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Cleopatra
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cleopatra VII Philopator (in Greek, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ; (Late 69 BC – August 12, 30 BC), kent tae history as Cleopatra,[1][2] wis last the pharaoh o Auncient Egyp.
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Cleopatra VII Philopator | |||||
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![]() Bust o Cleopatra VII, Altes Museum, Berlin | |||||
Ptolemaic Queen o Egyp | |||||
Ring | 51–30 BC | ||||
Predecessor | Ptolemy XII Auletes | ||||
Co-rulers | Ptolemy XII Auletes Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator Ptolemy XIV Ptolemy XV Caesarion | ||||
Born | 69 BC Alexandria, Egyp | ||||
Dee'd | 12 August 30 BC (agit 38–39) Alexandria, Egyp | ||||
Buirial | Unkent | ||||
Spouse | Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator Ptolemy XIV Mark Antony | ||||
Issue | Caesarion, Ptolemy XV Philopator Philometor Caesar Alexander Helios Cleopatra Selene, Queen o Mauretanie Ptolemy XVI Philadelphus | ||||
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Hoose | Ptolemaic Dynasty | ||||
Faither | Ptolemy XII Auletes | ||||
Mither | Cleopatra V o Egyp (presumably) |
She wis a member o the Ptolemaic dynasty o Ancient Egyp, an therefore wis a descendant o ane o Alexander the Great's generals who haed seisit control ower Egyp efter Alexander's daith. Maist Ptolemeis spoke Greek an refused tae learn Egyptian, which is the raison that Greek as well as Egyptian leids wur uised on offeecial court documents lik the Rosetta Stane. Bi contrast, Cleopatra learned Egyptian an representit hersel as the reincarnation o an Egyptian Goddess.
Cleopatra oreeginally ruled jointly wi her faither Ptolemy XII Auletes an later wi her brithers, Ptolemy XIII an Ptolemy XIV, whom she marriet as per Egyptian custom, but eventually she became sole ruler. As pharaoh, she consummatit a liaison wi Gaius Julius Caesar that solidified her grip on the throne. She later elevatit her son wi Caesar, Caesarion, tae co-ruler in name.
Efter Caesar's assassination in 44 BC, she aligned wi Mark Antony in opposition tae Caesar's legal heir, Gaius Iulius Caesar Octavianus (later kent as Augustus). Wi Antony, she bore the twins Cleopatra Selene II an Alexander Helios, an anither son, Ptolemy Philadelphus. Her unions wi her brithers produced nae childer. Efter losin the Battle o Actium tae Octavian's forces, Antony committit suicide. Cleopatra follaed suit, accordin tae tradeetion killin hersel bi means o an asp bite on 12 August 30 BC. She wis briefly ootlived bi Caesarion, who wis declared pharaoh, but he wis suin killed on Octavian's orders. Egyp became the Roman province o Aegyptus.
Tho Cleopatra bore the auncient Egyptian title o pharaoh, the Ptolemaic dynasty wis Hellenistic, haein been foundit 300 years afore bi Ptolemy I Soter, a Macedonian Greek general o Alexander the Great. As sic, Cleopatra's leid wis the Greek spoken bi the Hellenic aristocracy, tho she wis reputit tae be the first ruler o the dynasty tae learn Egyptian. She an' a' adoptit common Egyptian beliefs an deities. Her patron deity wis Isis, an sicweys, durin her reign, it wis believed that she wis the re-incarnation an embodiment o the goddess. Her daith merked the end o the Ptolemaic Kinrick an Hellenistic period an the beginnin o the Roman era in the eastren Mediterranean.
Tae this day, Cleopatra remains a popular figure in Wastren cultur. Her legacy survives in numerous wirks o airt an the mony dramatizations o her story in literature an ither media, includin William Shakespeare's tragedy Antony and Cleopatra, Jules Massenet's opera Cléopâtre an the 1963 film Cleopatra. In maist depictions, Cleopatra is put forrit as a great beauty an her successive conquests o the warld's maist pouerful men ar taken tae be proof o her aesthetic an sexual appeal. In his Pensées, philosopher Blaise Pascal contends that Cleopatra's classically bonnie profile changed warld history: "Cleopatra's nose, haed it been shorter, the whole face o the warld woud hae been chyngit."