1.Cleopatra Was the Last Active Pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt
Cleopatra facts reveal that the great ruler was the last active pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt, the kingdom that was established after the death of Alexander the Great, approximately 250 years before Cleopatra was born. Her son Caesarion, whose father was the famous Julius Caesar, succeeded her as the pharaoh for a few days, but Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus had him killed and made Egypt a province of the recently established Roman Empire, known as Aegyptus.
Since Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus was the adopted son of Julius Caesar, Cleopatra’s son Caesarion was actually killed by orders of his adoptive brother.
2.
Cleopatra Became Pharaoh When She Was Only 18
Nowadays, when people of many countries in the world turn 18, they get the right to drink, drive and vote, but Cleopatra facts reveal that the famous Egyptian queen got much more than that – a whole kingdom! After her father’s death in 51 BC, by which time she had been acting as a joint regent and deputy to him for four years, she became the monarch together with her younger brother Ptolemy XIII. Despite having the reputation of being one of the grandest rulers in history, her reign was short-lived and lasted only a few years altogether.
3.
Cleopatra Was Forced to Leave Egypt, and Regained Power with the Help of Julius Caesar
After Cleopatra had been exiled by her brother Ptolemy XIII and his advisors, she formed an alliance with Julius Caesar by becoming his lover. Cleopatra facts reveal their first encounter in great detail – when Julius Caesar came to Alexandria in the autumn of 48 BC, Cleopatra supposedly smuggled herself to the palace, wrapped in a rug. Only nine months after they met for the first time, she bore him a son (Caesarion), and after that Julius Caesar supposedly decided to back her up in her claim for the throne. The Roman armies defeated her brother Ptolemy XIII in 47 BC at the Battle of the Nile, thus securing the throne for Cleopatra. But Cleopatra didn’t reign alone; she made her youngest brother Ptolemy XIV the co-ruler. She remained Caesar’s lover until his death in 44 BC.
