Cleopatra Leadership Analysis Essay Example

Historical empires; their time on the Earth is measured by the ambition of their leaders. The leaders who make trades and declare war on one another, all with secret agendas of their own. The power thrown from nation to nation and the deceit that’s included in the collapse of society impacts our world in many ways. There is one woman who we see as a heroine figure in this segment of history, a leader, an idol, but a harsh scholar and trailblazer. Her name is Cleopatra, and she was the downfall of ancient Rome.

Cleopatra was an inspirational leader, while her actions to get into power were extreme, such as smuggling herself in a carpet into Roman emperor’s quarters, her time as pharaoh changed the course of Egyptian history. She was the wife of Julius Caesar, after asking him to help her get the throne, and one of the only female pharaohs to exist. Growing up as a scholar at the library of Alexandria, Egypt, Cleopatra learned multiple languages, including the Egyptian hieroglyphs you’d see in tombs. She was Greek, but her ancestors such as Alexander the Great, were a part of the Ptolemy dynasty, therefore setting her up for the Egyptian throne.

But how? You might ask, did she impact the Roman fall from greatness? Well, let’s start with how she even became involved with Rome. Around 46 BC Cleopatra was competing with her brother for the chance to become pharaoh. Knowing that she couldn’t beat him alone, she went to Rome and called upon Julius Caesar to kill her brother and restore her as first in line. Julius, having taken a liking to the aristocrat, agreed to her terms and ended up allying with her for the majority of her rule, only when he died did the Roman Empire turn on Egypt. The relationship between the two ended up becoming flirtatious, and they married each other a year after their deal. Because of this, Egypt joined the Roman Empire and became a major resource for trade with the Romans’, much to the Egyptian people’s dislike. This is why Cleopatra is mostly credited for creating economic trade in Egypt.

After Caesar’s death, there was some gray area about who was going to take over the Roman Empire. Caesar Agustus Octavian, Marc Antony, and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus ended up taking over the role and started the second triumvirate, where the three tributes’ divided the Roman Empire into three segments, one for each person. This alliance created a balance between the suitors, and they ended up competing for the entire empire itself. This is one of the causes of the Last Civil War of Rome, and ultimately the Battle of Actium. 

Cleopatra’s dominion affected Egypt in many ways. Along with stimulating the growth of its economy, Cleopatra led Egypt into prosperity, using her skills in philosophy to advise the citizens under her rule. While she was heavily involved in world politics, the Egyptians supported her thoroughly, in the hopes of keeping their euphoria. Even after her untimely death in 31 BC the country of Egypt still prospered underneath the Roman Empire’s rule. With much of the damage inflicted on Egypt during Octavian’s rule as emperor when he was fighting Antony. This gave them the option to rebuild and start making alliances with other civilizations, keeping the financial system that Cleopatra incited years before. 

Cleopatra’s death was a tragedy and a relief to multiple people in this time period mainly because they saw her as a threat. When the civil war commenced, most Romans didn’t know what to make of her. On one hand, she was an Egyptian queen meddling in Roman affairs, on the other, she was an interesting and cunning leader who supported her people. In the end, Cleopatra was one of the most hated rulers because she was said to have too much power for that of her sex. This is why there are many opinions on Cleopatra and if she was a good person.

But what of the Roman Empire? Well, after the war, Octavian took control over all of the Roman Empire. The western empire, his, originally, fell around 395 AD by the cause of Barbarian Tribes. But the eastern empire, including Egypt, didn’t fall until 1453, over a thousand years after. Overall, Cleopatra impacted the fall of the Roman Empire by lengthening its reign and participating in its politics, therefore nurturing Egypt’s reputation and alliances throughout the course of history.