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						Cleopatra VII was born in 69 B.C. in Alexandria, which was then the capital of Egypt.  Her father was Egypt's pharaoh, Ptolemy XII, nicknamed Auletes ("Flute-Player") and her mother was probably Auletes's sister, Cleopatra V Tryphaena.  It was commonplace for members of the Ptolemaic dynasty to marry their siblings. The family was not truly Egyptian, but Macedonian. They were descended from Ptolemy I, a general of Alexander the Great who became king of Egypt after Alexander's death in 323 B.C.  When her father died in 51 B.C., Cleopatra and her brother Ptolemy XIII inherited the throne.  Cleopatra was 17 or 18 when she became the queen of Egypt.  She was far from beautiful, despite her glamorous image today.  She is depicted on ancient coins with a long hooked nose and masculine features. Yet she was clearly a very seductive woman.  She had an enchantingly musical voice and exuded charisma.  She was also highly intelligent.  She spoke nine languages (she was the first Ptolemy pharaoh who could actually speak Egyptian!) and proved to be a shrewd politician.  In compliance with Egyptian tradition, Cleopatra married her brother and co-ruler, Ptolemy XIII, who was about 12 at the time.  But it was a marriage of convenience only, and Ptolemy was pharaoh in name only.  For three years he remained in the background while Cleopatra ruled alone.  Ptolemy's advisors - led by a eunuch named Pothinus - resented Cleopatra's independence and conspired against her.  In 48 B.C. they stripped Cleopatra of her power and she was forced into exile in Syria. Determined to regain her throne, Cleopatra amassed an army on Egypt's border.  At this time Pompey, a Roman friend of Cleopatra's father, was vying with Julius Caesar for control of the Roman Empire.  After losing the battle of Pharsalos he sailed to Alexandria, pursued by Caesar, to seek Ptolemy's protection.  But Ptolemy's advisors thought it would be safer to side with Caesar, and when Pompey arrived he was stabbed to death while the pharaoh watched. Three days later Caesar reached Alexandria.  Before he entered the city, Ptolemy's courtiers brought him a gift - Pompey's head.  But Pompey had once been Caesar's friend, and Caesar was appalled by his brutal murder.  He marched into the city, seized control of the palace, and began issuing orders.  Both Ptolemy and Cleopatra were to dismiss their armies and meet with Caesar, who would settle their dispute.
Bladewielders
Cleopatra VII, 32BC
Cleopatra knew that if she entered Alexandria openly, Ptolemy's henchmen would kill her.  So she had herself smuggled to Caesar inside an oriental rug.  When the rug was unrolled, Cleopatra tumbled out.  It is said that Caesar was bewitched by her charm, and became her lover that very night.  He also gave her a piece of jewelry ~ a bracelet with a large red jewel. When Ptolemy saw Caesar and Cleopatra together the next day, he was furious.  He stormed out of the palace, shouting that he had been betrayed.  Caesar had Ptolemy arrested, but the pharaoh's army - led by the eunuch Pothinus and Cleopatra's sister Arsinoe - laid seige to the palace. In hopes of appeasing the attackers Caesar released Ptolemy XIII, but the Alexandrian War continued for almost six months.  It ended when Pothinus was killed in battle and Ptolemy XIII drowned in the Nile while trying to flee.  Alexandria surrendered to Caesar, who captured Arsinoe and restored Cleopatra to her throne.  Cleopatra then married her brother Ptolemy XIV, who was eleven or twelve years old. Soon after their victory Cleopatra and Caesar enjoyed a leisurely two-month cruise on the Nile.  The Roman historian Suetonius wrote that they would have sailed all the way to Ethiopia if Caesar's troops had agreed to follow him.  Cleopatra may have become pregnant at this time. She later gave birth to a son, Ptolemy XV, called Caesarion or 'Little Caesar'. It has been suggested that Caesar wasn't really Caesarion's father - despite his promiscuity, Caesar had only one other child - but Caesarion strongly resembled Caesar, and Caesar acknowledged Caesarion as his son.  After the cruise Caesar returned to Rome, leaving three legions in Egypt to protect Cleopatra.  A year later he invited Cleopatra to visit him in Rome.  She arrived in the autumn of 46 B.C., accompanied by Caesarion and her young brother/husband, Ptolemy XIV. In September Caesar celebrated his war triumphs by parading through the streets of Rome with his prisoners, including Cleopatra's sister Arsinoe.  Caesar spared Arsinoe's life, but later Mark Antony had her killed at Cleopatra's request. Cleopatra lived in Caesar's villa near Rome for almost two years. Caesar showered her with gifts and titles.  He even had a statue of her erected in the temple of Venus Genetrix.  His fellow Romans were scandalized by his extra-marital affair; he was married to a woman named Calpurnia.  It was rumored that Caesar intended to pass a law allowing him to marry Cleopatra and make their son his heir.  It was also rumored that Caesar - who had accepted a lifetime dictatorship and sat on a golden throne in the Senate - intended to become the king of Rome. On March 15, 44 B.C. a crowd of conspirators surrounded Caesar at a Senate meeting and stabbed him to death.  Knowing that she too was in danger, Cleopatra quickly left Rome with her entourage.  Before or immediately after their return to Egypt, Ptolemy XIV died, possibly poisoned at Cleopatra's command. Cleopatra then made Caesarion her co-regent. Contnued on next page
									Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra  in 1963
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