35 Imperial Facts About Cleopatra VII, The Last True Pharaoh

Cleopatra’s twins with Mark Antony were born in 40 B.C., around the same time when Mark Antony’s third wife died. Mark Antony then married Octavian's (Augustus) sister Octavia in the same year and she became his fourth wife. Mark Antony married Cleopatra in 34 B.C., six years after their twins were born. Cleopatra was his fifth wife.

Augustus (Octavian) riled up the Roman public’s sentiment against Mark Antony for his empowerment of Cleopatra, who was a foreign queen, and his neglect of his virtuous Roman wife Octavia. This made Mark Antony wary of him and on top of this, Mark Antony’s disastrous Parthian campaign in 36 B.C. made him afraid of the risks involved in returning to Rome. In 34 B.C., emboldened by the adoration of Mark Antony, Cleopatra declared herself the Queen of Kings during a royal event in his presence. Antony and Cleopatra may have been wed during this ceremony.

In 2010, a papyrus document featuring Cleopatra’s handwriting went on display at Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute. The document refers to a tax break for a friend of her husband Mark Antony. Cleopatra signed it with a Greek word meaning “make it happen.”

Mark Antony’s marriage to Cleopatra greatly angered Octavian (Augustus) as Mark was still married to Octavian’s sister Octavia. Mark Antony’s wrongful public claim that Caesarion was the true heir to Caesar instead of Octavian, also angered him. In a heated war of propaganda between them that would last for years, litany of gossip and accusations were made against Cleopatra that have shaped popular perceptions about her. Among other things, she was accused of brainwashing Mark Antony with witchcraft and sorcery.

In 32 B.C., Mark Antony and Cleopatra traveled to Athens, where she persuaded Antony to officially divorce his wife Octavia. This event was an important spark that led to Rome declaring war on Cleopatra (though not on Mark Antony). Mark Antony however naturally allied with Cleopatra during this war. In 31 B.C. the naval forces of Octavian met those of Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium.

As Mark Antony and Cleopatra’s forces started facing defeat in the Battle of Actium at the hands of Octavian, the two escaped the battle. By 31 B.C., they were in Alexandria when Octavian’s forces were coming for them. Cleopatra hid in her tomb with her close attendants and sent a message to Antony that she had committed suicide. In despair, Antony responded to this by stabbing himself in the stomach and taking his own life at the age of 53. Cleopatra committed suicide 10 days later inside her tomb. She was 39 when she died.

After Cleopatra’s death, her son with Ceaser, Caesarion (Ptolemy XV) reigned for a mere 18 days until he was executed on the orders of Octavian (Augustus) after Caesarion came to Alexandria under the false pretense that Octavian would allow him to be a king. He died at the age of 17.

Cleopatra and her son Caesarion’s death marked the end of the Egyptian empire as they were the Last Ruling Pharaohs of Egypt. After their death, Octavian established Egypt as a Roman Province. Mark Antony’s three children with Cleopatra were spared and sent to Rome. In 27 B.C. Octavian was renamed Caesar Augustus (“the revered”) and he later amassed enough constitutional powers to establish himself as the first Roman emperor.

Cleopatra was one of the wealthiest women of all time. Her net worth today would be around $95.8 billion USD.

The tomb of Cleopatra and Mark Antony’s only daughter, Cleopatra Selene II, is located in Algeria. Brought to Rome after her parents’ suicide, she later married Juba II, a Berber prince. Her tomb has been looted over the centuries and was once used by the French Navy for target practice.