Queen Cleopatra: The Last Egyptian Pharaoh And The Most Influential Woman In The History Of Humankind.

👁Cleopatra Philopator the 7th👁

👁She was born to King Ptolemy the 12th and Cleopatra the 6th Tryphaenia. It is rumored that Ptolemy and Cleopatra the 6th were allegedly cousins or siblings. It was common practice for ancient Egyptians to marry within their families in order to keep their bloodlines "pure."

👁Cleopatra the 7th was smart and cunning growing up. She was her father's favorite child. At age 14, she was chosen by her father to co-rule after her mother passed away due to mysterious circumstances. Cleopatra served as deputy to the king and his regent. 

👁Cleopatra's family were actually of Greek descent. She grew up speaking, reading, and writing Greek. She also learned many other languages including Egyptian and Latin. Cleopatra studied various different subjects like mathematics, philosophy, astronomy, etc.

👁When the king died, Cleopatra was 18 years old and in order for her to rule Egypt, she had to marry her 10 year old brother Ptolemy the 8th. She quickly took control as the main ruler.

👁As her brother got older, he decided he wanted more power. Ptolemy XIII's advisers pulled Cleopatra from power and banished her to Syria. Ptolemy XIII, became the sole Pharaoh of Egypt.

👁In 48 BC, when 52 year old Julius Caesar arrived in Egypt 21 year old Cleopatra snuck back in and met with him. She was able to convinced him to help her win back the throne. Caesar defeated Ptolemy's army at the Battle of the Nile and Ptolemy drowned in the Nile River while trying to escape. Cleopatra then took back power and ruled alongside another younger brother, Ptolemy XIV.

👁Julius Caesar and Cleopatra fell in love and soon had a baby named Caesarion. Cleopatra visited Rome and stayed at one of Caesar's country houses. 

👁Cleopatra wanted Egypt to remain independent of Rome. She built up the Egyptian economy, establishing trade with many Arab nations. She was a popular ruler among the people of Egypt both because she embraced the Egyptian culture and because the country was prosperous during her rule. Cleopatra was a great ruler who cared about her people and took her job very seriously. She believed she was the reincarnated Egyptian goddess Isis. She worked hard to be a strong leader who helped build a strong country.

👁In 44 BC, Julius Caesar was assassinated. After he died, Cleopatra became allies with the man who took his position as leader of Rome, Marc Anthony. Cleopatra and Marc Anthony also fell in love and had 3 children together. 

👁Marc Anthony and Cleopatra also formed a military alliance against another of Rome's leaders, Octavian. Octavian was the legal heir of Julius Caesar, but Cleopatra wanted her son, Caesarion, to be Caesar's heir and to eventually become ruler of Rome. 

👁Cleopatra and Marc Antony armies fought Octavian's army at the Battle of Actium. Antony and Cleopatra were defeated by Octavian and had to retreat to Egypt.

👁Cleopatra's death is subject for debate after all these years. The most common theory is that when Marc Antony returned to the battlefield hoping to recover and defeat Octavian, hee soon realized that he was going to be captured. Upon hearing false news that Cleopatra had died, Antony killed himself. When Cleopatra heard that Antony was dead, she became very sad. She killed herself by allowing a poisonous cobra to bite her or pricked herself with a poisonous pin.

👁With Cleopatra's death, Octavian took control of Egypt and it became part of the Roman Empire. 

👁Did you know that Cleopatra was a chemist and her lead based eye makeup helped protect her from eye infections that were running rampant in Egypt at the time? She also owned a perfume factory and believed that fragrances could be used as a tool for persuasion.