Some Little Known Facts About Cleopatra

1. Cleopatra was not an Egyptian.

Cleopatra VII was born 69 BC and committed suicide on August 30, 30 BC. While Cleopatra was born in Egypt, she traced her family origins to Macedonian Greece and Ptolemy I Soter, one of Alexander the Great’s generals. Ptolemy took the reigns of Egypt after Alexander’s death in 323 B.C., and he launched a dynasty of Greek-speaking rulers that lasted for nearly three centuries. Despite not being ethnically Egyptian, Cleopatra embraced many of her country’s ancient customs and was the first member of the Ptolemaic line to learn the Egyptian language.

2.She was not the first Cleopatra

Cleopatra VII was the 7th woman in the Ptolemy dynasty to bear the name Cleopatra. All that time, Egyptians had not ruled Egypt. Instead, for 300 years, the Greek family was in control.

Cleopatra's name, pictured in hieroglyphics, is a combination of two Greek words, κλέος (kleos) "glory" and πατήρ (pater) "father”. Her full name was Cleopatra VII Philopator.She claimed herself as the egyptian godess Isis and people referred her as new isis.

3.Marriage at an early age

She was the product of incest. Like many royal houses, members of the Ptolemaic dynasty often married within the family to preserve the purity of their bloodline. More than a dozen of Cleopatra’s ancestors tied the knot with cousins or siblings, and it’s likely that her own parents were brother and sister. In keeping with this custom, Cleopatra eventually married both of her adolescent brothers, each of whom served as her ceremonial spouse and co-regent at different times during her reign. It is said that she was forced to marry her brother when she was 18 and her brother Ptolemy was only 10.

4.First ruler to speak Egyptian in 300 years

Cleopatra was the first Ptolemaic ruler who learned to speak and write in Egyptian. For 300 years, her family spoke only Greek, so court documents, including the Rosetta stone, were bilingual—written in both in Greek and Egyptian. She can speak almost a dozen languages.

Just like learning to speak Egyptian, Cleopatra was the first ruler in her family to embrace the local culture, gods, and ancient customs after a period of 300 years.Because of this, she could speak to generals and rulers of other countries without an interpreter, thus giving her an upper hand.

5.Deleted brother's face from all coins

Cleopatra had no desire to share the throne with her 10-year-old kid brother. Within months she removed his name from official documents and had all newly minted coins stamped exclusively with her face. She ignored the rule that forced Ptolemaic queens to subordinate themselves below their male co-rulers.

6.Blamed for Nile drought

The first three years of her reign were tough, partly because when Cleopatra took over, the Nile flooding was low. Crops failed, people went hungry, less money was made, and politicians argued against her. Things were only going to get worse…

7.Fought her siblings to death

Power grabs and murder plots were as much a Ptolemaic tradition as family marriage, and Cleopatra and her brothers and sisters were no different. Her first sibling-husband, Ptolemy XIII, ran her out of Egypt after she tried to take sole possession of the throne, and the pair later faced off in a civil war. Cleopatra regained the upper hand by teaming with Julius Caesar, and Ptolemy drowned in the Nile River after being defeated in battle. Following the war, Cleopatra remarried to her younger brother Ptolemy XIV, but she is believed to have had him murdered in a bid to make her son her co-ruler. In 41 B.C., she also engineered the execution of her sister, Arsinoe, whom she considered a rival to the throne.

8.Entrance

Cleopatra knew she could turn the tables if she could meet Caesar for herself. In 48 BC, she snuck through enemy lines by wrapping herself in a carpet and having herself delivered to the general’s private quarters. She charmed Julius Caesar and the two instantly became allies. He fought for her against Ptolemy in a 4-month war and won her throne back.

9.Had a baby with Caesar

They affectionately called him Caesarion, which means little Caesar. Cleopatra tried to convince Caesar to make their baby boy his heir. Caesar, who was married and had an heir already, refused. Given Cleopatra’s competitive nature, this probably didn’t go over too well.

10.Affair with Antony

Roman General Marc Antony saw himself as Bacchus, god of wine and partying, so she dressed as Aphrodite, goddess of love, (who once had an affair with Bacchus), rode down the Nile on a golden barge with a purple sail while attendants in Cupid costumes fanned her. Word was sent to Marc Antony that: “Venus was come to feast with Bacchus, for the common good of Asia.” (Plutarch) So he came, and he was wildly impressed. Cleopatra and Marc Antony began a love affair in 41 BC. She hunted with him, drank with him, played games of dice with him, and when he performed military exercises, she came to watch. They stood together against Egypt's enemies, and they were married in the Egyptian style, even though Antony was already married.

11.Death

Cleopatra and Antony were defeated by Octavian. Knowing all was lost, Cleopatra took her own life. Some say she forced an asp to bite her (an Egyptian cobra or a viper), which would have been a horribly painful death. Ancient historian Strabo tells it differently: he claims Cleopatra always wore a hair comb charged with poison, and she used it to kill herself. Recent historians suggest Cleopatra stabbed herself with a pin dipped in snake venom or some other deadly toxin.

References: https://www.history.com/news/10-little-known-facts-about-cleopatra
https://www.egyptabout.com/2017/01/42-shocking-facts-about-cleopatra.html