Cleopatra VII

Cleopatra VII is one of the most famous female rulers in history.

She was born in Egypt in 69 BC. Her family, at the time of her birth, had ruled Egypt for over a hundred years. The Ptolemaic dynasty is one of Greek decent and was founded after Alexander the Great's death in 332 BC. Cleopatra's death ended their reign over Egypt.

Her father was Ptolemy XII Auletes, and her mother, it is believed, was his sister and wife, Cleopatra V of Egypt. Little is known about her early life. It is believed that she had four or more siblings, but records make it unclear.

Cleopatra VI, who is speculated to have been her sister, could have also been the same person as Cleopatra V, her mother. Records of her mother end around the time of Cleopatra's birth, but the name surfaces again in her later years.

Her known siblings are Berenice IV, Arsinoe IV, Ptolemy XIII, and Ptolemy XIV.

Her father died when she was eighteen, and left the throne to her younger brother, Ptolemy XIII along with Cleopatra. It is suspected that she was included in the succession because she might have been married to her brother, eight years her junior.

Ptolemy and Cleopatra seemed to be engaged in conflict, and in 51 BC, Cleopatra undermined him completely by placing herself on coins and writings, rather than the traditional male ruler. Soon after, she was forced to flee to Syria by his threats.

In 48 BC, she returned to Egypt with her own army. After a series of conflicts in Rome, Julius Caesar followed his rival, Pompey, to Egypt. While there, he met Cleopatra, and aided her in winning back her throne. The two defeated her brother in The Battle of Nice. After the battle, Ptolemy is said to have drowned in the Nile.

In 47 BC, Cleopatra had her first child, Caesarion. She traveled with Cesar to Rome after his birth, returning only after Caesar's assassination. She supported Marc Antony as Caesar's successor over Gaius Octavius, and went to visit Antony at his request, only for him to fall in love with her as well.

Antony and Cleopatra worked together to conquer Rome, Cleopatra providing support in return for parts of the land given over to Egypt as the result.

Antony was supposedly told in battle that Cleopatra had died, and committed suicide. Most stories agree that Cleopatra committed suicide as well, after hearing of his death, by allowing herself to be bitten by a cobra.

Cleopatra was the last of the pharaoh's of Egypt, because Cesarion, who was supposed to rule, was killed by Gaius Ocatvius shortly after her death.