Cleopatra VII

Timeline

1. c. -69–-48Alexandria · EgyptDaughter of Ptolemy XII, fluent in Greek and several Eastern languages. After her father's death she co-ruled with her brother Ptolemy XIII but was marginalized and driven into exile by court factional struggles. Taking advantage of Caesar's arrival in Egypt while pursuing Pompey, she entered Alexandria and used political charm and diplomacy to win Roman intervention.
2. -48–-44Alexandria · EgyptCaesar intervened in Egypt's civil war, helping her defeat Ptolemy XIII and restore her to the throne. The two allied and had a son, Caesarion. Cleopatra once lived in Rome; after Caesar's assassination she returned home to consolidate her rule, keeping Egypt relatively independent and accumulating wealth to withstand Rome's realignment of power.
3. -41–-32Tarsus · Asia MinorAt Tarsus she met the eastern governor Antony with grand ceremony, forming a political and personal alliance and bearing children. By granting eastern territories and wealth she supported Antony against Octavian, drawing Egypt deeply into Rome's second civil war and reshaping the eastern Mediterranean into a new power configuration of the Triumvirate's remnants.
4. -31–-30Alexandria · EgyptAfter losing the naval Battle of Actium in 31 BCE, Antony killed himself; Cleopatra tried and failed to negotiate terms preserving her children and kingdom. As Octavian's forces closed on Alexandria she took her own life in the palace, legend says by venomous snake or poison, ending both the Ptolemaic dynasty and Egypt's independence.