Cleopatra VII Philopator: Queen of Egypt - Research Paper Example

Cleopatra VII, Queen of Egypt Name: Course: Institution: Instructor’s name: Date Due: Introduction Cleopatra VII Philopator was a historic Greek queen and the final ancient Egypt’s pharaoh. Cleopatra was born 69 BC and lived until August 30BC. Her roots can be traced back to the Ptolemaic dynasty, a royal kin of Greek that governed Egypt after the death of Alexander the Great and at Hellenistic time. Her father was Ptolemy XII Auletes but her mother’s identity is a controversy. However, it is believed that her mother is Typhaena of Egypt who was cousin or sister and the wife to her father, Ptolemy XII. Unlike the other members of the Ptolemaic dynasty, Cleopatra learnt Egyptian thus representing herself as the rebirth of an Egyptian deity Isis. Initially, Cleopatra ruled alongside her father Ptolemy XII, and later with her two brothers Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV consecutively. She was married to them according to Egyptian customary law but later ruled on her own as a pharaoh. With Julius Caesar’s help, she strengthened her grip on power. She later promoted her son, Caeserion (sired by Caesar) to co-rule in name. She was later married to Mark Anthony after the death of her Julius Caesar (William 79). Succession to power Autocratic leadership and increased corruption in Ptolemy’s reign led to loss of Cyrenaica and Cyprus. Ptolemy went back to Rome together with Cleopatra when Cleopatra VI Tryphaena took power but soon died under mysterious circumstances (Walker & Peter 130). It is believed that, Berenice IV poisoned her in order to achieve sole power although this claims have no any historic proof. Ptolemy XII returned in 55BC capturing Alexandria with the support of the roman general, Aulus Gabinius. Consequently, Berenice was jailed and executed. Cleopatra, then 14 years of age was made the deputy of her father with limited power due to her age (Flammarion 125). After her father’s death, in early 51BC, Cleopatra 18 years old and her younger brother Cleopatra XIII 10 years old were forced to join their kingdom. Cleopatra married to her little brother clearly stipulated that she was not ready to share power with him. A few months later, their relationship got soar, Cleopatra removed Ptolemy’s name from legal documents, and her image solely appeared on coins, which violated the Ptolemaic customs, which require a female ruler to be subordinate to the male counterpart. Cleopatra came into a big clash with a powerful Roman army of Aulus Gabius, which led her to loss in power. The sole sovereignty of Cleopatra was practically put to an end by a group of aristocrats spearheaded by eunuch Pothinus who restored Ptolemy to the throne in around 48BC (Green 97). Cleopatra raised rebellion but was overpowered and had to flee with her only remaining sister. Relationship with Julius Caesar Ptolemy’s involvement in the death had enraged Caesar that he wanted to annex Egypt. Cleopatra took advantage of his anger and smuggled herself into Caesar’s palace in Rome. She succeeded by becoming Caesar’s mistress with whom they had a son named Ptolemy Caesar and nicknamed ‘Caesarion’ (meaning little Caesar) (Green 104). This led Caesar to change his plan of seizing Egypt. He instead focused on helping Cleopatra in recapturing the throne in a six months war between the Roman army of Caesar and Ptolemy XIII (Gregory 84). In this event, Ptolemy XIII was drowned during a fight with Caesar in the Nile after which Cleopatra took the throne alongside Ptolemy XIV her much younger brother who was just 15 years of age. Though Caesar was married, his relationship with Cleopatra was open which was a scandal for the Roman people. As a result of the intimate relationship, Caesar made a golden statue of Cleopatra, which was represented as Isis in Venus Genetrix temple that is considered a Caesar family’s mythical ancestress. Caesar was assassinated on March 15, 44 BC after which Ptolemy XIV passed away allegedly after being poisoned by her elder sister Cleopatra. Cleopatra made his son Caesarion her co-ruler and successor (Flammarion 166). Role of Queen Cleopatra in the Roman Civil War Cleopatra was involved in the roman civil war supporting the Caesarian party due to her past with Caesar. The party was being led by Mark Anthony aided by Octavian against the assassins of Caesars under the leadership of Gaius Cassius Longinus and Marcus Junius Brutus. Early 43 BC, an alliance of Cleopatra and the Caesarian party leader, Publius Cornelius Dolabella who accepted Caesarion as her co-leader was established (Walker & Peter 77). Cassius on the other hand was planning to seize Egypt’s treasure and to get back to Queen Cleopatra for her support of the Caesar’s party. Despite strong opposition from Cassius, the queen and her troop in Alexandria with 60 ships sailed through the Libyan coast to the west to assist Caesarian leaders. Unfortunately, a strong storm damaged their ships forcing them to return without accomplishing their mission. She fell ill afterwards (Green 54). Cleopatra and Mark Anthony After the roman Civil War, Mark Anthony sent for the queen of Egypt to summon her for allegations of giving financial aid to Cassius. In reality though, Mark Anthony wanted her to pledge her support to him in his planned war against the Parthian. On her arrival in the palace, she charmed Mark Anthony with her beauty and they became lovers. In fact, Mark spent 41-40BC winter with the queen in Alexandria (Walker & Peter 145). The two were blessed with twins Cleopatra Selene II and Alexander Helios on December 25 40BC. They got married in Alexandria although he was already married to Octavian’s sister, Octavian Minor. They got their third child whom they named Ptolemy Philadelphus (William 93). Cleopatra’s death The death of Cleopatra remains a controversy. It is alleged that she committed suicide by inducing a poisonous Egyptian cobra to bite her. However, according to Strabo who was alive at the time of her death, two myths explain her death; she applied a poisonous ointment on her body or an asp bit her (Walker & Peter 162). Influence on history, art and culture Unlike many Egyptian queens who had fame in their own land but with no recognition from the outside world, Cleopatra was popular in her land and the outside world. For this reason, she has influenced a lot of history, literature and other works of art. Cleopatra’s life inspired a new creative culture by marrying ancient Egypt’s art and culture with Greco-roman culture (Gregory 159). The styles of awesome beauty and sophistication immediately influenced the Roman Empire. For instance, obelisks turned into fixtures in the roman architecture and sculpture. As defined in Webster dictionary, obelisks refer to an erect four sided, monolithic pillar, which tapes gradually as it rises and ends in a pyramid. Although it is not historically proven that it is connected to Cleopatra VII, this kind of a historic Egyptian monument is today known as ‘Cleopatra’s Needle’. Papyrus is also another significant cultural export of Egypt. The papyrus, which was made from the tree stem that grew along the Nile River, was used for writing. Most of Cleopatra’s images in papyrus and stones lived on in the Roman Empire (Gregory 178). The life of Cleopatra has also greatly influenced many literary works. The most notable include Shakespeare’s play on ‘Antony and Cleopatra’, ‘Caesar and Cleopatra’, a playwright done by a British, George Bernard and finally John Dryden’s work on ‘All for Love’ to mention a few. In the recent past, the film industry has also involved in Cleopatra’s life. These include, versions of Cecil B. Demiller, Elizabeth Taylor’s and Richard Burton burlesque and a documentary model to the woman commonly perceived as beautiful and glamorous but who was perhaps more charming and intelligent. The statue erected in the roman temple by his lover, Caesar is of historic significance in the world (Gregory 115). The various history texts have been written until recently that try to trace the life of Cleopatra and her death, which is still a controversy. Besides art and literature, Queen Cleopatra left an ineffaceable figure of a woman as shrewd, strong and determined. She also instigated new interests in the culture of Egypt. After her death, various historians have tried to explain her death. Some dispute the claim that she committed suicide or was bitten by an asp by proposing that Augustus might have killed her. In 2010, Christoph Schaefer, a German historian challenged all the myths after consulting with various literature and toxicologists which led to his conclusion that, the queen was poisoned. Hence, Cleopatra remains an important historic figure in the modern world (Flammarion 62). Conclusion Cleopatra VII, the queen of Egypt lived for only 39years but had impacted not only Egypt, but also the Roman Empire and the world as a whole. She was a charming and intelligent woman who was able to influence the foreign rulers of the Roman Empire particularly Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony to achieve her goals. She started leading at a tender age of 14years and has ruled alongside her three brothers, her son Caesarion. She was involved in the Roman Civil War. She died under mysterious circumstances and the cause of her death remains of great interest to historians today. Her life has inspired the art and architectural culture in both Egypt and Roman Empire. She is an outstanding image of a woman in the modern world. Work cited Flammarion, Edith. Cleopatra: The Life and Death of a Pharaoh, New York: Harry Abrams, 1997. Green, Robert. Cleopatra, New York: Franklin Watts, 1996. Gregory, Kristiana. Cleopatra VII, Daughter of the Nile, New York: Scholastic, 1999. Walker, Susan, and Peter Higgs, eds. Cleopatra of Egypt: From History to Myth, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2001. William, Shakespeare. Antony and Cleopatra, New Jersey: Wildside Press LLC, 2007. Read More