Bloody rise of Cleopatra
How her struggle for the throne tore Egypt apart
Cleopatra VII was one of the most powerful female rulers of the ancient world, and her beauty, charisma and love affairs have remained a source of fascination for over 2,000 years. She has been immortalised countless times in popular culture as a femme fatale, a tragic heroine and a coldblooded, murderous queen whose reign came to a deadly end. But did you know her rise to power was just as dramatic?
The one thing to bear in mind before exploring Cleopatra’s ascent is that, sadly, there is very little evidence about her life that comes from Egypt. Instead, most of the sources that have survived were produced by her enemies, the Romans, who created hostile propaganda that warped and mythologised her story to suit their perspective. As a result, despite extensive research into her life, Cleopatra mostly remains as a mystery to us and a source of constant speculation.
She was born around 69 BCE into Egypt’s ruling Ptolemaic dynasty, the daughter of King Ptolemy XII Auletes. It’s believed that her mother was Cleopatra V Tryphaena, who was possibly Ptolemy XII’S half-sister, but her true identity remains a source of confusion and she is sometimes referred to as Cleopatra VI. Altogether, it’s thought that Ptolemy had three daughters, with Cleopatra being his second, and two sons.
Although the Ptolemies ruled Egypt, they were actually a Greek dynasty that had been founded by Ptolemy I Soter, a Macedonian general who served under Alexander the Great. Alexander had conquered Egypt in 332 BCE and founded the city of Alexandria, which became the capital of both Egypt and the Hellenistic world, as well as the base of Ptolemy’s royal family.
Not only was Alexandria home to a high level of Greek culture, but it also boasted the finest scholars and one of the greatest libraries in the world. As she was born and raised in the capital, Cleopatra would likely have been educated by Greek tutors in the Musaeum, a research institution that also included the library.
Even though the details of her life are sparse, it’s well-known that Cleopatra was a skilled linguist, speaking several languages. She was the first member of from the Ptolemaic dynasty to read, write and speak Egyptian, as the rest of the Ptolemies had continued to use Greek.
Intelligent from a young age, Cleopatra needed all the advantages at her disposal just to survive in her own family.
The Ptolemies had a long history of murdering one another as they fought among themselves to seize power. It was a bloodthirsty dynasty filled with rivalries fuelled by conspiracy and greed. To trust your kin was naive – for a Ptolemy, it was kill or be killed.
Cleopatra learnt this in her formative years during her father’s turbulent reign. Ptolemy XII had ascended the throne in around 80 BCE after a civil war that saw the last legitimate members of the dynasty killed. As an illegitimate son of a previous king, Ptolemy IX Soter, Ptolemy XII increasingly relied on
Rome to help him maintain his rule. His precarious position was complicated further due to the will of his late uncle, King Ptolemy X, which explicitly stated that if there were no heirs to assume the Ptolemaic throne, then Egypt would belong to Rome.
To prevent his realm from being invaded and annexed, Ptolemy tried to maintain a good relationship with Rome by pursuing a policy of bribery, raising funds through taxation and loans from wealthy Roman bankers. Consequently, when Cleopatra was born around a decade into her father’s reign, Egypt – once a wealthy and prosperous state – was well and truly broke.
The growing discontent and anger among the Alexandrians, who disliked Ptolemy’s close links with Rome, exploded when the Romans seized Cyprus in 58 BCE. Cyprus had been ruled by the king’s brother – Ptolemy of Cyprus – who had refused to bow down to the Romans and committed suicide instead. Choosing to preserve his relationship with Rome, Ptolemy did not react at all to the annexation or his brother’s death, and so he was promptly deposed.
Fleeing to Rome, Ptolemy stayed at the home of general Pompey the Great while his wife, Cleopatra V Tryphaena, and his eldest daughter, Berenice IV, assumed the throne in his absence. Cleopatra V died soon afterwards, possibly killed on Berenice’s orders, leaving the latter as sole ruler. Berenice briefly married Seleucus, her cousin and a Seleucid prince, but it wasn’t long before the queen had him strangled to death.
Berenice, who was popular with the Alexandrians, tried to cement her position as queen by sending delegates to Rome to advocate for the legitimacy of her reign. Unfortunately for her, her
father had them murdered before they could arrive and plead her case. Ptolemy XII’S creditors wanted him returned to the Egyptian throne so that they could recoup the money that they had lent him, but the Romans did not want to launch an invasion.
Instead, Ptolemy resorted to paying Roman general Aulus Gabinius, an ally of Pompey’s, to help him invade Egypt and regain his throne from his daughter. In 55 BCE, Gabinius’s forces successfully reached Alexandria and stormed the palace, restoring Ptolemy as king, while Berenice and her supporters were captured and executed.
After witnessing all this turmoil, Cleopatra got her first taste of power when her father named her as his co-ruler, which allowed her to prepare herself for her succession to the throne after his death. She was 18 years old when Ptolemy passed away in 51 BCE, leaving his throne to both her and her younger brother, Ptolemy XIII, who was around 10 years old.
The two siblings soon married in the Ptolemaic tradition. For the Ptolemies, it was normal practice to have a co-ruler, usually a brother or sister, to keep power and wealth within the royal family. This was further reinforced with incestuous marriages that were intended to maintain the purity of the Ptolemaic bloodline, a custom that began when Ptolemy II married his full sister, Arsinoe II in around 273 BCE. While the Greeks disapproved of such marriages, it was an Egyptian custom that the dynasty chose to adopt.
“THE PTOLEMIES HAD A LONG HISTORY OF MURDERING ONE ANOTHER AS MANY OF THEM TRIED TO SEIZE POWER FOR THEMSELVES”
When Cleopatra assumed the throne alongside her brother, she found herself faced with the famine and drought that had struck her realm, triggered by poor harvests and the low levels of the River Nile, which had failed to flood properly. As starvation and unrest threatened to grip the country, Cleopatra deftly demonstrated her skills as an administrator, removing the tax burden on her people and ensuring that the food supply was secure, going as far as to open the granaries in Alexandria.
On top of this, Egypt had enormous debts and the economy was in tatters. Cleopatra knew that the religious temples, an extremely powerful part of Egyptian society and economy, as well as a source of great wealth, were the key to sorting out the country’s financial troubles. By quickly aligning herself with the temples and reforming the monetary system, Cleopatra was successful in stabilising the economy while also making an effort to stamp out the rampant corruption that had been making the situation worse.
Religion also served another purpose for the new queen. Egyptian pharaohs had long been associated with religion and they were considered to be living gods on Earth – her father had even chosen to identify himself as the Greek god of fertility and wine, Dionysus. To bolster her political power, Cleopatra chose to self-identify as the goddess Isis, presenting herself as a maternal figure who could guide and protect her country.
This was even more crucial considering that Cleopatra, like the rest of her family members, had no desire to share power. An astute and logical politician who was confident in her decisionmaking, Cleopatra was described by the 10th-century Arab historian Al-masudi as “a sage, a philosopher who elevated the ranks of scholars… she also wrote books on medicine, charms and cosmetics”.
She did not feel the need to consult the advisors at court, much to their chagrin, and within months of their joint rule Cleopatra had sidelined Ptolemy XIII and was being identified on official documents as Egypt’s sole ruler.
Unsurprisingly, given the volatile nature of the Ptolemaic court, there were consequences for Cleopatra’s actions. Ptolemy XIII had powerful allies at court, including the three men who acted as his guardians and advisors after the death of his father: his tutors Pothinus and Theodotus of Chios, and Achillas, the commander-in-chief of the Egyptian army. Resenting Cleopatra’s power, the men formed a faction against her and, soon enough, the queen found herself embroiled in a civil war against her brother and his supporters.
Despite forming a brief alliance with her other brother, Ptolemy XIV, Cleopatra was deposed and driven from the palace of Alexandria in 49 BCE. By the following
year, she had fled to Syria with her halfsister, Arsinoe IV, where she gathered an army of mercenaries and plotted to invade Egypt. However, she was prevented from reaching Alexandria by her brother’s forces, leaving her outside the city of Pelusium.
Amid this, there was also a civil war raging in the
Roman Republic between
Julius Caesar and his former ally, Pompey, sparked by the Roman senate’s rising alarm regarding Caesar’s growing power. In 48
BCE, Pompey and his army were defeated by Caesar at the Battle of Pharsalus in Greece.
Having enjoyed a good relationship with
Ptolemy XII, Pompey fled to Egypt to seek sanctuary with the late king’s son,
Ptolemy XIII.
This proved to be a fatal mistake for Pompey because Ptolemy XIII and his advisors saw his arrival as an opportunity to get into Caesar’s good books. As Pompey prepared to step ashore at Pelusium he was stabbed to death by Ptolemy XIII’S men, his head was severed and his body thrown into the sea. The king and his advisors had ordered the assassination to please Caesar, but he was reportedly repulsed by Pompey’s murder. According to
Greek philosopher Plutarch, when Caesar arrived in Egypt “Theodotus came to him with Pompey’s head, he turned away; he took up the man’s signet ring instead, and wept for him”.
Although he had turned up in Egypt to chase Pompey, Caesar quickly found himself caught up in the feud between the Ptolemaic siblings. Their father’s will had stated that if there were any dynastic disputes they should be settled by Rome, thereby giving Caesar the authority to act as a mediator.
Setting himself up in the royal palace, Caesar demanded that Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIII set aside their differences and reconcile. Ultimately, the biggest concern for Rome was to maintain control over Egypt’s resources, especially its grain, which was used to feed the Roman army. At the end of the day, it did not matter to the Romans who sat on the throne. Caesar was also eager to get the money that the late Ptolemy XII owed to Rome but Pothinus resisted, wanting the Roman to leave Alexandria.
Meanwhile, Cleopatra knew that Caesar was the man who had the power to help her regain her throne from her brother once and for all, but she could not get to him. Not only was her brother’s army preventing her from returning to Alexandria, but even if she managed to reach the palace, she would be instantly recognised by her enemies.
To solve this problem, Plutarch claims that Cleopatra snuck into the city and the palace with the help of her loyal follower, Apollodorus of Sicily. He states that “she got into one of those sacks that are used for bedclothes and stretched herself out full length. Apollodorus rolled up the sack, fastened it with a strap, and brought it in through the doors to Caesar”.
When she revealed herself, Caesar was reportedly left captivated by her “charm and grace”.
As iconic as this scene is in popular culture, there is no evidence to prove that Cleopatra ever wrapped herself up in a sack to sneak in and present herself to Caesar. It is often assumed that Cleopatra, frequently depicted as a scheming seductress, captivated Caesar and seduced him to join her cause because this is what the Roman propaganda wants us to believe.
However, it is important to note
that Cleopatra was only 22 years old at this point, while Caesar was 52 and far more experienced – we can’t say for certain that it was the queen who did the seducing.
How their relationship began might not be clear, but Cleopatra certainly won Caesar over to her side with her charisma. When Ptolemy XIII arrived at the palace to speak with Caesar the next morning, he was enraged to discover that not only had Cleopatra managed to enter Alexandria and the palace, but she had successfully become Caesar’s lover.
Angered, Ptolemy XIII and his advisors decided to go to war against Cleopatra and Caesar, with conflict breaking out between the Egyptian army, led by Achillas, and the Roman forces. In the ensuing Siege of Alexandria, Cleopatra and Caesar spent the winter besieged at the palace as the latter did not have enough men to fight their rivals, although they managed to have Pothinus assassinated. It has been suggested that it was during this conflict that part of the library of Alexandria may have been burned down.
Meanwhile Arsinoe IV – who had previously fled into exile with Cleopatra – decided to escape from the palace and join Achillas’ forces, declaring herself as queen and supplanting her sister. Proving to be as ruthless as the rest of her family, Arsinoe IV had Achillas killed and replaced him with her tutor, Ganymedes. As supplies to the palace were running out, Caesar requested reinforcements
“CLEOPATRA KNEW THAT CAESAR WAS THE MAN WHO HAD THE POWER TO HELP HER REGAIN HER THRONE”
from Mithridates of Pergamon, who arrived in spring 47 BCE and managed to break through the Egyptian army lines.
Caesar subsequently left the palace and led the Roman forces against Ptolemy XIII and the Egyptians at the Battle of the Nile. It was a decisive victory for Caesar, with Ptolemy XIII ultimately drowning in the river, supposedly when his boat capsized. Arsinoe IV was captured and sent to Rome, where she had to suffer the humiliation of taking part in Caesar’s triumph to celebrate his victory. Despite this, he chose to spare Arsinoe’s life and she sought sanctuary at the Temple of Artemis in the Greek city of Ephesus.
Cleopatra was noticeably absent while Caesar dispatched with their enemies at the Nile, most likely because she was pregnant with his child. It is alleged that the couple went on a luxurious cruise down the Nile to commemorate their resounding victory and Cleopatra later gave birth to their son Caesarion – also known as ‘Little Caesar’ – in June 47 BCE. In keeping with the tradition of sibling co-rulers, Cleopatra married her other brother, 12-year-old Ptolemy XIV, who was appointed as her co-ruler. Nonetheless, true power very much lay with the queen.
Now that the matter of the Egyptian throne was finally settled, it was time for Caesar to return to Rome, although he left some men behind to ensure that Cleopatra’s position remained secure. Yet it wasn’t long before Cleopatra left Egypt to join Caesar at his request, arriving in Rome accompanied by Ptolemy XIV in 46 BCE, where she would stay for the next two years.
For the Romans, Cleopatra’s affair with Caesar was nothing short of scandalous, especially as he already had a wife, Calpurnia. To make matters worse Cleopatra, as a monarch, was the physical embodiment of everything that the Roman Republic had feared – especially as there were concerns regarding Caesar’s increasingly evident ambition to rule. It is no wonder that Cicero, one of the republic’s most powerful statesmen, famously declared: “I can’t stand the queen.”
Cleopatra had aligned herself with Caesar because she knew that he had the power to both restore her to the throne and to keep her there – but it was precisely this power that would be his undoing. After being named ‘dictator for life’, Caesar’s authoritarian dreams came to a brutal end when he was assassinated
on the Ides of March in 44 BCE, a group of about 60 conspirators stabbing him to death in cold blood.
Even though her lover and protector was gone, Cleopatra initially stayed in Rome with the hope of having Caesarion accepted as Caesar’s legitimate heir. When this failed, she returned to Egypt with Ptolemy XIV, who mysteriously died shortly afterwards. The most likely explanation is that he was murdered on Cleopatra’s orders to make way for her three-year-old son to become her new co-ruler as Ptolemy XV Caesarion.
After seven tumultuous years,
Cleopatra could finally rule her kingdom without having to look over her shoulder, waiting for her family to strike. Her only sibling that remained alive, Arsinoe IV, would eventually be assassinated at the queen’s request, securing Cleopatra’s position on the Egyptian throne once
“TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE CLEOPATRA, AS A MONARCH, WAS THE PHYSICAL EMBODIMENT OF EVERYTHING THAT THE ROMAN REPUBLIC HAD FEARED”
and for all. It was another example of her ruthlessness, but she had to be ruthless in order to survive the reality in which she lived.
Cleopatra’s rise to power was indeed bloody but she tried her best to rule Egypt, with many of her accomplishments overshadowed by the propaganda that was churned out by the Romans, who despised her. However, Cleopatra’s intelligence and ability to rule were celebrated by her contemporaries in Egypt and various medieval Islamic and Arabic sources. Constantly aware that Egypt was at risk of being attacked and annexed by Rome, Cleopatra was eventually forced to seek out a new protector after Caesar’s demise, setting the stage for her ill-fated relationship with another powerful Roman general – Mark Antony.