Cleopatra,the last active ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, the beauty queen of Egypt, bears an important personality in the annals of history. On account of her, Julius Caesar developed an ambition to become the Roman emperor for which he had to lay down his own life. The defeat was due to a misunderstanding between Cleopatra and her brother in ruling Egypt. In the year 512 B.C, Cleopatra took shelter in Syria where she met Julius Caesar in Alexandria and fell in love with him, instigating him to wage a war against her brother in Egypt. Cleopatra's brother was killed in the battle by which she became the queen of Egypt before and after she married Caesar. She was the queen even after the death of Caesar. Later she married Marcus Antonius and fought with Augustus Caesar. In 31 B.C. She died consuming venom when everything of her was destroyed. This led to the unification of Egypt with the Roman empire.
There are lots of unknown facts behind her. Do you know her real name? Cleopatra was actually Cleopatra VII Philopator. Her real name was "Cleopatra Thea Philopator" which means 'goddess Cleopatra beloved of her father'. There were six Cleopatra before her! We all believe that Cleopatra was an Egyptian. But she was not a pure Egyptian. The genealogy goes back to Ptolemy I Soter, one of Alexander the Great's generals. Though she was not ethnically Egyptian,she didn't act like a foreigner to her subjects. And also became the first of the Ptolemaic line to learn Egyptian and adopt many of the customs of Egypt. She was also an intelligent woman who had a good command over almost twelve languages. And also learnt mathematics, philosophy ,oratory and astronomy. She brought a number of books on medicine, charms and the cosmetics who proposed treatments for hair loss and dandruff.
She had four children namely Caesarion, twins Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene by Julius Caesar. Another son Ptolemy Philadelphos Antonius by Mark Antony. But only Cleopatra Selene survived and became the Queen of Mauritania.There is also different opinions on the death of cleopatra.The popular belief about her death is that she committed suicide by allowing an asp (an Egyptian cobra) to bite her. But according to Greek and Roman historians she poisoned herself using either a toxic ointment or with a poisoned sharp instrument such as a pin!
