How Did Cleopatra Become Queen ?
Cleopatra VII Philopator, the most popular queen and the last Hellenistic pharaoh of Egypt. She was also the last of the descendants from the Ptolemaic dynasty. She was the direct descendant of Ptolemy I Soter, father of Alexander the Great. She was born to Ptolemy XII Auletes in 69 B.C. in Alexandria. However, the identity of her mother is not well-documented in the historical accounts. |
Berenice IV, her elder sister, seized the throne from her father in 58 B.C. However, she was overturned and executed by Ptolemy XII by 55 B.C. with the help of Aulus Gabinius, the then Roman Governor of Syria.
After Cleopatra’s father Ptolemy XII died in 51 B.C., she not in direct line to the throne. Her two older sisters were ahead of her. She was merely 17 years old when she occupied the throne along with her brother Ptolemy XIII. Floods, famines, economic hardships, and political conflicts made their reign quite difficult in the first few years.
The relations between the sovereigns soon began to become strained and finally broke down in August, 51 BC. This happened because Cleopatra violated the old Ptolemaic convention of female rulers being inferior to their male co-rulers by removing Ptolemy’s name from all the official documents and getting her own face printed on the Egyptian coins. Her acts led to the formation of a sect of courtiers, headed by eunuch Pothinus, who eventually threw her out of power and made Ptolemy the sole Egyptian pharaoh in 48 BC. When she tried to rebel, she was compelled to escape from Egypt with her sister Arsinoe.
After the death of her brothers/husbands, she was crowned the queen of Egypt. She had a secret affair with the Roman Emperor, Julius Caesar, to ensure her reign as queen. After the death of Caesar, she seduced Roman Emperor Mark Antony and married him to retain her position in Egypt.
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