Cleopatra Vii Philopator

Cleopatra VII Philopator was born in Late 69 BC and died August 12, 30 BC. She was the last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. She was of Greek origin, and belonged to a family that ruled Egypt after Alexander the Great's death during the Hellenistic period. Though the Ptolemies refused to speak Egyptian, Cleopatra did learn how to speak Egyptian and thought that she the reincarnation of an Egyptian goddess, Isis. Cleopatra also knew eight languages.

Cleopatra originally ruled jointly with her father, Ptolemy XII Auletes, and later ruled with her brothers, Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV. She married both out of Egyptian custom and she produced no children with her brothers. Ptolemy XIV died, and she was forced to co-rule with Ptolemy XIII. Eventually, she became sole ruler. Because Cleopatra did not let Ptolemy XIII rule evenly with her, he became angry with her.

She began a relationship with Julius Caesar to take revenge on Ptolemy XIII. She also began her relationship with Julius Caesar to protect Egypt from being conquered by the Romans. With her relationship with Julius Caesar, she solidified her grip on the throne. She later gave birth to a son, and gave her son the title, Caesarion (which means "little ruler"), so that he could co-rule with her.

After Caesar's death in 44 BC, she began a relationship with Mark Antony so that their children would overtake Julius Caesar's heir, Augustus Caesar. With Antony, she had the twins Cleopatra Selene II and Alexander Helios, and another son, Ptolemy Philadelphus. They married according to the Egyptian rite, although he was at the time married to Octavia Minor, sister of his fellow triumvir Octavian. After losing the Battle of Actium to Octavian's forces, Antony committed suicide. Cleopatra followed suit, conforming to tradition of killing herself by forcing a cobra to bite her on August 12, 30 BC.

She was briefly outlived by Caesarion, who was declared pharaoh by his supporters, but he was soon killed on Octavian's orders. This ended not just the Hellenistic line of Egyptian pharaohs, but the line of all Egyptian pharaohs. The three children of Cleopatra and Antony were spared and taken back to Rome where they were taken care of by Antony's wife, Octavia Minor. The daughter, Cleopatra Selene, was married through arrangements of Octavian to Juba II of Mauretania.

Her influence on world history is well felt around the world. Not only did she establish a lot of "firsts", but she used her beauty and manipulation to get what she wanted. She was one of the few women who was not afraid of gaining power during her time. To this day, her legacy survives in numerous works of art and her story is re-told through literature and movie dramatizations. This includes, Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, and the 1963 film Cleopatra, starring Elizabeth Taylor. Her multiple relationships with powerful men prove that she was a great women