The Reign of Cleopatra — Egypt's Last Pharaoh

Cleopatra VII (69-30 BCE) became pharaoh at 18 and ruled Egypt for 21 years — the last sovereign ruler of a civilization that had endured for 3,000 years. Far from the seductress of popular imagination, Cleopatra was a brilliant linguist (she spoke nine languages, the first Ptolemaic ruler to learn Egyptian), a skilled diplomat, and a shrewd political strategist. She allied with Julius Caesar, bearing him a son (Caesarion), and after Caesar's assassination, formed a political and romantic alliance with Mark Antony. Their combined forces were defeated by Octavian (later Augustus) at the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE. Rather than be paraded through Rome as a captive, Cleopatra took her own life on August 12, 30 BCE — tradition says by the bite of an asp. With her death, Egypt became a Roman province, ending pharaonic civilization. Cleopatra's story has been told and retold for 2,000 years — by Shakespeare, Shaw, Hollywood, and historians — making her one of the most famous figures in human history.