CLEOPATRA IV BIOGRAPHY - Essay Example

Cleopatra was the last of the line of Ptolemaic dynasty. “She originally shared power with her father Ptolemy XII and later with her brothers Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV, whom she also married, but eventually gained sole rule” (Jones, 2006). During this time period in ancient Egypt, the pharaohs were considered to be linked to divine sources in the gods and goddesses of the ancient religions; it is common knowledge that Cleopatra VII identified herself with Isis. In the current research investigation, a brief biography of Cleopatra is given, including her association with the early Roman empire through Mark Antony, her achievements and contemporary effects of the times, and her famous death by the suicide poison of an asp.

Cleopatra became queen at a very young age, being only eighteen when she ascended to her high position, and because according to the laws and customs of the time, a female ruler had to have a brother or son as a person of interest in their high court, she had to be married to her brother. Such arrangements were not all that uncommon in royal monarchies of ancient times, as they were often based on complicated systems of bloodline purity and genetics understanding, which led to some amount of intermarriage and often, in one of the unfortuante side effects of such a system, inbreeding.

Cleopatra, however, was in no way dominated in her relationship to Ptolemy XII, as he was only twelve years old and she was eighteen. Instead, she effectively took power and control on her own. “Cleopatra dropped Ptolemy XIII name from all administrative documents and she had her own portrait and name placed on legal tender, ignoring her brother’s claim of co-regent” (Charveau, 1997). This shows the seeds of ambition being very deep in Cleopatra in terms of internal control. In terms of external control, however, in her mid-life and until her death,