Cleopatra
was the daughter of the Pharaoh of Egypt. Her father
was Ptolemy XII. She was the eldest child of the Pharaoh.
When her father died, she became the queen of Egypt. Cleopatra was
very smart. She could speak 9 languages! Also, she was famous for
her beauty. This week, let's visit ancient Egypt to meet the
amazing queen!
Cleopatra was born in 69 BC in Alexandria. Alexandria was the capital of Egypt at the time.
In 51 BC, her father passed away. Cleopatra inherited the throne of Egypt with her
brother Ptolemy XIII. Cleopatra was 18 when she became the queen of
Egypt. She ruled her country alone for 3 years. Her brother was pharaoh
in name only. He remained in the background
while Cleopatra ruled alone.
Ruling
the country wasn't easy for the young queen. The Romans were conquering city after city.
They were even beginning to gain control over Egypt when Cleopatra
took the throne. Keeping the Romans from completely taking over her
land was hard for her. She ruled until she was overthrown by one of
her father's advisors. She was forced
to leave Egypt and move to Syria. Her younger brother became the new
ruler of Egypt.
But Cleopatra didn't give up easily. She visited
the Roman general Julius Caesar in Alexandria to make a plea to him. When
Julius Caesar saw her, he fell in love with her. Her charm overtook
the powerful Caesar. It was love at first sight.
Cleopatra's brother Ptolemy XIII felt he had been betrayed. So he
declared war against Caesar and his Roman army. Ptolemy XIII died
in the war, and Caesar gained control of the throne of Alexandria.
Caesar restored the throne to Cleopatra.
She became the queen of Egypt again. Caesar and Cleopatra had a son
together. But Caesar died a short time later.
Upon
his death, Rome began to divide. Cleopatra stayed
in favor with the Romans so that they would not take the throne of
Egypt away from her.
She supported Mark Antony when
he prevailed as ruler of the
Roman Empire. Cleopatra and Antony fell in love eventually. However, the
Romans were not happy about their love. They felt he was giving away
the Roman Empire to Egypt.
Fortune turned against them
in 30 BC. Octavian was a man who was also in line for the throne of
the Roman Empire. He was not fond of Mark Antony and Cleopatra.
So he declared war on Egypt. He defeated Mark Antony and
then had Cleopatra arrested. Cleopatra died
at the age of 39. She was the last Pharaoh of Egypt.
Cleopatra
was the daughter of the 
Ruling
the country wasn't easy for the young queen. The Romans were 
Upon
his death, Rome began to 