The life and times of Cleopatra VII Philopator

Life of Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator

Period: 69 BCE to 30 BCE

The Triumvirate is created

60 BCE

Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus, three compelling and prominent figures of Rome, join hands in a secret alliance made for each of them to gather more power (Sanders 1932, 56-57). Photo - (Gaius 36 B.C.E., 1)

Ptolemy XII Auletes dethroned

58 BCE

Ptolemy XII Auletes, the father of Cleopatra VII Philopator and ruler of Egypt, was forced out of his kingdom in 58 BC. His dethronement is marked by hostility toward the king and factional issues (Siani-Davies 1997, 317-318). Photo - (Temple of Isis 1 century BCE, 1)

Ptolemy XII is reinstated

55 BCE

Through the borrowing of funds and bribery with influential Romans, Ptolemy XII is put back on the throne of Egypt thanks to Rome (Davies 1997, 332). Photo - (Temple of Horus 237-57 BCE, 1)

Death of Ptolemy XII Auletes

51 BCE

Ptolemy XII, the ruler of Egypt during his life and the father of Cleopatra and her brother, passed away. His death led to the co-rule of an eighteen or seventeen-year-old Cleopatra and her 10-year-old brother, Ptolemy XIII (Erich 2011, 40-41). Photo - (Ptolemy XII 80 BCE, 1)

Start of the Roman Civil War

49 BCE

In 49 BCE, Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon with his army against the orders of the Roman senate. This act of rebellion, on Caesar's part, caused Rome to go into Civil war (Beneker 2011, 74). Photo- (Fouquet n.d., 1)

Cleopatra flees to Syria

48 BCE

Through the influence of his advisors, Ptolemy XIII acted against Cleopatra and forced her to leave Egypt. Cleopatra amassed an army of mercenaries during her time in Syria to confront her ruling brother (Erich 2011, 41). Photo - (Anonymous Italian 1768-72, 1)

Meeting of Julius Caesar

48 BCE

The meeting between Julius Caesar and Cleopatra directly resulted from the Roman Civil war. Caesar ended up in Egypt following Roman general Pompey, whom he fought in the civil war. Although Ptolemy XIII murdered the general, Caesar still decided he should be the one to sort out the schism between Cleopatra and Ptolemy (Gruen 2011, 44). Photo- (Powers 2020, 12)

Birth of Caesarion

46 BCE

Cleopatra gives birth to her first son Caesarion, who is often referred to as being Caesar's son but was not left anything in his will (Gruen 2011, 46) (Ager 2013, 140). Photo - (Teynard 1817-1892)

Caesar returns home victorious

46 BCE

In 46 BCE, Julius Caesar finally returns to Rome from the Civil war to celebrate his triumphs (Gruen 2011, 44). Photo - (Head 30 - 20 BCE, 1)

Death of Caesar

44 BCE

Caesar was assassinated by his close ally Brutus and his political enemies. Cleopatra was in Rome at the time of this attack and quickly fled back to Egypt. Her co-ruler at the time and brother, Ptolemy XIV, died around this time as well (Erich 2011, 47-48). Photo - (Gerome 1824-1904, 1)

The second triumvirate is formed

43 BCE

After the death of Caesar, three very prominent figures in Rome emerged and allied to avenge Caesar and restore Rome's republic. The members were Mark Antony, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, and Caesar's grand-nephew Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (Octavian). The three eventually slayed Caesar's killers, and Octavian and Mark Antony split the powers of Rome into two, Octavian in the West and Mark Antony in the East (Sanders 1932, 55) (Huzar 1978, 233). Photo- (Wasson 2016, 1)

Cleopatra and Mark Antony intertwine

42 BCE

Mark Antony and Cleopatra met to discuss the aftermath of Caesar's assassination. The two soon began a romantic alliance that has evidence of being both for passion and political gain. Cleopatra had money that could be used for Antony's Parthian campaign, and He could keep Octavian away from Egypt (Ager 2013, 144). Photo - (Powers 2020, 2).

Twins of Cleopatra

40 BCE

Cleopatra gave birth to twins Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene, whom Mark Antony recognized as his own (Sheila 2013, 140). Photo- (Starling 19th cent., 1)

Cleopatra and Mark Antony marriage

37 BCE

Cleopatra and Mark Antony elope, even though Mark Antony reportedly still had a living spouse in Rome (Sheila 2013, 140). Photo- (Oliviero 1628 1)

Antony divorces his Roman wife

32 BCE

Antony officially divorced his wife Octavia, who was the sister of Octavian. This act opened the way for propaganda and raised already high tensions in Rome even higher (Huzar 1978, 207). Photo - (Octavia 60-30 B.C., 1)

Octavian declares war on Cleopatra

32 BCE

In 32 BCE, Octavian finally declares war, but it is not on Antony but on Cleopatra. By making Antony seem like a pawn in Cleopatra's schemes, Octavian saw a way to act while not making the people of Rome choose between him and Antony (Huzar 1978, 208). Photo - (Neroccio 1447-1500, 1)

Mark Antony's death

30 BCE

On August 1st, after Mark Antony had lost most of his men and had little hope of winning the war, he heard a rumor of Cleopatra's death. After hearing the rumor, Antony stabbed himself but did not die immediately. His men managed to get the dying Mark Antony into Cleopatra's arms one last time (Huzar 1978, 226). Photo - (unknown 1640-1660, 1)

Death of Cleopatra

30 BCE

Eight days after the death of Mark Antony, Cleopatra, now a prisoner of Octavian, committed suicide by snake poison. She was laid to rest in a tomb next to Mark Antony (Huzar 1978, 227). Photo- (Powers 2020, 6)