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KF5JRV > TODAY 10.08.24 10:33l 79 Lines 6323 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: Today in History - Aug 10
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On August 10, 30 B.C. (some scholars say August 12), Cleopatra, queen of Egypt and lover of Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, take
s her life following the defeat of her forces against Octavian, the future first emperor of Rome.
Cleopatra, born in 69 B.C., was made Cleopatra VII, queen of Egypt, upon the death of her father, Ptolemy XII, in 51 B.C. Her b
rother was made King Ptolemy XIII at the same time, and the siblings ruled Egypt under the formal title of husband and wife. Cl
eopatra and Ptolemy were members of the Macedonian dynasty that governed Egypt since the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.
C.
Although Cleopatra had no Egyptian blood, she alone in her ruling house learned Egyptian. To further her influence over the Egy
ptian people, she was also proclaimed the daughter of Re, the Egyptian sun god. Cleopatra soon fell into dispute with her broth
er, and civil war erupted in 48 B.C.
Rome, the greatest power in the Western world, was also beset by civil war at the time. Just as Cleopatra was preparing to atta
ck her brother with a large Arab army, the Roman civil war spilled into Egypt. Pompey the Great, defeated by Julius Caesar in G
reece, fled to Egypt seeking solace but was immediately murdered by agents of Ptolemy XIII. Caesar arrived in Alexandria soon a
fter and, finding his enemy dead, decided to restore order in Egypt.
During the preceding century, Rome had exercised increasing control over the rich Egyptian kingdom, and Cleopatra sought to adv
ance her political aims by winning the favor of Caesar. She traveled to the royal palace in Alexandria and was allegedly carrie
d to Caesar rolled in a rug, which was offered as a gift. Cleopatra, beautiful and alluring, captivated the powerful Roman lead
er, and he agreed to intercede in the Egyptian civil war on her behalf.
In 47 B.C., Ptolemy XIII was killed after a defeat against Caesar’s forces, and Cleopatra was made dual ruler with another brot
her, Ptolemy XIV. Julius and Cleopatra spent several amorous weeks together, and then Caesar departed for Asia Minor, where he
declared “Veni, vidi, viciö (I came, I saw, I conquered), after putting down a rebellion. In June 47 B.C., Cleopatra bore a son
, whom she claimed was Caesar’s and named Caesarion, meaning “little Caesar.ö
Upon Caesar’s triumphant return to Rome, Cleopatra and Caesarion joined him there. Under the auspices of negotiating a treaty w
ith Rome, Cleopatra lived discretely in a villa that Caesar owned outside the capital. After Caesar was assassinated in March 4
4 B.C., she returned to Egypt. Soon after, Ptolemy XIV died, likely poisoned by Cleopatra, and the queen made her son co-ruler
with her as Ptolemy XV Caesar.
With Julius Caesar’s murder, Rome again fell into civil war, which was temporarily resolved in 43 B.C. with the formation of th
e second triumvirate, made up of Octavian, Caesar’s great-nephew and chosen heir; Mark Antony, a powerful general; and Lepidus,
a Roman statesman. Antony took up the administration of the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire, and he summoned Cleopatra t
o Tarsus, in Asia Minor, to answer charges that she had aided his enemies.
History of the Mummy
Cleopatra sought to seduce Antony, as she had Caesar before him, and in 41 B.C. arrived in Tarsus on a magnificent river barge,
dressed as Venus, the Roman god of love. Successful in her efforts, Antony returned with her to Alexandria, where they spent t
he winter in debauchery. In 40 B.C., Antony returned to Rome and married Octavian’s sister Octavia in an effort to mend his str
ained alliance with Octavian. The triumvirate, however, continued to deteriorate. In 37 B.C., Antony separated from Octavia and
traveled east, arranging for Cleopatra to join him in Syria. In their time apart, Cleopatra had borne him twins, a son and a d
aughter. According to Octavian’s propagandists, the lovers were then married, which violated the Roman law restricting Romans f
rom marrying foreigners.
Antony’s disastrous military campaign against Parthia in 36 B.C. further reduced his prestige, but in 34 B.C. he was more succe
ssful against Armenia. To celebrate the victory, he staged a triumphal procession through the streets of Alexandria, in which h
e and Cleopatra sat on golden thrones, and Caesarion and their children were given imposing royal titles. Many in Rome, spurred
on by Octavian, interpreted the spectacle as a sign that Antony intended to deliver the Roman Empire into alien hands.
After several more years of tension and propaganda attacks, Octavian declared war against Cleopatra, and therefore Antony, in 3
1 B.C. Enemies of Octavian rallied to Antony’s side, but Octavian’s brilliant military commanders gained early successes agains
t his forces. On September 2, 31 B.C., their fleets clashed at Actium in Greece. After heavy fighting, Cleopatra broke from the
engagement and set course for Egypt with 60 of her ships. Antony then broke through the enemy line and followed her. The dishe
artened fleet that remained surrendered to Octavian. One week later, Antony’s land forces surrendered.
Although they had suffered a decisive defeat, it was nearly a year before Octavian reached Alexandria and again defeated Antony
. In the aftermath of the battle, Cleopatra took refuge in the mausoleum she had commissioned for herself. Antony, informed tha
t Cleopatra was dead, stabbed himself with his sword. Before he died, another messenger arrived, saying Cleopatra still lived.
Antony had himself carried to Cleopatra’s retreat, where he died after bidding her to make her peace with Octavian. When the tr
iumphant Roman arrived, she attempted to seduce him, but he resisted her charms. Rather than fall under Octavian’s domination,
Cleopatra died by suicide on either August 10 or August 12, 30 B.C., possibly by means of an asp, a poisonous Egyptian serpent
and symbol of divine royalty.
Octavian then executed her son Caesarion, annexed Egypt into the Roman Empire, and used Cleopatra’s treasure to pay off his vet
erans. In 27 B.C., Octavian became Augustus, the first and arguably most successful of all Roman emperors. He ruled a peaceful,
prosperous, and expanding Roman Empire until his death in 14 A.D. at the age of 75.
73 de Scott KF5JRV
Pmail: KF5JRV@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA
Email KF5JRV@gmail.com
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