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On, September 2, 44 BC, Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt declared her son co-ruler as Ptolemy XV Caesarion. From the article:
"Cleopatra
Cleopatra VII ruled ancient Egypt as co-regent (first with her father, then with her two younger brothers and finally with her son) for almost three decades. She was part of a dynasty of Macedonian rulers founded by Ptolemy, who served as general under Alexander the Great during his conquest of Egypt in 332 B.C. Well-educated and clever, Cleopatra could speak various languages and served as the dominant ruler in all three of her co-regencies. Her romantic liaisons and military alliances with the Roman leaders Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, as well as her supposed exotic beauty and powers of seduction, earned her an enduring place in history and popular myth.
Cleopatra: Early Life and Ascension to Throne
Since no contemporary accounts exist of Cleopatra’s life, it is difficult to piece together her biography with much certainty. Much of what is known about her life comes from the work of Greco-Roman scholars, particularly Plutarch. Born in 70 or 69 B.C., Cleopatra was a daughter of Ptolemy XII (Auletes), a descendant of Ptolemy I Soter, one of Alexander The Great’s generals and the founder of the Ptolemaic line in Egypt. Her mother was believed to be Cleopatra V Tryphaena, the king’s wife (and possibly his half-sister). In 51 B.C., upon the apparently natural death of Auletes, the Egyptian throne passed to 18-year-old Cleopatra and her 10-year-old brother, Ptolemy XIII.
Soon after the siblings’ ascension to the throne, Ptolemy’s advisers acted against Cleopatra, who was forced to flee Egypt for Syria in 49 B.C. She raised an army of mercenaries and returned the following year to face her brother’s forces in a civil war at Pelusium, on Egypt’s eastern border. Meanwhile, after allowing the Roman general Pompey to be murdered, Ptolemy XIII welcomed the arrival of Pompey’s rival, Julius Caesar, to Alexandria. In order to help her cause, Cleopatra sought Caesar’s support, reportedly smuggling herself into the royal palace to plead her case with him.
Caesar and Cleopatra
For his part, Caesar needed to fund his own return to power in Rome, and needed Egypt to repay the debts incurred by Auletes. After four months of war between Caesar’s outnumbered forces and those of Ptolemy XIII, Roman reinforcements arrived; Ptolemy was forced to flee Alexandria, and was believed to have drowned in the Nile River. Entering Alexandria as an unpopular conqueror, Caesar restored the throne to the equally unpopular Cleopatra and her younger brother Ptolemy XIV (then 13 years old). Caesar remained in Egypt with Cleopatra for a time, and around 47 B.C. she gave birth to a son, Ptolemy Caesar. He was believed to be Caesar’s child, and was known by the Egyptian people as Caesarion, or Little Caesar.
Sometime in 46-45 B.C., Cleopatra traveled with Ptolemy XIV and Caesarion to Rome to visit Caesar, who had returned earlier. After Caesar was murdered in March 44 B.C., Cleopatra went back to Egypt; Ptolemy XIV was killed soon after (possibly by Cleopatra’s agents) and the three-year-old Caesarion was named co-regent with his mother, as Ptolemy XV. By this point, Cleopatra had strongly identified herself with the goddess Isis, the sister-wife of Osiris and mother of Horus. (This was consistent with the ancient Egyptian tradition of associating royalty with divinity in order to reinforce the position of kings and queens. Cleopatra III had also claimed to be associated with Isis, and Cleopatra VII was referred to as the “New Isis.”) She spoke as many as a dozen languages and was renowned for her “irresistible charm,” according to Plutarch.
Cleopatra’s Seduction of Mark Antony
With her infant son as co-regent, Cleopatra’s hold on power in Egypt was more secure than it had ever been. Still, unreliable flooding of the Nile resulted in failing crops, leading to inflation and hunger. Meanwhile, a conflict was raging in Rome between a second triumvirate of Caesar’s allies (Mark Antony, Octavian and Lepidus) and his assassins, Brutus and Cassius. Both sides asked for Egyptian support, and after some stalling Cleopatra sent four Roman legions stationed in Egypt by Caesar to support the triumvirate. In 42 B.C., after defeating the forces of Brutus and Cassius in the battles of Philippi, Mark Antony and Octavian divided power in Rome.
Mark Antony soon summoned Cleopatra to the Cicilian city of Tarsus (south of modern Turkey) to explain the role she had played in the complicated aftermath of Caesar’s assassination. According to the story recorded by Plutarch (and later dramatized famously by William Shakespeare), Cleopatra sailed to Tarsus in an elaborate ship, dressed in the robes of Isis. Antony, who associated himself with the Greek deity Dionysus, was seduced by her charms.
He agreed to protect Egypt and Cleopatra’s crown, pledging support for the removal of her younger sister and rival Arsinoe, then in exile. Cleopatra returned to Egypt, followed shortly thereafter by Antony, who left behind his third wife, Fulvia, and their children in Rome. He spent the winter of 41-40 B.C. in Alexandria, during which he and Cleopatra famously formed a drinking society called “The Inimitable Livers.” In 40 B.C., after Antony’s return to Rome, Cleopatra gave birth to twins, Alexander Helios (sun) and Cleopatra Selene (moon).
Cleopatra: Power Struggle
After Fulvia took ill and died, Antony was forced to prove his loyalty to Octavian by making a diplomatic marriage with Octavian’s half-sister Octavia. Egypt grew more prosperous under Cleopatra’s rule, and in 37 B.C. Antony again met with Cleopatra to obtain funds for his long-delayed military campaign against the kingdom of Parthia. In exchange, he agreed to return much of Egypt’s eastern empire, including Cyprus, Crete, Cyrenaica (Libya), Jericho and large portions of Syria and Lebanon. They again became lovers, and Cleopatra gave birth to another son, Ptolemy Philadelphos, in 36 B.C.
After a humiliating defeat in Parthia, Antony publicly rejected his wife Octavia’s efforts to rejoin him and instead returned to Egypt and Cleopatra. In a public celebration in 34 B.C. known as the “Donations of Alexandria,” Antony declared Caesarion as Caesar’s son and rightful heir (as opposed to his adopted son, Octavian) and awarded land to each of his children with Cleopatra. This began a war of propaganda between him and the furious Octavian, who claimed that Antony was entirely under Cleopatra’s control and would abandon Rome and found a new capital in Egypt. In late 32 B.C., the Roman Senate stripped Antony of all his titles, and Octavian declared war on Cleopatra.
Cleopatra: Defeat and Death
On September 2, 31 B.C., Octavian’s forces soundly defeated those of Antony and Cleopatra in the Battle of Actium. Cleopatra’s ships deserted the battle and fled to Egypt, and Antony soon managed to break away and follow her with a few ships. With Alexandria under attack from Octavian’s forces, Antony heard a rumor that Cleopatra had committed suicide. He fell on his sword, and died just as news arrived that the rumor had been false.
On August 12, 30 B.C., after burying Antony and meeting with the victorious Octavian, Cleopatra closed herself in her chamber with two of her female servants. The means of her death is uncertain, but Plutarch and other writers advanced the theory that she used a poisonous snake known as the asp, a symbol of divine royalty, to commit suicide at age 39. According to her wishes, Cleopatra’s body was buried with Antony’s, leaving Octavian (later Emperor Augustus I) to celebrate his conquest of Egypt and his consolidation of power in Rome."
"Cleopatra
Cleopatra VII ruled ancient Egypt as co-regent (first with her father, then with her two younger brothers and finally with her son) for almost three decades. She was part of a dynasty of Macedonian rulers founded by Ptolemy, who served as general under Alexander the Great during his conquest of Egypt in 332 B.C. Well-educated and clever, Cleopatra could speak various languages and served as the dominant ruler in all three of her co-regencies. Her romantic liaisons and military alliances with the Roman leaders Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, as well as her supposed exotic beauty and powers of seduction, earned her an enduring place in history and popular myth.
Cleopatra: Early Life and Ascension to Throne
Since no contemporary accounts exist of Cleopatra’s life, it is difficult to piece together her biography with much certainty. Much of what is known about her life comes from the work of Greco-Roman scholars, particularly Plutarch. Born in 70 or 69 B.C., Cleopatra was a daughter of Ptolemy XII (Auletes), a descendant of Ptolemy I Soter, one of Alexander The Great’s generals and the founder of the Ptolemaic line in Egypt. Her mother was believed to be Cleopatra V Tryphaena, the king’s wife (and possibly his half-sister). In 51 B.C., upon the apparently natural death of Auletes, the Egyptian throne passed to 18-year-old Cleopatra and her 10-year-old brother, Ptolemy XIII.
Soon after the siblings’ ascension to the throne, Ptolemy’s advisers acted against Cleopatra, who was forced to flee Egypt for Syria in 49 B.C. She raised an army of mercenaries and returned the following year to face her brother’s forces in a civil war at Pelusium, on Egypt’s eastern border. Meanwhile, after allowing the Roman general Pompey to be murdered, Ptolemy XIII welcomed the arrival of Pompey’s rival, Julius Caesar, to Alexandria. In order to help her cause, Cleopatra sought Caesar’s support, reportedly smuggling herself into the royal palace to plead her case with him.
Caesar and Cleopatra
For his part, Caesar needed to fund his own return to power in Rome, and needed Egypt to repay the debts incurred by Auletes. After four months of war between Caesar’s outnumbered forces and those of Ptolemy XIII, Roman reinforcements arrived; Ptolemy was forced to flee Alexandria, and was believed to have drowned in the Nile River. Entering Alexandria as an unpopular conqueror, Caesar restored the throne to the equally unpopular Cleopatra and her younger brother Ptolemy XIV (then 13 years old). Caesar remained in Egypt with Cleopatra for a time, and around 47 B.C. she gave birth to a son, Ptolemy Caesar. He was believed to be Caesar’s child, and was known by the Egyptian people as Caesarion, or Little Caesar.
Sometime in 46-45 B.C., Cleopatra traveled with Ptolemy XIV and Caesarion to Rome to visit Caesar, who had returned earlier. After Caesar was murdered in March 44 B.C., Cleopatra went back to Egypt; Ptolemy XIV was killed soon after (possibly by Cleopatra’s agents) and the three-year-old Caesarion was named co-regent with his mother, as Ptolemy XV. By this point, Cleopatra had strongly identified herself with the goddess Isis, the sister-wife of Osiris and mother of Horus. (This was consistent with the ancient Egyptian tradition of associating royalty with divinity in order to reinforce the position of kings and queens. Cleopatra III had also claimed to be associated with Isis, and Cleopatra VII was referred to as the “New Isis.”) She spoke as many as a dozen languages and was renowned for her “irresistible charm,” according to Plutarch.
Cleopatra’s Seduction of Mark Antony
With her infant son as co-regent, Cleopatra’s hold on power in Egypt was more secure than it had ever been. Still, unreliable flooding of the Nile resulted in failing crops, leading to inflation and hunger. Meanwhile, a conflict was raging in Rome between a second triumvirate of Caesar’s allies (Mark Antony, Octavian and Lepidus) and his assassins, Brutus and Cassius. Both sides asked for Egyptian support, and after some stalling Cleopatra sent four Roman legions stationed in Egypt by Caesar to support the triumvirate. In 42 B.C., after defeating the forces of Brutus and Cassius in the battles of Philippi, Mark Antony and Octavian divided power in Rome.
Mark Antony soon summoned Cleopatra to the Cicilian city of Tarsus (south of modern Turkey) to explain the role she had played in the complicated aftermath of Caesar’s assassination. According to the story recorded by Plutarch (and later dramatized famously by William Shakespeare), Cleopatra sailed to Tarsus in an elaborate ship, dressed in the robes of Isis. Antony, who associated himself with the Greek deity Dionysus, was seduced by her charms.
He agreed to protect Egypt and Cleopatra’s crown, pledging support for the removal of her younger sister and rival Arsinoe, then in exile. Cleopatra returned to Egypt, followed shortly thereafter by Antony, who left behind his third wife, Fulvia, and their children in Rome. He spent the winter of 41-40 B.C. in Alexandria, during which he and Cleopatra famously formed a drinking society called “The Inimitable Livers.” In 40 B.C., after Antony’s return to Rome, Cleopatra gave birth to twins, Alexander Helios (sun) and Cleopatra Selene (moon).
Cleopatra: Power Struggle
After Fulvia took ill and died, Antony was forced to prove his loyalty to Octavian by making a diplomatic marriage with Octavian’s half-sister Octavia. Egypt grew more prosperous under Cleopatra’s rule, and in 37 B.C. Antony again met with Cleopatra to obtain funds for his long-delayed military campaign against the kingdom of Parthia. In exchange, he agreed to return much of Egypt’s eastern empire, including Cyprus, Crete, Cyrenaica (Libya), Jericho and large portions of Syria and Lebanon. They again became lovers, and Cleopatra gave birth to another son, Ptolemy Philadelphos, in 36 B.C.
After a humiliating defeat in Parthia, Antony publicly rejected his wife Octavia’s efforts to rejoin him and instead returned to Egypt and Cleopatra. In a public celebration in 34 B.C. known as the “Donations of Alexandria,” Antony declared Caesarion as Caesar’s son and rightful heir (as opposed to his adopted son, Octavian) and awarded land to each of his children with Cleopatra. This began a war of propaganda between him and the furious Octavian, who claimed that Antony was entirely under Cleopatra’s control and would abandon Rome and found a new capital in Egypt. In late 32 B.C., the Roman Senate stripped Antony of all his titles, and Octavian declared war on Cleopatra.
Cleopatra: Defeat and Death
On September 2, 31 B.C., Octavian’s forces soundly defeated those of Antony and Cleopatra in the Battle of Actium. Cleopatra’s ships deserted the battle and fled to Egypt, and Antony soon managed to break away and follow her with a few ships. With Alexandria under attack from Octavian’s forces, Antony heard a rumor that Cleopatra had committed suicide. He fell on his sword, and died just as news arrived that the rumor had been false.
On August 12, 30 B.C., after burying Antony and meeting with the victorious Octavian, Cleopatra closed herself in her chamber with two of her female servants. The means of her death is uncertain, but Plutarch and other writers advanced the theory that she used a poisonous snake known as the asp, a symbol of divine royalty, to commit suicide at age 39. According to her wishes, Cleopatra’s body was buried with Antony’s, leaving Octavian (later Emperor Augustus I) to celebrate his conquest of Egypt and his consolidation of power in Rome."
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Cleopatra Biography: Ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt
Cleopatra VII is one of the most famous women who has ever lived. Her story has inspired poets, dramatists, and artists for more than 2,000 years. Through cu...
Thank you my friend SGT (Join to see) for making us aware that September 2, 44 BC, Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt declared her son co-ruler as Ptolemy XV Caesarion.
Cleopatra Biography: Ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt
Cleopatra VII is one of the most famous women who has ever lived. Her story has inspired poets, dramatists, and artists for more than 2,000 years. Through cunning and guile, she survived to rule Egypt as all of her siblings perished by the wayside.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nzkozy31Z4w
Images
1. Bust of Cleopatra VII
2. Cleopatra VII silver tetradrachm, 1st century BCE.
3. Cleopatra emerges from a carpet in Julius Caesar’s chambers by Jean-Léon Gérôme [1824-1904]
4. Silver Tetradrachm Portraying Antony and Cleopatra photo by Sailko
Background from {[https://www.ancient.eu/Cleopatra_VII/]}
"Cleopatra VII
by Joshua J. Mark published on 30 October 2018
Cleopatra VII (l.c. 69-30 BCE, r. 51-30 BCE) was the last ruler of Egypt before it was annexed as a province of Rome. Although arguably the most famous Egyptian queen, Cleopatra was actually Greek and a member of the Ptolemaic Dynasty (323-30 BCE) which ruled Egypt after the death of Alexander the Great (l. 356-323 BCE). Cleopatra is probably best known for her love affair with the Roman general and statesman Mark Antony (l. 83-30 BCE) as well as her earlier affair with Julius Caesar (l. 100-44 BCE) but was a powerful queen before her interaction with either and a much stronger monarch than any of the latter Ptolemaic Dynasty.
Cleopatra was fluent in a number of languages, is reported to have been extremely charming, and was an effective diplomat and administrator. Her involvement with both Caesar and Mark Antony came about after she had already successfully ruled and steered Egypt through a difficult period. Her affair with Antony brought her into direct conflict with Octavian Caesar (later known as Augustus Caesar, r. 27 BCE-14 CE) who was Antony's brother-in-law. Octavian would defeat Cleopatra and Antony and the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE, ending her reign. She and Antony would then both commit suicide the following year and Octavian would found the Roman Empire and relegate Cleopatra to a minor chapter in Rome's past. Scholar Stacy Schiff comments:
The rewriting of history began almost immediately. Not only did Mark Antony disappear from the [official] record, but Actium wondrously transformed itself into a major engagement, a resounding victory, a historical turning point. It went from an end to a beginning. Augustus had rescued the country from great peril. (297)
The Roman historians seized on the concept of the seductive woman from the East who had threatened Rome and paid the price. This image of Cleopatra has, unfortunately, remained through the intervening centuries and only in the last century have scholarly attempts been made to portray her in a more realistic, and flattering, light.
Youth & succession
In June of 323 BCE, Alexander the Great died and his vast empire was divided among his generals. One of these generals was Ptolemy I Soter (r. 323-282 BCE), a fellow Macedonian, who would found the Ptolemaic Dynasty in ancient Egypt. The Ptolemaic line, of Macedonian-Greek ethnicity, would continue to rule Egypt until the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BCE when it was taken by Rome. Ptolemy I, Ptolemy II (r.285-246 BCE), and Ptolemy III (r.246-222 BCE) governed Egypt well but after them their successors ruled poorly until Cleopatra came to the throne. In fact, the difficulties she had to overcome were primarily the legacy of her predecessors.
Cleopatra VII Philopator was born in 69 BCE and ruled jointly with her father, Ptolemy XII Auletes. When she was 18 years old, her father died, leaving her the throne. Because Egyptian tradition held that a woman needed a male consort to reign, her twelve-year-old brother, Ptolemy XIII, was ceremonially married to her. Cleopatra soon dropped his name from all official documents, however, and ruled alone.
The Ptolemies, insisting on Macedonian-Greek superiority, had ruled in Egypt for centuries without ever learning the Egyptian language or embracing the customs. Cleopatra, however, was fluent in Egyptian, eloquent in her native Greek, and proficient in other languages as well. Because of this, she was able to communicate easily with diplomats from other countries without the need of a translator and, shortly after assuming the throne, without bothering to hear the counsel of her advisors on matters of state. Schiff notes how, "Cleopatra had the gift of languages and glided easily among them" (160). Plutarch, from whose works Schiff draws this observation, writes:
It was a pleasure merely to hear the sound of her voice, with which, like an instrument of many strings, she could pass from one language to another; so that there were few of the barbarian nations that she answered by an interpreter. (Lives, Antony and Cleopatra, Ch. 8)
CLEOPATRA & CAESAR SEEMED TO STRIKE UP AN INSTANT AFFINITY FOR EACH OTHER.
Her habit of making decisions and acting on them without the counsel of the members of her court upset some of the high ranking officials. One example of this was when Roman mercenary lieutenants employed by the Ptolemaic crown murdered the sons of the Roman governor of Syria to prevent them from requesting her assistance. She immediately arrested the lieutenants responsible and turned them over to the aggrieved father for punishment.
In spite of her many achievements, her court was not pleased with her independent attitude. In 48 BCE her chief advisor, Pothinus, along with another, Theodotus of Chios, and the General Achillas, overthrew her and placed Ptolemy XIII on the throne, believing him to be easier to control than his sister. Cleopatra and her half-sister, Arsinoe, fled to Thebaid for safety.
Pompey, Caesar & The Coming of Rome
At about this same time the Roman general and politician, Pompey the Great, was defeated by Julius Caesar at the Battle of Pharsalus. Pompey was the state-appointed guardian over the younger Ptolemy children and, on his campaigns, had spent considerable time in Egypt. Believing he would be welcomed by friends, Pompey fled from Pharsalus to Egypt but, instead of finding sanctuary, was murdered under the gaze of Ptolemy XIII as he came on shore at Alexandria.
Caesar’s army was numerically inferior to Pompey’s and it was believed that Caesar’s stunning victory meant that the gods favoured him over Pompey. Further, it seemed to make more sense to Ptolemy XIII’s advisor Pothinus to align the young king with the future of Rome rather than the past.
Upon arriving in Egypt with his legions, in pursuit of Pompey, Caesar was allegedly outraged that Pompey had been killed, declared martial law, and set himself up in the royal palace. Ptolemy XIII fled to Pelusium with his court. Caesar, however, was not about to let the young ruler slip away to foment trouble and had him brought back to Alexandria.
Cleopatra was still in exile and knew there was no way she could simply walk into the palace unmolested. Recognizing in Caesar her chance to regain power, she is said to have had herself rolled in a rug, ostensibly a gift for the Roman general, and carried through the enemy lines. Plutarch tells the story:
Cleopatra, taking only one of her friends with her (Apollodorus the Sicilian), embarked in a small boat and landed at the palace when it was already getting dark. Since there seemed to be no other way of getting in unobserved, she stretched herself out at full length inside a sleeping bag and Apollodorus, after tying up the bag, carried it indoors to Caesar. This little trick of Cleopatra's, which first showed her provocative impudence, is said to have been the first thing about her which captivated Caesar. (Lives, Caesar, Ch. 49)
She and Caesar seemed to strike up an instant affinity for each other and, by the next morning when Ptolemy XIII arrived to meet with Caesar, Cleopatra and Caesar were already lovers. The young pharaoh was outraged.
ANCIENT WRITERS UNIFORMLY PRAISE CLEOPATRA'S INTELLIGENCE & CHARM OVER HER PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES.
Cleopatra & Julius Caesar
Ptolemy XIII turned to his general Achillas for support and war broke out in Alexandria between Caesar’s legions and the Egyptian army. Caesar and Cleopatra were besieged in the royal palace for six months until Roman reinforcements were able to arrive and break the Egyptian lines. It is at this time, according to some historians, that the great library at Alexandria was accidentally burned, though this claim has been challenged.
Before the Roman victory over Ptolemy XIII, however, Cleopatra’s half-sister, Arsinoe, who had returned with her, fled the palace for Achillas’ camp and had herself proclaimed queen in Cleopatra’s place. Ptolemy XIII drowned in the Nile attempting to escape after the battle and the other leaders of the coup against Cleopatra were killed in battle or shortly afterwards. Arsinoe was captured and sent to Rome in defeat but was spared her life by Caesar who exiled her to live in the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus where she would remain until 41 BCE when, at Cleopatra’s urging, Mark Antony had her executed.
Cleopatra travelled through Egypt with Caesar in great style and was hailed by her subjects as Pharaoh. She gave birth to a son, Ptolemy Caesar (known as Caesarion) in June of 47 BCE and proclaimed him her heir. Caesar himself was content with Cleopatra ruling Egypt as the two of them found in each other the same kind of stratagem and intelligence, bonding them together with a mutual respect.
In 46 BCE, Caesar returned to Rome and, shortly after, brought Cleopatra, their son, and her entire entourage to live there. He openly acknowledged Caesarion as his son (though not his heir) and Cleopatra as his consort. As Caesar was already married to Calpurnia at this time, and the Roman laws against bigamy were strictly adhered to, many of the members of the Senate, as well as the public, were upset by Caesar’s actions. Cleopatra's famous gifts of flattery failed to make the situation any better and Cicero (l. 106-43 BCE) was especially outraged as he makes clear in a letter from 45 BCE:
I detest the Queen. For all the presents she promised were things of a learned kind, and consistent with my character, such as I could proclaim on the housetops...and the insolence of the Queen herself when she was living in Caesar's trans-Tiberine villa, the recollection of it is painful to me. (Lewis, 118)
Whatever Cicero or the others thought of Cleopatra or her relationship with Caesar, it does not seem to have mattered to either of them. They continued to appear in public together even though propriety suggested they keep a lower profile.
Cleopatra & Mark Antony
When Caesar was assassinated in 44 BCE, Cleopatra fled Rome with Caesarion and returned to Alexandria. Caesar’s right-hand man, Mark Antony, joined with his grandnephew Octavian and friend Lepidus to pursue and defeat the conspirators who had murdered Caesar. After the Battle of Phillipi, at which the forces of Antony and Octavian defeated those of Brutus and Cassius, Antony emerged as ruler of the eastern provinces, including Egypt, while Octavian held the west.
In 41 BCE, Cleopatra was summoned to appear before Antony in Tarsus to answer charges she had given aid to Brutus and Cassius. Cleopatra delayed in coming and then delayed further in complying with Antony’s summons, making it clear that, as Queen of Egypt, she would come in her own time when she saw fit. Egypt was, at this time, teetering on the edge of economic chaos but, even so, Cleopatra made sure to present herself as a true sovereign, appearing in luxury on her barge, dressed as Aphrodite:
She came sailing up the river Cydnus in a barge with gilded stern and outspread sails of purple, while oars of silver beat time to the music of flutes and fifes and harps. She herself lay all along, under a canopy of cloth of gold, dressed as Venus in a picture, and beautiful young boys, like painted Cupids, stood on each side to fan her. Her maids were dressed like Sea Nymphs and Graces, some steering at the rudder, some working at the ropes...perfumes diffused themselves from the vessel to the shore, which was covered with multitudes, part following the galley up the river on either bank, part running out of the city to see the sight. The market place was quite emptied, and Antony at last was left alone sitting upon the tribunal while the word went, through all the multitude, that Venus was come to feast with Bacchus for the common good of Asia. (Plutarch, Life of Marcus Antonius, Ch. 7)
Mark Antony and Cleopatra instantly became lovers and would remain so for the next ten years. She would bear him three children and he considered her his wife, even though he was married, first, to Fulvia and then to Octavia, the sister of Octavian. He eventually divorced Octavia to marry Cleopatra legally.
Roman Civil War & Cleopatra's Death
During these years, Antony’s relationship with Octavian would steadily disintegrate. Octavian was outraged by Antony's behavior and, especially, the disrespect shown to his sister as well as to himself. He repeatedly rebuked Antony and, in at least one instance, Antony responded directly. In 33 BCE, Antony returned a letter to Octavian:
What has upset you? Because I go to bed with Cleopatra? But she's my wife and I've been doing so for nine years, not just recently. And anyway, is [your wife] your only pleasure? I expect that you will have managed, by the time you read this, to have hopped into bed with Tertulla, Terentilla, Rufilla, Salvia Titisenia, or the whole lot of them. Does it really matter where, or with what women, you get your excitement? (Lewis, 133)
Octavian did not appreciate the reply nor any of Antony's other breaches of policy, courtesy, or propriety and their personal and professional relationship degenerated further to the point where civil war broke out. After a number of engagements which almost routinely favored Octavian, Cleopatra’s and Antony’s forces were defeated by Octavian’s at the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE and, a year later, they both committed suicide. Antony, upon hearing the false report of Cleopatra’s death, stabbed himself. He learned, too late, that she still lived and Octavian allowed him to be brought to the queen where he died in her arms.
Octavian then demanded an audience with the queen where the conditions of her defeat were made plain to her. The terms were hardly favorable and Cleopatra understood she would be brought to Rome a captive to adorn Octavian’s triumph. Recognizing that she would not be able to manipulate Octavian as she had Caesar and Antony, Cleopatra asked for, and was granted, time to prepare herself.
She then had herself poisoned through the bite of a snake (traditionally an asp, though most scholars today believe it was an Egyptian cobra). Octavian had her son Caesarion murdered and her children by Antony brought to Rome where they were raised by Octavia; thus ended the Ptolemaic line of Egyptian rulers.
Although traditionally regarded as a great beauty, the ancient writers uniformly praise her intelligence and charm over her physical attributes. Plutarch writes:
Her own beauty, so we are told, was not of that incomparable type that immediately captivates the beholder. But the charm of her presence was irresistible and there was an attraction in her person and in her conversation that, along with a peculiar force of character in her every word and action, laid all who associated with her under her spell. (Lives, Antony and Cleopatra, Ch. 8)
Cleopatra has continued to cast that same spell throughout the centuries since her death and remains the most famous queen of ancient Egypt. Movies, books, television shows, and plays have been produced about her life and she is depicted in works of art in every century up to the present day. Even so, as Schiff notes, she is almost universally remembered as the woman who seduced two powerful men rather than for what she accomplished before meeting them. Schiff writes:
The personal inevitably trumps the political and the erotic trumps all: we will remember that Cleopatra slept with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony long after we have forgotten what she accomplished in doing so, that she sustained a vast, rich, densely populated empire in its troubled twilight, in the name of a proud and cultivated dynasty. She remains on the map for having seduced two of the greatest men of her time, while her crime was to have entered into those same `wily and suspicious' marital partnerships that every man in power enjoyed. (299)
Cleopatra was only 39 years old when she died and had ruled for 22 of those years. In an age when women rarely or never asserted political control over men, she managed to maintain Egypt in a state of independence for as long as she held the throne and never forgot what was due to her people. In keeping with the ancient traditions of the land, she tried to maintain the concept of ma'at - balance and harmony - as well as she could under the circumstances of the time. Though she was Macedonian-Greek, not Egyptian, she has come to symbolize ancient Egypt in the popular imagination more than any other Egyptian monarch.
Author's Note: Special thanks to scholar Arienne King for contributions to this article."
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Cleopatra Biography: Ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt
Cleopatra VII is one of the most famous women who has ever lived. Her story has inspired poets, dramatists, and artists for more than 2,000 years. Through cunning and guile, she survived to rule Egypt as all of her siblings perished by the wayside.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nzkozy31Z4w
Images
1. Bust of Cleopatra VII
2. Cleopatra VII silver tetradrachm, 1st century BCE.
3. Cleopatra emerges from a carpet in Julius Caesar’s chambers by Jean-Léon Gérôme [1824-1904]
4. Silver Tetradrachm Portraying Antony and Cleopatra photo by Sailko
Background from {[https://www.ancient.eu/Cleopatra_VII/]}
"Cleopatra VII
by Joshua J. Mark published on 30 October 2018
Cleopatra VII (l.c. 69-30 BCE, r. 51-30 BCE) was the last ruler of Egypt before it was annexed as a province of Rome. Although arguably the most famous Egyptian queen, Cleopatra was actually Greek and a member of the Ptolemaic Dynasty (323-30 BCE) which ruled Egypt after the death of Alexander the Great (l. 356-323 BCE). Cleopatra is probably best known for her love affair with the Roman general and statesman Mark Antony (l. 83-30 BCE) as well as her earlier affair with Julius Caesar (l. 100-44 BCE) but was a powerful queen before her interaction with either and a much stronger monarch than any of the latter Ptolemaic Dynasty.
Cleopatra was fluent in a number of languages, is reported to have been extremely charming, and was an effective diplomat and administrator. Her involvement with both Caesar and Mark Antony came about after she had already successfully ruled and steered Egypt through a difficult period. Her affair with Antony brought her into direct conflict with Octavian Caesar (later known as Augustus Caesar, r. 27 BCE-14 CE) who was Antony's brother-in-law. Octavian would defeat Cleopatra and Antony and the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE, ending her reign. She and Antony would then both commit suicide the following year and Octavian would found the Roman Empire and relegate Cleopatra to a minor chapter in Rome's past. Scholar Stacy Schiff comments:
The rewriting of history began almost immediately. Not only did Mark Antony disappear from the [official] record, but Actium wondrously transformed itself into a major engagement, a resounding victory, a historical turning point. It went from an end to a beginning. Augustus had rescued the country from great peril. (297)
The Roman historians seized on the concept of the seductive woman from the East who had threatened Rome and paid the price. This image of Cleopatra has, unfortunately, remained through the intervening centuries and only in the last century have scholarly attempts been made to portray her in a more realistic, and flattering, light.
Youth & succession
In June of 323 BCE, Alexander the Great died and his vast empire was divided among his generals. One of these generals was Ptolemy I Soter (r. 323-282 BCE), a fellow Macedonian, who would found the Ptolemaic Dynasty in ancient Egypt. The Ptolemaic line, of Macedonian-Greek ethnicity, would continue to rule Egypt until the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BCE when it was taken by Rome. Ptolemy I, Ptolemy II (r.285-246 BCE), and Ptolemy III (r.246-222 BCE) governed Egypt well but after them their successors ruled poorly until Cleopatra came to the throne. In fact, the difficulties she had to overcome were primarily the legacy of her predecessors.
Cleopatra VII Philopator was born in 69 BCE and ruled jointly with her father, Ptolemy XII Auletes. When she was 18 years old, her father died, leaving her the throne. Because Egyptian tradition held that a woman needed a male consort to reign, her twelve-year-old brother, Ptolemy XIII, was ceremonially married to her. Cleopatra soon dropped his name from all official documents, however, and ruled alone.
The Ptolemies, insisting on Macedonian-Greek superiority, had ruled in Egypt for centuries without ever learning the Egyptian language or embracing the customs. Cleopatra, however, was fluent in Egyptian, eloquent in her native Greek, and proficient in other languages as well. Because of this, she was able to communicate easily with diplomats from other countries without the need of a translator and, shortly after assuming the throne, without bothering to hear the counsel of her advisors on matters of state. Schiff notes how, "Cleopatra had the gift of languages and glided easily among them" (160). Plutarch, from whose works Schiff draws this observation, writes:
It was a pleasure merely to hear the sound of her voice, with which, like an instrument of many strings, she could pass from one language to another; so that there were few of the barbarian nations that she answered by an interpreter. (Lives, Antony and Cleopatra, Ch. 8)
CLEOPATRA & CAESAR SEEMED TO STRIKE UP AN INSTANT AFFINITY FOR EACH OTHER.
Her habit of making decisions and acting on them without the counsel of the members of her court upset some of the high ranking officials. One example of this was when Roman mercenary lieutenants employed by the Ptolemaic crown murdered the sons of the Roman governor of Syria to prevent them from requesting her assistance. She immediately arrested the lieutenants responsible and turned them over to the aggrieved father for punishment.
In spite of her many achievements, her court was not pleased with her independent attitude. In 48 BCE her chief advisor, Pothinus, along with another, Theodotus of Chios, and the General Achillas, overthrew her and placed Ptolemy XIII on the throne, believing him to be easier to control than his sister. Cleopatra and her half-sister, Arsinoe, fled to Thebaid for safety.
Pompey, Caesar & The Coming of Rome
At about this same time the Roman general and politician, Pompey the Great, was defeated by Julius Caesar at the Battle of Pharsalus. Pompey was the state-appointed guardian over the younger Ptolemy children and, on his campaigns, had spent considerable time in Egypt. Believing he would be welcomed by friends, Pompey fled from Pharsalus to Egypt but, instead of finding sanctuary, was murdered under the gaze of Ptolemy XIII as he came on shore at Alexandria.
Caesar’s army was numerically inferior to Pompey’s and it was believed that Caesar’s stunning victory meant that the gods favoured him over Pompey. Further, it seemed to make more sense to Ptolemy XIII’s advisor Pothinus to align the young king with the future of Rome rather than the past.
Upon arriving in Egypt with his legions, in pursuit of Pompey, Caesar was allegedly outraged that Pompey had been killed, declared martial law, and set himself up in the royal palace. Ptolemy XIII fled to Pelusium with his court. Caesar, however, was not about to let the young ruler slip away to foment trouble and had him brought back to Alexandria.
Cleopatra was still in exile and knew there was no way she could simply walk into the palace unmolested. Recognizing in Caesar her chance to regain power, she is said to have had herself rolled in a rug, ostensibly a gift for the Roman general, and carried through the enemy lines. Plutarch tells the story:
Cleopatra, taking only one of her friends with her (Apollodorus the Sicilian), embarked in a small boat and landed at the palace when it was already getting dark. Since there seemed to be no other way of getting in unobserved, she stretched herself out at full length inside a sleeping bag and Apollodorus, after tying up the bag, carried it indoors to Caesar. This little trick of Cleopatra's, which first showed her provocative impudence, is said to have been the first thing about her which captivated Caesar. (Lives, Caesar, Ch. 49)
She and Caesar seemed to strike up an instant affinity for each other and, by the next morning when Ptolemy XIII arrived to meet with Caesar, Cleopatra and Caesar were already lovers. The young pharaoh was outraged.
ANCIENT WRITERS UNIFORMLY PRAISE CLEOPATRA'S INTELLIGENCE & CHARM OVER HER PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES.
Cleopatra & Julius Caesar
Ptolemy XIII turned to his general Achillas for support and war broke out in Alexandria between Caesar’s legions and the Egyptian army. Caesar and Cleopatra were besieged in the royal palace for six months until Roman reinforcements were able to arrive and break the Egyptian lines. It is at this time, according to some historians, that the great library at Alexandria was accidentally burned, though this claim has been challenged.
Before the Roman victory over Ptolemy XIII, however, Cleopatra’s half-sister, Arsinoe, who had returned with her, fled the palace for Achillas’ camp and had herself proclaimed queen in Cleopatra’s place. Ptolemy XIII drowned in the Nile attempting to escape after the battle and the other leaders of the coup against Cleopatra were killed in battle or shortly afterwards. Arsinoe was captured and sent to Rome in defeat but was spared her life by Caesar who exiled her to live in the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus where she would remain until 41 BCE when, at Cleopatra’s urging, Mark Antony had her executed.
Cleopatra travelled through Egypt with Caesar in great style and was hailed by her subjects as Pharaoh. She gave birth to a son, Ptolemy Caesar (known as Caesarion) in June of 47 BCE and proclaimed him her heir. Caesar himself was content with Cleopatra ruling Egypt as the two of them found in each other the same kind of stratagem and intelligence, bonding them together with a mutual respect.
In 46 BCE, Caesar returned to Rome and, shortly after, brought Cleopatra, their son, and her entire entourage to live there. He openly acknowledged Caesarion as his son (though not his heir) and Cleopatra as his consort. As Caesar was already married to Calpurnia at this time, and the Roman laws against bigamy were strictly adhered to, many of the members of the Senate, as well as the public, were upset by Caesar’s actions. Cleopatra's famous gifts of flattery failed to make the situation any better and Cicero (l. 106-43 BCE) was especially outraged as he makes clear in a letter from 45 BCE:
I detest the Queen. For all the presents she promised were things of a learned kind, and consistent with my character, such as I could proclaim on the housetops...and the insolence of the Queen herself when she was living in Caesar's trans-Tiberine villa, the recollection of it is painful to me. (Lewis, 118)
Whatever Cicero or the others thought of Cleopatra or her relationship with Caesar, it does not seem to have mattered to either of them. They continued to appear in public together even though propriety suggested they keep a lower profile.
Cleopatra & Mark Antony
When Caesar was assassinated in 44 BCE, Cleopatra fled Rome with Caesarion and returned to Alexandria. Caesar’s right-hand man, Mark Antony, joined with his grandnephew Octavian and friend Lepidus to pursue and defeat the conspirators who had murdered Caesar. After the Battle of Phillipi, at which the forces of Antony and Octavian defeated those of Brutus and Cassius, Antony emerged as ruler of the eastern provinces, including Egypt, while Octavian held the west.
In 41 BCE, Cleopatra was summoned to appear before Antony in Tarsus to answer charges she had given aid to Brutus and Cassius. Cleopatra delayed in coming and then delayed further in complying with Antony’s summons, making it clear that, as Queen of Egypt, she would come in her own time when she saw fit. Egypt was, at this time, teetering on the edge of economic chaos but, even so, Cleopatra made sure to present herself as a true sovereign, appearing in luxury on her barge, dressed as Aphrodite:
She came sailing up the river Cydnus in a barge with gilded stern and outspread sails of purple, while oars of silver beat time to the music of flutes and fifes and harps. She herself lay all along, under a canopy of cloth of gold, dressed as Venus in a picture, and beautiful young boys, like painted Cupids, stood on each side to fan her. Her maids were dressed like Sea Nymphs and Graces, some steering at the rudder, some working at the ropes...perfumes diffused themselves from the vessel to the shore, which was covered with multitudes, part following the galley up the river on either bank, part running out of the city to see the sight. The market place was quite emptied, and Antony at last was left alone sitting upon the tribunal while the word went, through all the multitude, that Venus was come to feast with Bacchus for the common good of Asia. (Plutarch, Life of Marcus Antonius, Ch. 7)
Mark Antony and Cleopatra instantly became lovers and would remain so for the next ten years. She would bear him three children and he considered her his wife, even though he was married, first, to Fulvia and then to Octavia, the sister of Octavian. He eventually divorced Octavia to marry Cleopatra legally.
Roman Civil War & Cleopatra's Death
During these years, Antony’s relationship with Octavian would steadily disintegrate. Octavian was outraged by Antony's behavior and, especially, the disrespect shown to his sister as well as to himself. He repeatedly rebuked Antony and, in at least one instance, Antony responded directly. In 33 BCE, Antony returned a letter to Octavian:
What has upset you? Because I go to bed with Cleopatra? But she's my wife and I've been doing so for nine years, not just recently. And anyway, is [your wife] your only pleasure? I expect that you will have managed, by the time you read this, to have hopped into bed with Tertulla, Terentilla, Rufilla, Salvia Titisenia, or the whole lot of them. Does it really matter where, or with what women, you get your excitement? (Lewis, 133)
Octavian did not appreciate the reply nor any of Antony's other breaches of policy, courtesy, or propriety and their personal and professional relationship degenerated further to the point where civil war broke out. After a number of engagements which almost routinely favored Octavian, Cleopatra’s and Antony’s forces were defeated by Octavian’s at the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE and, a year later, they both committed suicide. Antony, upon hearing the false report of Cleopatra’s death, stabbed himself. He learned, too late, that she still lived and Octavian allowed him to be brought to the queen where he died in her arms.
Octavian then demanded an audience with the queen where the conditions of her defeat were made plain to her. The terms were hardly favorable and Cleopatra understood she would be brought to Rome a captive to adorn Octavian’s triumph. Recognizing that she would not be able to manipulate Octavian as she had Caesar and Antony, Cleopatra asked for, and was granted, time to prepare herself.
She then had herself poisoned through the bite of a snake (traditionally an asp, though most scholars today believe it was an Egyptian cobra). Octavian had her son Caesarion murdered and her children by Antony brought to Rome where they were raised by Octavia; thus ended the Ptolemaic line of Egyptian rulers.
Although traditionally regarded as a great beauty, the ancient writers uniformly praise her intelligence and charm over her physical attributes. Plutarch writes:
Her own beauty, so we are told, was not of that incomparable type that immediately captivates the beholder. But the charm of her presence was irresistible and there was an attraction in her person and in her conversation that, along with a peculiar force of character in her every word and action, laid all who associated with her under her spell. (Lives, Antony and Cleopatra, Ch. 8)
Cleopatra has continued to cast that same spell throughout the centuries since her death and remains the most famous queen of ancient Egypt. Movies, books, television shows, and plays have been produced about her life and she is depicted in works of art in every century up to the present day. Even so, as Schiff notes, she is almost universally remembered as the woman who seduced two powerful men rather than for what she accomplished before meeting them. Schiff writes:
The personal inevitably trumps the political and the erotic trumps all: we will remember that Cleopatra slept with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony long after we have forgotten what she accomplished in doing so, that she sustained a vast, rich, densely populated empire in its troubled twilight, in the name of a proud and cultivated dynasty. She remains on the map for having seduced two of the greatest men of her time, while her crime was to have entered into those same `wily and suspicious' marital partnerships that every man in power enjoyed. (299)
Cleopatra was only 39 years old when she died and had ruled for 22 of those years. In an age when women rarely or never asserted political control over men, she managed to maintain Egypt in a state of independence for as long as she held the throne and never forgot what was due to her people. In keeping with the ancient traditions of the land, she tried to maintain the concept of ma'at - balance and harmony - as well as she could under the circumstances of the time. Though she was Macedonian-Greek, not Egyptian, she has come to symbolize ancient Egypt in the popular imagination more than any other Egyptian monarch.
Author's Note: Special thanks to scholar Arienne King for contributions to this article."
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Cleopatra son: Caesarion - What happened to Cleopatra's son?
Article and Facts: https://allthatsinteresting.com/caesarion _________________________________________________________________________________ #Archaeologist...
Cleopatra son: Caesarion - What happened to Cleopatra's son?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNG5QDoIZo4
Image
1. Mural of Cleopatra and Caesarion as Venus and Cupid
2. Relief of Cleopatra VII and Caesarion at the Dendera Temple by Olaf Tausch
3. Cleopatra VI's death painted by Reginald Arthur
4. This statue head is thought to represent Caesarion, the alleged child of Cleopatra VII and Julius Caesar.
5. The Egyptian goddess Isis holds her son, Horus, in her lap. Cleopatra commissioned coins and temple artwork depicting her and her own son as these deities.
Background from {[https://allthatsinteresting.com/caesarion]}
Meet Caesarion, Caesar And Cleopatra’s Love Child Who Never Stood A Chance
By Carly Silver Published September 12, 2019
Updated September 13, 2019
A co-king by age three, Caesarion's solo reign over Egypt lasted mere days before his adoptive brother had him
For centuries, power passed from father to son, mother to daughter, in royal dynasties. Cleopatra VII, the last pharaoh of Egypt, intended to continue that practice.
She took Roman general Julius Caesar as her lover, giving birth to their son, Caesarion, in 47 B.C. Cleopatra named Caesarion her co-ruler and intended for him to succeed her, but the might — and ego — of Caesarion’s adoptive brother, Octavian, brought that to a brutal end.
Born To Reign
In the late 50s and into the 40s B.C., Cleopatra competed with her siblings – two brothers, both named Ptolemy, and her sister, Arsinoe – to rule Egypt.
After 18-year-old Cleopatra married her 10-year-old brother and co-ruler, Ptolemy XIII, in 51 B.C., civil war broke out between the pair. Cleopatra fled to Syria to marshal her own forces.
She came back better than ever. After sneaking into family friend Julius Caesar’s chambers wrapped in a rug (or, according to other translations of Plutarch, a sack of clothes), she charmed him, enlisted his help, and defeated her brother in battle.
Returned to her throne with Caesar’s help, Cleopatra nominally married her remaining brother, Ptolemy XIV, while continuing an affair with the Roman ruler.
Cleopatra emerges from a carpet in Julius Caesar’s chambers.
On June 23, 47 B.C., the queen of Egypt gave birth to a son. As Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Stacey Schiff wrote in her biography, Cleopatra: A Life,
“With Caesarion — or little Caesar, as the Alexandrians nicknamed Ptolemy XV Caesar — on her lap, Cleopatra had no difficulty ruling as a female king. Even before he began to babble, Caesarion accomplished a masterly feat. He rendered his feckless uncle wholly irrelevant. Whether Ptolemy XIV realized it or not, his older sister had gained control both of the imagery and the government.”
The Little Prince Of Egypt
Cleopatra and Caesarion make offerings to the gods in traditional Egyptian royal garb.
Ever-savvy Cleopatra laid claim to her son’s dual heritage. He bore the sobriquet “Ptolemy,” borne by all princes of the Ptolemaic dynasty, but he was most commonly referred to as “Caesarion,” or little Caesar.
Many didn’t believe the little royal was actually Caesar’s child. Cassius Dio, who lived in the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D., sneered, “Cleopatra…on account of the aid she had sent to [Caesar’s ally] Dolabella, was granted the right to have her son called king of Egypt; this son, whom she named Ptolemy, she pretended was her son by Caesar, and she was therefore wont to call him Caesarion.”
Caesarion bore two other names, as attested by contemporary inscriptions: called a god, he was dubbed “Philometor” and “Philopator,” meaning “mother-loving” or “father-loving.” Both were both traditional nicknames for a Ptolemaic king or queen.
So from birth, little Caesarion carried two heavy weights on his shoulders: he was allegedly the only biological son of the most powerful man in Rome, as well as the heir to a 300-year-old kingdom and 3,000-year-old civilization that served as the bread basket of the Mediterranean.
In 44 B.C., at just three years old, Caesarion was declared Ptolemy XV, a co-king alongside his mother.
Meeting Daddy
In 46 B.C., Caesar was on top of the world, celebrating military victories left and right and rebuilding Rome. Cleopatra, after giving birth, trekked to Rome to visit Caesar — and introduce him to his son.
At the same time, she had new coins issued depicting herself as Venus (who also Caesar’s goddess ancestress) as well as the Egyptian mother goddess Isis. And who played the divine progeny Cupid-cum-Horus, king of Egypt? Caesarion, of course. Cleopatra portrayed herself and Caesarion as mother goddess and divine heir in temples throughout Egypt.
But what about her son? Poor Caesarion did not develop much of a relationship with his father, though there is some evidence that Caesar acknowledged him as his own flesh and blood. And less than three years after Caesarion’s birth, Caesar was dead, murdered by friends and foes alike.
But Caesarion was not Caesar’s official heir. According to Caesar’s will, that was his biological great-nephew and adopted son, Gaius Octavius, also known as Octavian, and later known as Augustus Caesar.
While the rest of Rome was trying to put one foot in front of the other after Caesar’s death, Octavian was systematically figuring out who was a threat to his inheritance. He immediately butted heads with Caesar’s lieutenant and frenemy Marc Antony; allies and then enemies, they only ended their conflict after a civil war years later.
Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus soon divided Roman territories between them.
Antony went to Egypt and then took up with Cleopatra, who gave birth to three of their children. Octavian spread the rumor that Antony intended to divide the eastern portion of Rome and disperse it amongst his kids with Cleopatra — and Caesarion, whom Antony dubbed Caesar’s legitimate heir.
The Final Act
Octavian had Caesarion killed so he’d have no competition for Rome’s throne.
The final blow came in a ceremony called the “Donations of Alexandria.”
Antony came home to Alexandria and declared Cleopatra and himself heirs to the Persian and Hellenistic monarchies. He also dubbed Caesarion Caesar’s true heir — in direct defiance of Octavian’s claims — and nominally distributed kingdoms to his three kids with Cleopatra.
So it was Octavian versus Antony and Cleopatra (and Caesarion) for control of Rome.
In 31 B.C., Octavian defeated Antony and Cleopatra’s forces at the Battle of Actium in northern Greece. Octavian then invaded Egypt, whereupon Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide.
Octavian took nominal control over Cleopatra’s children and heirs. Caesarion attempted to flee to safety, perhaps to India by way of Ethiopia, but Octavian refused to let the last rival to Caesar’s throne survive.
After Octavian offered Caesarion the crown of Egypt, Caesarion turned back from his travels on the advice of his tutor Rhodon — who was perhaps bribed by Octavian — and was killed.
Octavian or someone close to Caesarion supposedly quipped, “Too many Caesars is not a good thing.” With Caesarion, then, died Cleopatra’s hopes for an independent Egypt.
Octavian declared Egypt a province of Rome, and Caesarion became a forgotten footnote in the annals of ancient history.'
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNG5QDoIZo4
Image
1. Mural of Cleopatra and Caesarion as Venus and Cupid
2. Relief of Cleopatra VII and Caesarion at the Dendera Temple by Olaf Tausch
3. Cleopatra VI's death painted by Reginald Arthur
4. This statue head is thought to represent Caesarion, the alleged child of Cleopatra VII and Julius Caesar.
5. The Egyptian goddess Isis holds her son, Horus, in her lap. Cleopatra commissioned coins and temple artwork depicting her and her own son as these deities.
Background from {[https://allthatsinteresting.com/caesarion]}
Meet Caesarion, Caesar And Cleopatra’s Love Child Who Never Stood A Chance
By Carly Silver Published September 12, 2019
Updated September 13, 2019
A co-king by age three, Caesarion's solo reign over Egypt lasted mere days before his adoptive brother had him
For centuries, power passed from father to son, mother to daughter, in royal dynasties. Cleopatra VII, the last pharaoh of Egypt, intended to continue that practice.
She took Roman general Julius Caesar as her lover, giving birth to their son, Caesarion, in 47 B.C. Cleopatra named Caesarion her co-ruler and intended for him to succeed her, but the might — and ego — of Caesarion’s adoptive brother, Octavian, brought that to a brutal end.
Born To Reign
In the late 50s and into the 40s B.C., Cleopatra competed with her siblings – two brothers, both named Ptolemy, and her sister, Arsinoe – to rule Egypt.
After 18-year-old Cleopatra married her 10-year-old brother and co-ruler, Ptolemy XIII, in 51 B.C., civil war broke out between the pair. Cleopatra fled to Syria to marshal her own forces.
She came back better than ever. After sneaking into family friend Julius Caesar’s chambers wrapped in a rug (or, according to other translations of Plutarch, a sack of clothes), she charmed him, enlisted his help, and defeated her brother in battle.
Returned to her throne with Caesar’s help, Cleopatra nominally married her remaining brother, Ptolemy XIV, while continuing an affair with the Roman ruler.
Cleopatra emerges from a carpet in Julius Caesar’s chambers.
On June 23, 47 B.C., the queen of Egypt gave birth to a son. As Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Stacey Schiff wrote in her biography, Cleopatra: A Life,
“With Caesarion — or little Caesar, as the Alexandrians nicknamed Ptolemy XV Caesar — on her lap, Cleopatra had no difficulty ruling as a female king. Even before he began to babble, Caesarion accomplished a masterly feat. He rendered his feckless uncle wholly irrelevant. Whether Ptolemy XIV realized it or not, his older sister had gained control both of the imagery and the government.”
The Little Prince Of Egypt
Cleopatra and Caesarion make offerings to the gods in traditional Egyptian royal garb.
Ever-savvy Cleopatra laid claim to her son’s dual heritage. He bore the sobriquet “Ptolemy,” borne by all princes of the Ptolemaic dynasty, but he was most commonly referred to as “Caesarion,” or little Caesar.
Many didn’t believe the little royal was actually Caesar’s child. Cassius Dio, who lived in the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D., sneered, “Cleopatra…on account of the aid she had sent to [Caesar’s ally] Dolabella, was granted the right to have her son called king of Egypt; this son, whom she named Ptolemy, she pretended was her son by Caesar, and she was therefore wont to call him Caesarion.”
Caesarion bore two other names, as attested by contemporary inscriptions: called a god, he was dubbed “Philometor” and “Philopator,” meaning “mother-loving” or “father-loving.” Both were both traditional nicknames for a Ptolemaic king or queen.
So from birth, little Caesarion carried two heavy weights on his shoulders: he was allegedly the only biological son of the most powerful man in Rome, as well as the heir to a 300-year-old kingdom and 3,000-year-old civilization that served as the bread basket of the Mediterranean.
In 44 B.C., at just three years old, Caesarion was declared Ptolemy XV, a co-king alongside his mother.
Meeting Daddy
In 46 B.C., Caesar was on top of the world, celebrating military victories left and right and rebuilding Rome. Cleopatra, after giving birth, trekked to Rome to visit Caesar — and introduce him to his son.
At the same time, she had new coins issued depicting herself as Venus (who also Caesar’s goddess ancestress) as well as the Egyptian mother goddess Isis. And who played the divine progeny Cupid-cum-Horus, king of Egypt? Caesarion, of course. Cleopatra portrayed herself and Caesarion as mother goddess and divine heir in temples throughout Egypt.
But what about her son? Poor Caesarion did not develop much of a relationship with his father, though there is some evidence that Caesar acknowledged him as his own flesh and blood. And less than three years after Caesarion’s birth, Caesar was dead, murdered by friends and foes alike.
But Caesarion was not Caesar’s official heir. According to Caesar’s will, that was his biological great-nephew and adopted son, Gaius Octavius, also known as Octavian, and later known as Augustus Caesar.
While the rest of Rome was trying to put one foot in front of the other after Caesar’s death, Octavian was systematically figuring out who was a threat to his inheritance. He immediately butted heads with Caesar’s lieutenant and frenemy Marc Antony; allies and then enemies, they only ended their conflict after a civil war years later.
Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus soon divided Roman territories between them.
Antony went to Egypt and then took up with Cleopatra, who gave birth to three of their children. Octavian spread the rumor that Antony intended to divide the eastern portion of Rome and disperse it amongst his kids with Cleopatra — and Caesarion, whom Antony dubbed Caesar’s legitimate heir.
The Final Act
Octavian had Caesarion killed so he’d have no competition for Rome’s throne.
The final blow came in a ceremony called the “Donations of Alexandria.”
Antony came home to Alexandria and declared Cleopatra and himself heirs to the Persian and Hellenistic monarchies. He also dubbed Caesarion Caesar’s true heir — in direct defiance of Octavian’s claims — and nominally distributed kingdoms to his three kids with Cleopatra.
So it was Octavian versus Antony and Cleopatra (and Caesarion) for control of Rome.
In 31 B.C., Octavian defeated Antony and Cleopatra’s forces at the Battle of Actium in northern Greece. Octavian then invaded Egypt, whereupon Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide.
Octavian took nominal control over Cleopatra’s children and heirs. Caesarion attempted to flee to safety, perhaps to India by way of Ethiopia, but Octavian refused to let the last rival to Caesar’s throne survive.
After Octavian offered Caesarion the crown of Egypt, Caesarion turned back from his travels on the advice of his tutor Rhodon — who was perhaps bribed by Octavian — and was killed.
Octavian or someone close to Caesarion supposedly quipped, “Too many Caesars is not a good thing.” With Caesarion, then, died Cleopatra’s hopes for an independent Egypt.
Octavian declared Egypt a province of Rome, and Caesarion became a forgotten footnote in the annals of ancient history.'
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There was a long standing tradition/history of co-rulers in Egypt often siblings, sometimes parent and child; Cleopatra was doing her best to maintain control and pass it along to her son, but she was unsuccessful.
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