn to speak the Egyptian language. She also spoke Greek, Hebrew, Syrian, and Aramaic. Her instruction did not stop there but also covered literature, music, political science, mathematics, astronomy, and medicine. Her good manners, sweet and refined, her suggestive voice made her a very seductive woman.
4. During the first years of his reign, the Egyptian people suffered great evils such as famine, the increasingly weakened Egyptian currency, popular uprisings and the country increasingly depended on Rome.
5. There were also serious internal family problems, her husband and brother were manipulated by three advisers hostile to Cleopatra, plus the attempts to remove her by her younger sister Arsinoe caused Cleopatra to be removed in 48 BC, going into exile in Syria. She wanted to take back her power by forming a good army but she couldn’t achieve it.
6. At that time Rome was in civil war. Julius Caesar defeated Pompey in order to remove him from power. Pompey fled to Egypt, believing he was well received, and was assassinated on the advice of Pothinus (advisor to Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII) believing that this would please Julius Caesar and thus together they would defeat Cleopatra. However, it was not what Julius Caesar wanted, but to capture Pompey alive and forgive him. This was a bad start for both kingdoms.
7. Julio César wanted to solve the conflict between the brothers Cleopatra and Ptolemy, so he summoned them both. Cleopatra mistrustfully agreed to return to Alexandria but she did so at night, hiding and with the intention of persuading Julius Caesar to support her in restitution of her throne, using her charms and spending a night with him. She also thought that by making Julius Caesar fall in love, she would no longer have to fear a Roman invasion.
8. Finally they reached an agreement: Caesar gave Ptolemy XIII the island of Crete and Ptolemy XIV and Arsinoe IV Cyprus. Thus Julius Caesar settled in Alexandria, allied to Cleopatra who recovered her throne feeling protected by her lover. In the year 47 BC, Cesarion, son of the couple, was born.
9. Julius Caesar’s goal was to unite the Roman and Egyptian states through his marriage.  Cleopatra was never accepted by the Roman people due to their mistrust of her, although she was in Rome several times. Julius Caesar was assassinated in Rome in 44 BC and Cleopatra and her son returned to Egypt.
10. Returning to Egypt and fearing his brother, he decides to poison him and makes his four-year-old son Caesarion his co-regent. The state in which he found Egypt was discouraging: misery, famine, plagues.
11. Marco Antonio, a friend of Julius Caesar, a Roman general and politician, after the murder of his friend, asked Cleopatra for support so that Egypt would support him with their ships in Tarsus, present-day Turkey. He met with him and the result of Cleopatra’s trip in her own luxurious ship was that a new romance arose, so Marco Antonio decided to stay in Egypt enjoying the maximum luxuries with Cleopatra. Mark Antony had to return to Rome and in that time Cleopatra gave birth to twins. She returned to Egypt four years later and they had another son.
12. In Rome, the hatred of Cleopatra increased, even more so with the lands that Marco Antonio gave to Cleopatra, which caused Egypt to recover them again. It was also known that Marco Antonio intended to move the Roman capital to Alexandria and found a new dynasty. All this unleashed a war, In July of the year 30 BC Octavio entered Alexandria, Marco Antonio, deceived by a false report about the death of Cleopatra, took his own life. Octavian intended to take Cleopatra as her prisoner and display her in Rome in the traditional ceremony known as the Triumph.
13. Octavio, a cold and calculating man, would not give in to Cleopatra’s charms as happened with Julius Caesar and Marco Antonio. Seeing the future of her slavery, Cleopatra chose to die by her own hand, taking her life.
14. She asked her maids to bring her a basket with fruit and to put an Egyptian cobra or asp inside, who was responsible for her death.  This happened at the end of the year 30 BC, at the age of 39, after her request to be buried next to her husband, Marco Antonio.  This was done although the exact place of her burial is unknown.

Tips for Died Cleopatra

• Investigate about the death of the Egyptian queen and you will be able to find other versions about her death, although the most recognized by historians is suicide.