Essay Sample about Cleopatra: The Greatest Egyptian Ruler

Cleopatra the 7th was a great Queen of Egypt and a very powerful person. She was born into the Macedonian line in Ancient Egypt. She became queen at age eighteen when her father, King Ptolemy, died. “During her reign, she forged political alliances and became romantically involved with Roman military leaders Julius Caesar and Mark Antony.” (Biography.com) She was a wise and highly educated ruler. 

The Macedonians had been ruling since the original Ptolemy in 332 B.C. Cleopatra had an advanced education, but she was the only person in her family to learn Egyptian. This skill helped her communicate with her people, and become more connected with them. “She spoke as many as a dozen languages and was educated in mathematics, philosophy, military tactics, oratory and astronomy.” (History.com) She used all of these skills to make good judgments when she became queen. Her good decisions made her the best ruler that Egypt had. 

When her brother and co-ruler, Ptolemy XIII, exiled her from Egypt, she used her military knowledge to group together a band of mercenaries and fight back for her throne.She gained the help of Julius Caesar, a powerful Roman general. Julius Caesar had a full military and was the ruler of Rome. He gave Cleopatra access to his army to help her defeat her brother. If she didn’t get his help, her group of mercenaries might have been defeated by Ptolemy XIII.

Julius Caesar fell in love with Cleopatra when she came to ask him for help. After she regained her throne, she had a child named Ptolemy Caesarian.. She made a smart decision by having her son be recognized by the priests as a son of Amon. Having Ptolemy Caesarian recognized as a god ensured that he would be the future ruler of Egypt. If she didn’t make him a god, he would have been vulnerable to other people trying to claim power once Cleopatra passed away. Cleopatra herself claimed to be the daughter of Isis to maintain a sort of mystique around her. By doing this, she helped herself keep the throne. When she made herself Isis, she avoided being easily overthrown by her people or her brother. The people wouldn’t have loved Cleopatra as much as they did if she hadn’t made herself a divine being. 

Cleopatra went to Rome to have her son be recognized as Julius Caesar’s. She went knowing that she would be able to have Caesar make her son the heir to Rome instead of Caesar’s nephew. She knew that this would combine the nations of Egypt and Rome into one very powerful nation ruled by Ptolemy Caesarian. She cared about her son and wanted to make sure he had a good life and was a good ruler when she died. Cleopatra also wanted to make Egypt larger and have a larger economy. This would help the people of Egypt. This plan would have worked, but unfortunately, Julius Caesar was murdered on March 15, 44 B.C. 

When Julius Caesar died, Mark Antony was expected to become the next ruler of Rome. He took control and demanded that Cleopatra come to explain how Julius Caesar died. Cleopatra decided to make a grand entrance to impress him. “Cleopatra reclined beneath a canopy of cloth of gold, dressed in the character of Isis”. (Stanley and Vennema 9). Mark Antony thought of himself as the god Dionysus and instantly fell in love with her. Cleopatra knew that he would think she was the cause of Julius Caesar’s death, so she made a very good decision bringing gifts and coming as a god. She knew Mark Antony would see her in a better light. If she didn’t, she might have gotten captured by the Romans if they assumed she was part of Caesar’s death. 

Mark Antony and Cleopatra joined together and formed alliances with each other. “Crowds flocked to the Gymnasium to see Cleopatra and Antony seated on golden thrones on a silver platform with their children sitting on slightly lower thrones beside them.” (Britannica) Cleopatra knew how to make her people respect her. She put on many shows of power to make people see that she was a strong ruler. She faced a lot of questioning as a female leader, and she used her power to make sure that people respected her as the pharaoh. Normally, there were male rulers, and people weren’t sure whether she would be a good ruler or not. Cleopatra used her theatrics to make people see that she was equally as powerful as all of the previous rulers.

Works Cited

Andrews, Evan. “Little-Known Facts on Cleopatra”. History. August 12, 2015

https://www.history.com/news/10-little-known-facts-about-cleopatra.

Diane Stanley and Peter Vennema. 1994.“Cleopatra”.

Tyldesley, Joyce. "Cleopatra". Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Jul. 2021, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Cleopatra-queen-of-Egypt.

Unknown. “Cleopatra VII”. Biography. May 6, 2021 https://www.biography.com/royalty/cleopatra-vii#citation.