Ancient Queens

By N.S. Gill, About.com Guide

The last pharaoh of Egypt, ruling before the Romans took control, Cleopatra is known for: (1) her affairs with Roman commanders Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, by whom she had three children, and (2.) her suicide by snake bite after her husband or partner Antony took his own life. Many have assumed she was a beauty, but, unlike Nefertiti, Cleopatra was probably not. Instead, she was smart and politically valuable.

Cleopatra came to power in Egypt at the age of 17. She reigned from 51-30 B.C. As a Ptolemy, she was Macedonian, but even though her ancestry was Macedonian, she was still an Egyptian queen and worshiped as a god.

Since Cleopatra was legally obliged to have either a brother or son for her consort, she married brother Ptolemy XIII when he was 12. Following the death of Ptolemy XIII, Cleopatra married an even younger brother, Ptolemy XIV. In time she ruled along with her son Caesarion.

After the death of Cleopatra, Octavian took control of Egypt, putting it into Roman hands.

See:

• Cleopatra Study Guide
• What Did Cleopatra Look Like?
• Latin Words for Death and Suicide
• The Ptolemies
• About.com's Women's History Guide on Cleopatra

Cleopatra is on the list of Most Important People to Know in Ancient History.

1. Hatshepsut
2. Nefertiti
3. Tomyris
4. Arsinoe
5. Cleopatra
6. Boudicca
7. Zenobia

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• Hatshepsut - Queen of Ancient Egypt
• Nefertiti - Queen of Ancient Egypt
• Tomyris - Queen of the Massagetae
• Arsinoe II - Queen of Ancient Thrace and Egypt
• Cleopatra VII - Queen of Ancient Egypt
• Boudicca - Queen of the Iceni
• Zenobia - Queen of Palmyra

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