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Following the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC, a line of rule was established in Egypt of which King Ptolemy I Soter became its first ruler. Over the next three centuries, his descendants took to the throne.
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After father dies, 18 year-old Cleopatra and her brother become co-rulers of Egypt. Her brother, Ptolemy XIII, is 10 years old. Male privilege am i right?
However, she wanted to be the sole ruler and had no intention of sharing power. The first three years of her reign were tough for the two as it was marked by economic failure, famine, deficient floods of the Nile, and political conflicts. -
Advisors for Cleopatra's brother force her to leave Alexandria and go to Syria. She raises an army to prepare to confront Ptolemy XIII. Don't you wish you were an only child?
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Cleopatra goes to the home of the Roman military leader, Julius Caesar, to talk him into helping her defeat her brother.
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Caesar's army defeats Ptolemy XIII. Cleopatra and another brother, Ptolemy XIV, are the new rulers of Egypt.
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Caesar accepts him as his son. Calls him Caesarion or little Caesar.
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Caesar is assassinated because people think he is becoming too powerful. Cleopatra takes their son and returns to Egypt, where she orders Ptolemy XIV poisoned to death so that her son can be a co-ruler.
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Cleopatra was summoned to meet Antony, who doubted her loyalty. She supported the wrong side in the Roman civil war. However, upon meeting her, he was so spellbound by her gracious presence that he moved to Alexandria with her. The Roman needs the Egyptian queen in his war against the Parthian Empire, and returns the rule of old Ptolemaic territories to her. https://www.ancient.eu/article/197/cleopatra--antony/
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Mark Antony and Cleopatra combined armies to take on Octavian's forces in a great sea battle at Actium, on the west coast of Greece. Octavian was victorious and Cleopatra and Mark Antony fled to Egypt. The campaign is a disaster and Octavian is able to achieve control of the east. Cleopatra flees to Alexandria and opens negotiations with Octavian; her purpose is to save her children and keep the Ptolemaic kingdom intact.
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After Octavian has declined to negotiate, Cleopatra reportedly commits suicide; Mark Antony does the same. Their children survive, but Caesarion is killed.
