Foreign Leaders
Cleopatra was born in August of the year 30 BC, as a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Her ancestor, Ptolemy I Soter, was Macedonian Greek and an associate of Alexander the Great, who was given rule over Egypt at the time of his death.
Because of her heritage, neither Cleopatra nor any of her family members, including her father Ptolemy XII, are Egyptian (despite ruling Egypt). Their native language was Koine Greek.
A Queen of the People
Cleopatra gained fame as not only the last active ruler of Egypt but as one who fully submerged herself in Egyptian culture. She is the only ruler from the Ptolemaic dynasty to have learned to speak the Egyptian language.
Family Drama – Ptolemaic Style
In 58 BC, her father was exiled to Rome after a successful revolt and left his other daughter, Berenice IV to rule over the Ptolemaic Kingdom. Berenice was killed in 55 BC prompting her father’s return to the throne.
In 51 BC, after her father’s death, Cleopatra and her brother Ptolemy XIII were given the joint rule of Egypt which ended in a civil war. Caesar’s interference eventually resulted in her brother’s death, as well as the birth of Caesar’s and Cleopatra’s child, Caesarion.