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108-764: The last Queen of ancient Egypt (the Greek Cleopatra ) married the Roman Mark Antony bringing her country as "dowry", and since then Egypt was part of the Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire for centuries. Many people from the Italian peninsula moved to live in Egypt during those centuries: the tombs of Christian Alexandria shows how deep that presence was. Since then there has been

216-499: A mummy , contains the signature of Cleopatra, probably written by an official authorized to sign for her. It concerns certain tax exemptions in Egypt granted to either Quintus Caecillius or Publius Canidius Crassus , a former Roman consul and Antony's confidant who would command his land forces at Actium . A subscript in a different handwriting at the bottom of the papyrus reads "make it happen" or "so be it" ( Ancient Greek : γινέσθωι , romanized :  ginésthōi ); this

324-689: A pop culture icon of Egyptomania since the Victorian era , and in modern times, Cleopatra has appeared in the applied and fine arts, burlesque satire, Hollywood films, and brand images for commercial products. The Latinized form Cleopatra comes from the Ancient Greek Kleopátra ( Κλεοπάτρα ), meaning "glory of her father", from κλέος ( kléos , "glory") and πατήρ ( patḗr , "father"). The masculine form would have been written either as Kleópatros ( Κλεόπατρος ) or Pátroklos ( Πάτροκλος ). Cleopatra

432-490: A Roman triumph, dressed as Dionysus and riding into the city on a chariot to present the royal prisoners to Cleopatra, who was seated on a golden throne above a silver dais. News of this event was heavily criticized in Rome as a perversion of time-honored Roman rites and rituals to be enjoyed instead by an Egyptian queen. In an event held at the gymnasium soon after the triumph, Cleopatra dressed as Isis and declared that she

540-666: A city that was established by Ptolemy II. Given her ancestral relations with the Seleucids , she was granted the region of Coele-Syria along the upper Orontes River . She was even given the region surrounding Jericho in Palestine, but she leased this territory back to Herod. At the expense of the Nabataean king Malichus I (a cousin of Herod), Cleopatra was also given a portion of the Nabataean Kingdom around

648-711: A continuous presence of people (born in the Italian peninsula) and their descendants in Egypt. During the Middle Ages Italian communities from the "Maritime Republics" of Italy (mainly Pisa , Genoa and Amalfi ) were present in Egypt as merchants. Since the Renaissance the Republic of Venice has always been present in the history and commerce of Egypt: there was even a Venetian Quarter in Cairo . From

756-431: A generally critical view of the queen that pervaded later Medieval and Renaissance literature . In the visual arts, her ancient depictions include Roman busts , paintings , and sculptures , cameo carvings and glass , Ptolemaic and Roman coinage , and reliefs . In Renaissance and Baroque art , she was the subject of many works including operas, paintings, poetry, sculptures, and theatrical dramas. She has become

864-665: A new sacred Buchis bull, worshiped as an intermediary for the god Montu in the Ancient Egyptian religion . Cleopatra faced several pressing issues and emergencies shortly after taking the throne. These included famine caused by drought and a low level of the annual flooding of the Nile , and lawless behavior instigated by the Gabiniani , the now unemployed and assimilated Roman soldiers left by Gabinius to garrison Egypt. Inheriting her father's debts, Cleopatra also owed

972-424: A normal arrangement for Ptolemaic rulers. Despite Cleopatra's rejection of him, Ptolemy XIII still retained powerful allies, notably the eunuch Potheinos , his childhood tutor, regent, and administrator of his properties. Others involved in the cabal against Cleopatra included Achillas , a prominent military commander, and Theodotus of Chios , another tutor of Ptolemy XIII. Cleopatra seems to have attempted

1080-401: A political ally of Ptolemy XII, but Ptolemy XIII, at the urging of his court eunuchs , had Pompey ambushed and killed before Caesar arrived and occupied Alexandria . Caesar then attempted to reconcile the rival Ptolemaic siblings, but Ptolemy's chief adviser, Potheinos , viewed Caesar's terms as favoring Cleopatra, so his forces besieged her and Caesar at the palace . Shortly after the siege

1188-478: A province of the Roman Empire , marking the end of the last Hellenistic-period state in the Mediterranean , a period which had lasted since the reign of Alexander (336–323 BC). In 58 BC, Cleopatra presumably accompanied her father, Ptolemy XII Auletes , during his exile to Rome after a revolt in Egypt (a Roman client state ) allowed his daughter and rival, Berenice IV , to claim his throne. Berenice

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1296-825: A reconciliation of Octavian and Antony at Brundisium in Italy in September 40 BC. Although the agreement struck at Brundisium solidified Antony's control of the Roman Republic's territories east of the Ionian Sea , it also stipulated that he concede Italia , Hispania , and Gaul , and marry Octavian's sister Octavia the Younger , a potential rival for Cleopatra. In December 40 BC Cleopatra received Herod in Alexandria as an unexpected guest and refugee who fled

1404-503: A short-lived alliance with her brother Ptolemy XIV, but by the autumn of 50 BC Ptolemy XIII had the upper hand in their conflict and began signing documents with his name before that of his sister, followed by the establishment of his first regnal date in 49 BC. In the summer of 49 BC, Cleopatra and her forces were still fighting against Ptolemy XIII within Alexandria when Pompey's son Gnaeus Pompeius arrived, seeking military aid on behalf of his father. After returning to Italy from

1512-566: A spy in his camp. By the end of 40 BC, Cleopatra had given birth to twins, a boy named Alexander Helios and a girl named Cleopatra Selene II , both of whom Antony acknowledged as his children. Helios (the Sun) and Selene (the Moon) were symbolic of a new era of societal rejuvenation, as well as an indication that Cleopatra hoped Antony would repeat the exploits of Alexander the Great by conquering

1620-526: A state prisoner, until his death. He was later buried in Cairo . After the nationalist Urabi Revolt of 1882, Britain invaded Egypt in support of Tewfik Pasha, and established an occupation over the country . During this period, the Muhammad Ali Dynasty under Tewfik Pasha and his son Abbas II continued to rule Egypt and Sudan using the title Khedive , whilst still under nominal ( de jure ) Ottoman sovereignty until 1914. Abbas II of Egypt

1728-461: A supposed supporter of Cassius, arguing she had really attempted to help Dolabella in Syria, and convinced Antony to have her exiled sister, Arsinoe IV, executed at Ephesus. Cleopatra's former rebellious governor of Cyprus was also handed over to her for execution. Cleopatra invited Antony to come to Egypt before departing from Tarsos, which led Antony to visit Alexandria by November 41 BC. Antony

1836-493: A turbulent situation in Judea . Herod had been installed as a tetrarch there by Antony, but he was soon at odds with Antigonus II Mattathias of the long-established Hasmonean dynasty. The latter had imprisoned Herod's brother and fellow tetrarch Phasael , who was executed while Herod was fleeing toward Cleopatra's court. Cleopatra attempted to provide him with a military assignment, but Herod declined and traveled to Rome, where

1944-539: A victory at the El Alamein battle. Like many other foreign communities in Egypt, migration back to Italy and the West reduced the size of the community greatly due to wartime internment and the rise of Nasserist nationalism against Westerners. After the war many members of the Italian community related to the defeated Italian expansion in Egypt were forced to move away, starting a process of reduction and disappearance of

2052-406: Is likely the autograph of the queen, as it was Ptolemaic practice to countersign documents to avoid forgery. Khedive Khedive ( / k ə ˈ d iː v / kə- DEEV ; Ottoman Turkish : خدیو , romanized :  hıdiv ; Arabic : خديوي , romanized :  khudaywī ) was an honorific title of Classical Persian origin used for the sultans and grand viziers of

2160-555: Is not known, although she had a governor there by 42 BC. Caesar is alleged to have joined Cleopatra for a cruise of the Nile and sightseeing of Egyptian monuments , although this may be a romantic tale reflecting later well-to-do Roman proclivities and not a real historical event. The historian Suetonius provided considerable details about the voyage, including use of Thalamegos , the pleasure barge constructed by Ptolemy IV , which during his reign measured 90 metres (300 ft) in length and 24 metres (80 ft) in height and

2268-728: The 1798 French invasion of Egypt and Napoleon 's defeat of Egyptian forces, which consisted largely of the ruling Mamluk military caste, the Ottoman Empire dispatched troops from Rumelia (the Balkan provinces of the Ottoman Empire) under the command of Muhammad Ali Pasha to restore the Empire's authority in what had hitherto been an Ottoman province. However, upon the French defeat and departure, Muhammad Ali seized control of

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2376-515: The Donations of Alexandria . Octavian wanted to publicize it for propaganda purposes, but the two consuls, both supporters of Antony, had it censored from public view. In late 34 BC, Antony and Octavian engaged in a heated war of propaganda that would last for years. Antony claimed that his rival had illegally deposed Lepidus from their triumvirate and barred him from raising troops in Italy, while Octavian accused Antony of unlawfully detaining

2484-458: The Gabiniani , to harass people in the streets of Alexandria and installed his longtime Roman financier Rabirius as his chief financial officer. Within a year Rabirius was placed under protective custody and sent back to Rome after his life was endangered for draining Egypt of its resources. Despite these problems, Ptolemy XII created a will designating Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIII as his joint heirs, oversaw major construction projects such as

2592-638: The Gulf of Aqaba on the Red Sea , including Ailana (modern Aqaba , Jordan). To the west Cleopatra was handed Cyrene along the Libyan coast, as well as Itanos and Olous in Roman Crete . Although still administered by Roman officials, these territories nevertheless enriched her kingdom and led her to declare the inauguration of a new era by double-dating her coinage in 36 BC. Antony's enlargement of

2700-569: The Horti Caesaris . As with their father Ptolemy XII, Caesar awarded both Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIV the legal status of "friend and ally of the Roman people" ( Latin : socius et amicus populi Romani ), in effect client rulers loyal to Rome. Cleopatra's visitors at Caesar's villa across the Tiber included the senator Cicero , who found her arrogant. Sosigenes of Alexandria , one of

2808-645: The Italian Army attacked western Egypt in summer 1940. The areas of Egypt temporarily conquered by the Kingdom of Italy in the war (like Sallum and Sidi Barrani ) were administered by the military. Indeed, the nationalist organization Misr Al-Fatah ( Young Egypt ) was deeply influenced by the fascism ideals against the British Empire . The Young Egypt Party was ready to do a revolt in Cairo in summer 1942 if Rommel had conquered Alexandria after

2916-595: The Liberators' civil war of 43–42 BC, Cleopatra sided with the Roman Second Triumvirate formed by Caesar's grandnephew and heir Octavian , Mark Antony , and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus . After their meeting at Tarsos in 41 BC, the queen had an affair with Antony which produced three children. He carried out the execution of Arsinoe at her request, and became increasingly reliant on Cleopatra for both funding and military aid during his invasions of

3024-528: The Ottoman Empire , but most famously for the viceroy of Egypt from 1805 to 1914. It is attested in Persian poetry from the 10th century and was used as an Ottoman honorific from the 16th. It was borrowed into Ottoman Turkish directly from Persian. It was first used in Egypt, without official recognition, by Muhammad Ali Pasha , the ethnically Albanian governor of Ottoman Egypt and Turco-Egyptian Sudan from 1805 to 1848. The initially self-declared title

3132-699: The Parthian Empire and the Kingdom of Armenia . The Donations of Alexandria declared their children rulers over various erstwhile territories under Antony's triumviral authority. This event, their marriage, and Antony's divorce of Octavian's sister Octavia Minor led to the final war of the Roman Republic . Octavian engaged in a war of propaganda, forced Antony's allies in the Roman Senate to flee Rome in 32 BC, and declared war on Cleopatra. After defeating Antony and Cleopatra's naval fleet at

3240-844: The Parthians . Mark Antony's Parthian campaign in the east was disrupted by the events of the Perusine War (41–40 BC), initiated by his ambitious wife Fulvia against Octavian in the hopes of making her husband the undisputed leader of Rome. It has been suggested that Fulvia wanted to cleave Antony away from Cleopatra, but the conflict emerged in Italy even before Cleopatra's meeting with Antony at Tarsos. Fulvia and Antony's brother Lucius Antonius were eventually besieged by Octavian at Perusia (modern Perugia , Italy) and then exiled from Italy, after which Fulvia died at Sicyon in Greece while attempting to reach Antony. Her sudden death led to

3348-481: The Ptolemaic Kingdom . Roman interventionism in Egypt predated the reign of Cleopatra . When Ptolemy IX Lathyros died in late 81 BC, he was succeeded by his daughter Berenice III . With opposition building at the royal court against the idea of a sole reigning female monarch, Berenice III accepted joint rule and marriage with her cousin and stepson Ptolemy XI Alexander II , an arrangement made by

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3456-603: The Roman Republic 17.5 million drachmas . In 50 BC Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus , proconsul of Syria, sent his two eldest sons to Egypt, most likely to negotiate with the Gabiniani and recruit them as soldiers in the desperate defense of Syria against the Parthians . The Gabiniani tortured and murdered these two, perhaps with secret encouragement by rogue senior administrators in Cleopatra's court. Cleopatra sent

3564-579: The Roman governor of Syria , to invade Egypt and restore Ptolemy XII, offering him 10,000 talents for the proposed mission. Although it put him at odds with Roman law , Gabinius invaded Egypt in the spring of 55 BC by way of Hasmonean Judea , where Hyrcanus II had Antipater the Idumaean , father of Herod the Great , furnish the Roman-led army with supplies. As a young cavalry officer, Mark Antony

3672-592: The Temple of Edfu and a temple at Dendera , and stabilized the economy. On 31 May 52 BC, Cleopatra was made a regent of Ptolemy XII, as indicated by an inscription in the Temple of Hathor at Dendera. Rabirius was unable to collect the entirety of Ptolemy XII's debt by the time of the latter's death, and so it was passed on to his successors Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIII. Ptolemy XII died sometime before 22 March 51 BC, when Cleopatra, in her first act as queen, began her voyage to Hermonthis , near Thebes , to install

3780-441: The "Society for Disabled War Veterans", the "Society of Collectors of Military Insignia", the "Italian Club", the "Italian Federation for Labour Cooperation", the "War Orphans Relief Society", the "Mussolini Italian Hospital" and the "Dante Alighieri Italian Language Association". In addition, many Italian -language newspapers were published in Alexandria, the most famous of which was L'Oriente and Il Messaggero Egiziano . Indeed,

3888-773: The 1930s some sections of the National Fascist Party in Alexandria and Cairo, and many hundreds of Italian Egyptians become members of it. Even some intellectuals, like Filippo Tommaso Marinetti (founder of the Futurism ) and the poet Giuseppe Ungaretti , were supporters of the Italian nationalism in their native Alexandria. As a consequence, during World War II the British authorities interned in concentration camps nearly 8,000 Italian Egyptians with sympathy for Italian Fascism , in order to prevent sabotage when

3996-434: The 31 BC Battle of Actium , Octavian's forces invaded Egypt in 30 BC and defeated Antony, leading to Antony's suicide. When Cleopatra learned that Octavian planned to bring her to his Roman triumphal procession, she killed herself by poisoning (contrary to the popular belief that she was bitten by an asp ). Cleopatra's legacy survives in ancient and modern works of art . Roman historiography and Latin poetry produced

4104-561: The East, which included many imports. The majority of the Italian community lived in either Cairo or Alexandria, with 18,575 in the former and 24,280 in the latter, according to the 1928 census. Italians tended to live in exclusively Italian neighbourhoods or in neighbourhoods with other foreigners. Perhaps the most famous of these districts in Cairo was known as the "Venetian Quarter". Nevertheless, San Marco notes that, in order to avoid harassment,

4212-460: The Egyptian high priest of Ptah at Memphis , but resided in the multicultural and largely Greek city of Alexandria , established by Alexander the Great . They spoke Greek and governed Egypt as Hellenistic Greek monarchs, refusing to learn the native Egyptian language . In contrast, Cleopatra could speak multiple languages by adulthood and was the first Ptolemaic ruler known to learn

4320-581: The Egyptian language. Plutarch implies that she also spoke Ethiopian , the language of the " Troglodytes ", Hebrew (or Aramaic ), Arabic , the Syrian language (perhaps Syriac ), Median , and Parthian , and she could apparently also speak Latin , although her Roman contemporaries would have preferred to speak with her in her native Koine Greek . Aside from Greek, Egyptian, and Latin, these languages reflected Cleopatra's desire to restore North African and West Asian territories that once belonged to

4428-579: The Gabiniani culprits to Bibulus as prisoners awaiting his judgment, but he sent them back to Cleopatra and chastised her for interfering in their adjudication, which was the prerogative of the Roman Senate. Bibulus, siding with Pompey in Caesar's Civil War , failed to prevent Caesar from landing a naval fleet in Greece, which ultimately allowed Caesar to reach Egypt in pursuit of Pompey. By 29 August 51 BC, official documents started listing Cleopatra as

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4536-557: The Idumaean . Ptolemy XIII and Arsinoe IV withdrew their forces to the Nile , where Caesar attacked them . Ptolemy XIII tried to flee by boat, but it capsized, and he drowned. Ganymedes may have been killed in the battle. Theodotus was found years later in Asia, by Marcus Junius Brutus , and executed. Arsinoe IV was forcefully paraded in Caesar's triumph in Rome before being exiled to

4644-529: The Italian Egyptians. After 1952 the Italian Egyptians were reduced – from the nearly 60,000 of 1940 – to just a few thousands. Most Italian Egyptians returned to Italy during the 1950s and 1960s, although a few Italians continue to live in Alexandria and Cairo. Officially the Italians in Egypt at the end of 2007 were 3,374 (1,980 families). Italy's preeminence in its economic relations with Egypt

4752-468: The Italians tended to wear Egyptian dress and follow, as much as possible, Egyptian customs. The Italian community in Egypt consisted primarily of a large array of merchants, artisans, professionals and an increasing number of workers. This was because Italy had remained for a long period of time politically and economically weak, which rendered it incapable of competing with the major industries and capitalist investment coming to Egypt from France . During

4860-616: The Ottoman Sultan Abdülhamid II to depose Ismail Pasha, and this was done on June 26, 1879. The more pliable Tewfik Pasha , Ismail's son, was made his successor as the new Khedive. Ismail Pasha left Egypt and initially went into exile to Naples , but was eventually permitted by Sultan Abdülhamid II to retire to his Palace of Emirgan on the Bosphorus in Constantinople . There he remained, more or less

4968-419: The Parthians. Antony summoned Cleopatra to Antioch to discuss pressing issues, such as Herod's kingdom and financial support for his Parthian campaign. Cleopatra brought her now three-year-old twins to Antioch, where Antony saw them for the first time and where they probably first received their surnames Helios and Selene as part of Antony and Cleopatra's ambitious plans for the future. In order to stabilize

5076-557: The Ptolemaic realm by relinquishing directly controlled Roman territory was exploited by his rival Octavian, who tapped into the public sentiment in Rome against the empowerment of a foreign queen at the expense of their Republic. Octavian, fostering the narrative that Antony was neglecting his virtuous Roman wife Octavia, granted both her and Livia , his own wife, extraordinary privileges of sacrosanctity . Some 50 years before, Cornelia Africana , daughter of Scipio Africanus , had been

5184-523: The Roman dictator Sulla . Ptolemy XI had his wife killed shortly after their marriage in 80 BC, and was lynched soon after in the resulting riot over the assassination. Ptolemy XI, and perhaps his uncle Ptolemy IX or father Ptolemy X Alexander I , willed the Ptolemaic Kingdom to Rome as collateral for loans, so that the Romans had legal grounds to take over Egypt, their client state , after

5292-410: The Romans annexed Cyprus and on accusations of piracy drove Ptolemy of Cyprus, Ptolemy XII's brother, to commit suicide instead of enduring exile to Paphos . Ptolemy XII remained publicly silent on the death of his brother, a decision which, along with ceding traditional Ptolemaic territory to the Romans, damaged his credibility among subjects already enraged by his economic policies. Ptolemy XII

5400-528: The Romans. The statue also subtly linked the Egyptian goddess Isis with the Roman religion . Cleopatra's presence in Rome most likely had an effect on the events at the Lupercalia festival a month before Caesar's assassination. Antony attempted to place a royal diadem on Caesar's head, but the latter refused in what was most likely a staged performance, perhaps to gauge the Roman public's mood about accepting Hellenistic-style kingship. Cicero, who

5508-468: The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus. Cleopatra was conspicuously absent from these events and resided in the palace, most likely because she had been pregnant with Caesar's child since September 48 BC. Caesar's term as consul had expired at the end of 48 BC. However, Antony, an officer of his, helped to secure Caesar's appointment as dictator lasting for a year, until October 47 BC, providing Caesar with

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5616-404: The assassination of Ptolemy XI. The Romans chose instead to divide the Ptolemaic realm among the illegitimate sons of Ptolemy IX, bestowing Cyprus on Ptolemy of Cyprus and Egypt on Ptolemy XII Auletes . Cleopatra VII was born in early 69 BC to the ruling Ptolemaic pharaoh Ptolemy XII and an uncertain mother, presumably Ptolemy XII's wife Cleopatra V Tryphaena (who may have been

5724-700: The autumn of 42 BC, Antony had defeated the forces of Caesar's assassins at the Battle of Philippi in Greece, leading to the suicide of Cassius and Brutus. By the end of 42 BC, Octavian had gained control over much of the western half of the Roman Republic and Antony the eastern half, with Lepidus largely marginalized. In the summer of 41 BC, Antony established his headquarters at Tarsos in Anatolia and summoned Cleopatra there in several letters, which she rebuffed until Antony's envoy Quintus Dellius convinced her to come. The meeting would allow Cleopatra to clear up

5832-528: The country and declared himself ruler of Egypt, quickly consolidating an independent local powerbase. After repeated failed attempts to remove and kill him, in 1805, the Sublime Porte officially recognized Muhammad Ali as Pasha and Wāli (Governor) of Egypt. However, demonstrating his grander ambitions, he claimed for himself the higher title of Khedive, as did his successors, Abbas I , Sa'id I and Ibrahim Pasha . The Muhammad Ali dynasty 's use of

5940-492: The east, Antony not only enlarged Cleopatra's domain, he also established new ruling dynasties and client rulers who would be loyal to him, yet would ultimately outlast him. In this arrangement Cleopatra gained significant former Ptolemaic territories in the Levant, including nearly all of Phoenicia (Lebanon) minus Tyre and Sidon , which remained in Roman hands. She also received Ptolemais Akko (modern Acre, Israel ),

6048-504: The eastern Nile Delta . In Greece, Caesar and Pompey's forces engaged each other at the decisive Battle of Pharsalus on 9   August 48 BC, leading to the destruction of most of Pompey's army and his forced flight to Tyre, Lebanon . Given his close relationship with the Ptolemies, Pompey ultimately decided that Egypt would be his place of refuge, where he could replenish his forces. Ptolemy XIII's advisers, however, feared

6156-402: The fascist period there were eight public and six Italian parochial schools. The government schools were supervised by an official committee chaired by the Italian consul and they had a total student enrollment of approximately 1,500. Other schools had student bodies numbering in the hundreds. Italians in Alexandria also had 22 philanthropic societies, among which were the "National Opera Society",

6264-585: The first living Roman woman to have a statue dedicated to her. She was now followed by Octavia and Livia, whose statues were most likely erected in the Forum of Caesar to rival that of Cleopatra's, erected by Caesar. In 36 BC, Cleopatra accompanied Antony to the Euphrates in his journey toward invading the Parthian Empire. She then returned to Egypt, perhaps due to her advanced state of pregnancy. By

6372-404: The four legions left by Caesar in Egypt to Dolabella. These troops were captured by Cassius in Palestine . While Serapion , Cleopatra's governor of Cyprus, defected to Cassius and provided him with ships, Cleopatra took her own fleet to Greece to personally assist Octavian and Antony. Her ships were heavily damaged in a Mediterranean storm and she arrived too late to aid in the fighting. By

6480-1129: The hundreds of Italian words that have been incorporated into the Egyptian dialect is perhaps the best testimony to the fact that of all the foreign communities residing in Egypt, Italians were the most closely connected to Egyptian society. San Marco ventures that the reason for this was that "our people are noted for their spirit of tolerance, their lack of religious or nationalist chauvinism and, unlike other peoples, their aversion to appearing superior." The first Italians that immigrated to Egypt were Jewish. The first family came to Egypt in 1815, from Livorno. Many Jewish Italians migrated to Egypt due to persecution and Egypt's close proximity to Palestine. Most could speak Arabic, Hebrew, and Italian. After World War II,the remaining Jewish Italians left Egypt. Most remaining Italian Egyptians speak Italian, while speaking Arabic and English as second language, and are Catholics. Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator ( Koinē Greek : Κλεοπάτρα Θεά Φιλοπάτωρ , lit.   'Cleopatra father-loving goddess'; 70/69 BC – 10 August 30 BC)

6588-486: The idea of Pompey using Egypt as his base in a protracted Roman civil war. In a scheme devised by Theodotus, Pompey arrived by ship near Pelousion after being invited by a written message, only to be ambushed and stabbed to death on 28 September 48 BC. Ptolemy XIII believed he had demonstrated his power and simultaneously defused the situation by having Pompey's head, severed and embalmed , sent to Caesar, who arrived in Alexandria by early October and took up residence at

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6696-457: The king of Armenia, marrying Cleopatra despite still being married to his sister Octavia, and wrongfully claiming Caesarion as the heir of Caesar instead of Octavian. The litany of accusations and gossip associated with this propaganda war have shaped the popular perceptions about Cleopatra from Augustan-period literature through to various media in modern times. Cleopatra was said to have brainwashed Mark Antony with witchcraft and sorcery and

6804-418: The leaders of the embassy, an incident that was covered up by his powerful Roman supporters. When the Roman Senate denied Ptolemy XII the offer of an armed escort and provisions for a return to Egypt, he decided to leave Rome in late 57 BC and reside at the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus . The Roman financiers of Ptolemy XII remained determined to restore him to power. Pompey persuaded Aulus Gabinius ,

6912-424: The legal authority to settle the dynastic dispute in Egypt. Wary of repeating the mistake of Cleopatra's sister Berenice IV in having a female monarch as sole ruler, Caesar appointed Cleopatra's 12-year-old brother, Ptolemy XIV, as joint ruler with the 22-year-old Cleopatra in a nominal sibling marriage, but Cleopatra continued living privately with Caesar. The exact date at which Cyprus was returned to her control

7020-412: The members of Cleopatra's court, aided Caesar in the calculations for the new Julian calendar , put into effect 1   January 45 BC. The Temple of Venus Genetrix , established in the Forum of Caesar on 25 September 46 BC, contained a golden statue of Cleopatra (which stood there at least until the 3rd century AD), associating the mother of Caesar's child directly with the goddess Venus , mother of

7128-437: The military campaign and head back to Alexandria. When Octavia returned to Rome Octavian portrayed his sister as a victim wronged by Antony, although she refused to leave Antony's household. Octavian's confidence grew as he eliminated his rivals in the west, including Sextus Pompeius and even Lepidus, the third member of the triumvirate, who was placed under house arrest after revolting against Octavian in Sicily. Dellius

7236-409: The misconception that she had supported Cassius during the civil war and address territorial exchanges in the Levant , but Antony also undoubtedly desired to form a personal, romantic relationship with the queen. Cleopatra sailed up the Kydnos River to Tarsos in Thalamegos , hosting Antony and his officers for two nights of lavish banquets on board the ship. Cleopatra managed to clear her name as

7344-452: The number of Italians employed in their courts. Italian-Egyptian relations were so strong and deemed so important that when the King of Italy Victor Emmanuel III abdicated in 1946 after Italy's defeat in World War II , Egyptian King Faruk invited Victor Emmanuel III to live in Alexandria. Victor Emmanuel III died in Alexandria in December 1947 and was buried there, behind the altar of St Catherine's Cathedral. Before 1952, Italians formed

7452-644: The other two siblings, Arsinoe IV and Ptolemy XIV, to rule together over Cyprus, thus removing potential rival claimants to the Egyptian throne while also appeasing the Ptolemaic subjects still bitter over the loss of Cyprus to the Romans in 58 BC. Judging that this agreement favored Cleopatra over Ptolemy XIII and that the latter's army of 20,000, including the Gabiniani, could most likely defeat Caesar's army of 4,000 unsupported troops, Potheinos decided to have Achillas lead their forces to Alexandria to attack both Caesar and Cleopatra. After Caesar managed to execute Potheinos, Arsinoe IV joined forces with Achillas and

7560-423: The people from Trieste , Dalmatia , Genoa , Pisa , Livorno , Naples and Sicily continued to reside in Egypt long after their native cities fell into decay and lost their status as maritime centres with the decline of the Mediterranean as a major thoroughfare for world trade." Elsewhere in the article, San Marco writes that the Italian community in Egypt held monopolies on the goods that were still popular in

7668-556: The risks involved in returning to Rome, and so he traveled with Cleopatra back to Alexandria to see his newborn son. As Antony prepared for another Parthian expedition in 35 BC, this time aimed at their ally Armenia , Octavia traveled to Athens with 2,000 troops in alleged support of Antony, but most likely in a scheme devised by Octavian to embarrass him for his military losses. Antony received these troops but told Octavia not to stray east of Athens as he and Cleopatra traveled together to Antioch, only to suddenly and inexplicably abandon

7776-430: The royal palace. Caesar expressed grief and outrage over the killing of Pompey and called on both Ptolemy XIII and Cleopatra to disband their forces and reconcile with each other. Ptolemy XIII arrived at Alexandria at the head of his army, in clear defiance of Caesar's demand that he disband and leave his army before his arrival. Cleopatra initially sent emissaries to Caesar, but upon allegedly hearing that Caesar

7884-437: The same person as Cleopatra VI Tryphaena ), the mother of Cleopatra's older sister, Berenice IV Epiphaneia . Cleopatra Tryphaena disappears from official records a few months after the birth of Cleopatra in 69 BC. The three younger children of Ptolemy XII, Cleopatra's sister Arsinoe IV and brothers Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator and Ptolemy XIV , were born in the absence of his wife. Cleopatra's childhood tutor

7992-818: The same time Cleopatra decided to depart for Egypt. A few months later, Cleopatra had Ptolemy XIV killed by poisoning, elevating her son Caesarion as her co-ruler. Octavian, Antony, and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus formed the Second Triumvirate in 43 BC, in which they were each elected for five-year terms to restore order in the Republic and bring Caesar's assassins to justice . Cleopatra received messages from both Gaius Cassius Longinus , one of Caesar's assassins, and Publius Cornelius Dolabella , proconsul of Syria and Caesarian loyalist, requesting military aid. She decided to write Cassius an excuse that her kingdom faced too many internal problems, while sending

8100-531: The second largest expatriate community in Egypt, after the Greeks . The 1882 census of Egypt recorded 18,665 Italians in the country. By 1897 the figure rose to 24,454 and 30 years later to 52,462. Thus, the Italian community increased by 122 per cent in those years. Writing in Al-Ahram of 19 February 1933, under the headline, "The Italians in Egypt", the Italian historian Angelo San Marco wrote, "The Venetians and

8208-399: The sole ruler, evidence that she had rejected her brother Ptolemy XIII as a co-ruler. She had probably married him, but there is no record of this. The Ptolemaic practice of sibling marriage was introduced by Ptolemy II and his sister Arsinoe II . A long-held royal Egyptian practice , it was loathed by contemporary Greeks . By the reign of Cleopatra, however, it was considered

8316-496: The son of Mithridates VI of Pontus, who was stirring up trouble for Rome in Anatolia. It is possible that Caesar, married to the prominent Roman woman Calpurnia , also wanted to avoid being seen together with Cleopatra when she had their son. He left three legions in Egypt, later increased to four, under the command of the freedman Rufio , to secure Cleopatra's tenuous position, but also perhaps to keep her activities in check. Caesarion , Cleopatra's alleged child with Caesar,

8424-449: The spring of 40 BC, Antony left Egypt due to troubles in Syria, where his governor Lucius Decidius Saxa was killed and his army taken by Quintus Labienus , a former officer under Cassius who now served the Parthian Empire . Cleopatra provided Antony with 200 ships for his campaign and as payment for her newly acquired territories. She would not see Antony again until 37 BC, but she maintained correspondence, and evidence suggests she kept

8532-722: The summer of 36 BC, she had given birth to Ptolemy Philadelphus , her second son with Antony. Antony's Parthian campaign in 36 BC turned into a complete debacle for a number of reasons, in particular the betrayal of Artavasdes II of Armenia , who defected to the Parthian side. After losing some 30,000 men, more than Crassus at Carrhae (an indignity he had hoped to avenge), Antony finally arrived at Leukokome near Berytus (modern Beirut , Lebanon) in December, engaged in heavy drinking before Cleopatra arrived to provide funds and clothing for his battered troops. Antony desired to avoid

8640-416: The threat of possible annexation by offering remuneration and lavish gifts to powerful Roman statesmen, such as Pompey during his campaign against Mithridates VI of Pontus , and eventually Julius Caesar after he became Roman consul in 59 BC. However, Ptolemy XII's profligate behavior bankrupted him, and he was forced to acquire loans from the Roman banker Gaius Rabirius Postumus . In 58 BC

8748-485: The time of Napoleon I , the Italian community in Alexandria and Egypt started to grow in a huge way: the size of the community had reached around 60,000 just before World War II , forming the second largest immigrant community in Egypt. The expansion of the colonial Italian Empire after World War I was directed toward Egypt by Benito Mussolini , in order to control the Suez Canal . The Italian Duce created in

8856-595: The title Khedive was not sanctioned by the Ottoman Empire until 1867 when Sultan Abdülaziz officially recognized it as the title of Ismail Pasha. Moreover, the Porte accepted Ismail's alteration of the royal line of succession to go from father to son, rather than brother to brother, as was the tradition in the Ottoman Empire, and Arab dynasties. In May 1879, the United Kingdom and France began pressuring

8964-536: The triumvirs Octavian and Antony named him king of Judea . This act put Herod on a collision course with Cleopatra, who would desire to reclaim the former Ptolemaic territories that comprised his new Herodian kingdom . Relations between Antony and Cleopatra perhaps soured when he not only married Octavia, but also sired her two children, Antonia the Elder in 39 BC and Antonia Minor in 36 BC, and moved his headquarters to Athens. However, Cleopatra's position in Egypt

9072-573: The wars in Gaul and crossing the Rubicon in January of 49 BC, Caesar had forced Pompey and his supporters to flee to Greece . In perhaps their last joint decree, both Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIII agreed to Gnaeus Pompeius's request and sent his father 60 ships and 500 troops, including the Gabiniani, a move that helped erase some of the debt owed to Rome. Losing the fight against her brother, Cleopatra

9180-549: Was the name of Alexander the Great 's sister Cleopatra of Macedonia , as well as the wife of Meleager in Greek mythology , Cleopatra Alcyone . Through the marriage of Ptolemy V Epiphanes and Cleopatra I Syra (a Seleucid princess ), the name entered the Ptolemaic dynasty . Cleopatra's adopted title Theā́ Philopátōra ( Θεᾱ́ Φιλοπάτωρα ) means "goddess who loves her father". Ptolemaic pharaohs were crowned by

9288-556: Was Philostratos, from whom she learned the Greek arts of oration and philosophy . During her youth Cleopatra presumably studied at the Musaeum , including the Library of Alexandria . In 65 BC the Roman censor Marcus Licinius Crassus argued before the Roman Senate that Rome should annex Ptolemaic Egypt, but his proposed bill and the similar bill of tribune Servilius Rullus in 63 BC were rejected. Ptolemy XII responded to

9396-471: Was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler. A member of the Ptolemaic dynasty , she was a descendant of its founder Ptolemy I Soter , a Macedonian Greek general and companion of Alexander the Great . Her first language was Koine Greek , and she is the only Ptolemaic ruler known to have learned the Egyptian language . After her death , Egypt became

9504-557: Was as dangerous as Homer 's Helen of Troy in destroying civilization. Pliny the Elder claims in his Natural History that Cleopatra once dissolved a pearl worth tens of millions of sesterces in vinegar just to win a dinner-party bet. The accusation that Antony had stolen books from the Library of Pergamum to restock the Library of Alexandria later turned out to be an admitted fabrication by Gaius Calvisius Sabinus . A papyrus document dated to February 33 BC, later used to wrap

9612-635: Was born 23 June 47 BC and was originally named "Pharaoh Caesar", as preserved on a stele at the Serapeum of Saqqara . Perhaps owing to his still childless marriage with Calpurnia, Caesar remained publicly silent about Caesarion (but perhaps accepted his parentage in private). Cleopatra, on the other hand, made repeated official declarations about Caesarion's parentage, naming Caesar as the father. Cleopatra and her nominal joint ruler Ptolemy XIV visited Rome sometime in late 46 BC, presumably without Caesarion, and were given lodging in Caesar's villa within

9720-481: Was complete with dining rooms, state rooms, holy shrines, and promenades along its two decks, resembling a floating villa. Caesar could have had an interest in the Nile cruise owing to his fascination with geography; he was well-read in the works of Eratosthenes and Pytheas , and perhaps wanted to discover the source of the river, but turned back before reaching Ethiopia. Caesar departed from Egypt around April 47 BC, allegedly to confront Pharnaces II of Pontus ,

9828-570: Was declared queen, but soon afterward had her tutor Ganymedes kill Achillas and take his position as commander of her army. Ganymedes then tricked Caesar into requesting the presence of the erstwhile captive Ptolemy XIII as a negotiator, only to have him join the army of Arsinoe IV. The resulting siege of the palace , with Caesar and Cleopatra trapped together inside, lasted into the following year of 47 BC. Sometime between January and March of 47 BC, Caesar's reinforcements arrived, including those led by Mithridates of Pergamon and Antipater

9936-439: Was deemed to be the most powerful Roman figure following Caesar's demise. With his powers as a triumvir, Antony also had the broad authority to restore former Ptolemaic lands, which were currently in Roman hands, to Cleopatra. While it is clear that both Cilicia and Cyprus were under Cleopatra's control by 19 November 38 BC, the transfer probably occurred earlier in the winter of 41–40 BC, during her time spent with Antony. By

10044-469: Was in the palace consorting directly with Caesar, he attempted to rouse the populace of Alexandria into a riot, but he was arrested by Caesar, who used his oratorical skills to calm the frenzied crowd. Caesar then brought Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIII before the assembly of Alexandria , where Caesar revealed the written will of Ptolemy XII—previously possessed by Pompey—naming Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIII as his joint heirs. Caesar then attempted to arrange for

10152-436: Was inclined to having affairs with royal women, she came to Alexandria to see him personally. Historian Cassius Dio records that she did so without informing her brother, dressed in an attractive manner, and charmed Caesar with her wit. Plutarch provides an entirely different account that alleges she was bound inside a bed sack to be smuggled into the palace to meet Caesar. When Ptolemy XIII realized that his sister

10260-488: Was killed in 55 BC when Ptolemy returned to Egypt with Roman military assistance. When he died in 51 BC, Cleopatra began reigning alongside her brother Ptolemy XIII , but a falling-out between them led to an open civil war . Roman statesman Pompey fled to Egypt after losing the 48 BC Battle of Pharsalus in Greece against his rival Julius Caesar (a Roman dictator and consul ) in Caesar's civil war . Pompey had been

10368-597: Was lifted by reinforcements, Ptolemy XIII died in the Battle of the Nile ; Cleopatra's half-sister Arsinoe IV was eventually exiled to Ephesus for her role in carrying out the siege. Caesar declared Cleopatra and her brother Ptolemy XIV joint rulers but maintained a private affair with Cleopatra that produced a son, Caesarion . Cleopatra traveled to Rome as a client queen in 46 and 44 BC, where she stayed at Caesar's villa . After Caesar's assassination , followed shortly afterwards by that of Ptolemy XIV (on Cleopatra's orders), she named Caesarion co-ruler as Ptolemy XV . In

10476-512: Was officially recognized by the Ottoman government in 1867 and used subsequently by Isma'il Pasha of Egypt and his dynastic successors until 1914. The term entered Arabic in Egypt in the 1850s. This title is recorded in English since 1867, borrowed from French khédive , in turn from Ottoman Turkish خدیو hıdiv , from Classical Persian خدیو khidēv ("lord"). Following

10584-488: Was present at the festival, mockingly asked where the diadem came from, an obvious reference to the Ptolemaic queen whom he abhorred. Caesar was assassinated on the Ides of March (15 March 44 BC), but Cleopatra stayed in Rome until about mid-April, in the vain hope of having Caesarion recognized as Caesar's heir. However, Caesar's will named his grandnephew Octavian as the primary heir, and Octavian arrived in Italy around

10692-539: Was put on trial in Rome for abusing his authority, for which he was acquitted, but his second trial for accepting bribes led to his exile, from which he was recalled seven years later in 48 BC by Caesar. Crassus replaced him as governor of Syria and extended his provincial command to Egypt, but Crassus was killed by the Parthians at the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BC. Ptolemy XII had Berenice IV and her wealthy supporters executed, seizing their properties. He allowed Gabinius's largely Germanic and Gallic Roman garrison,

10800-547: Was reflected in the size of its expatriate community. Some of the first educational missions that Egypt sent to Europe under Mohamed Ali were headed to Italy to learn the art of printing. The most famous building related to the Italian community was the Royal Opera House, which was to be inaugurated in 1871 with the Aida by the Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi . The Khedivial Opera House or "Cairo Royal Opera House"

10908-550: Was secure. Her rival Herod was occupied with civil war in Judea that required heavy Roman military assistance, but received none from Cleopatra. Since the authority of Antony and Octavian as triumvirs had expired on 1   January 37 BC, Octavia arranged for a meeting at Tarentum , where the triumvirate was officially extended to 33 BC. With two legions granted by Octavian and a thousand soldiers lent by Octavia, Antony traveled to Antioch , where he made preparations for war against

11016-456: Was sent as Antony's envoy to Artavasdes II in 34 BC to negotiate a potential marriage alliance that would wed the Armenian king's daughter to Alexander Helios, the son of Antony and Cleopatra. When this was declined, Antony marched his army into Armenia, defeated their forces and captured the king and Armenian royal family. Antony then held a military parade in Alexandria as an imitation of

11124-491: Was the Queen of Kings with her son Caesarion, King of Kings , while Alexander Helios was declared king of Armenia, Media , and Parthia, and two-year-old Ptolemy Philadelphus was declared king of Syria and Cilicia. Cleopatra Selene II was bestowed with Crete and Cyrene. Antony and Cleopatra may have been wed during this ceremony. Antony sent a report to Rome requesting ratification of these territorial claims, now known as

11232-654: Was the original Opera House in Cairo. It was inaugurated in November 1869 and burned down in October 1971. The opera house was built on the orders of the Khedive Ismail to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal . The Italian Egyptian architects Pietro Avoscani and Mario Rossi designed the building. Pietro Avoscani, before his 1891 death in Alexandria, created even the famous Corniche of Alexandria. The fondness of Egyptian monarchs towards Italy appeared in

11340-520: Was then exiled from Egypt by force, traveling first to Rhodes , then Athens , and finally the villa of triumvir Pompey in the Alban Hills , near Praeneste , Italy. Ptolemy XII spent roughly up to a year there on the outskirts of Rome, ostensibly accompanied by his daughter Cleopatra, then about 11. Berenice IV sent an embassy to Rome to advocate for her rule and oppose the reinstatement of her father Ptolemy XII. Ptolemy had assassins kill

11448-418: Was then forced to flee Alexandria and withdraw to the region of Thebes. By the spring of 48 BC Cleopatra had traveled to Roman Syria with her younger sister, Arsinoe IV, to gather an invasion force that would head to Egypt. She returned with an army, but her advance to Alexandria was blocked by her brother's forces, including some Gabiniani mobilized to fight against her, so she camped outside Pelousion in

11556-456: Was under Gabinius's command. He distinguished himself by preventing Ptolemy XII from massacring the inhabitants of Pelousion , and for rescuing the body of Archelaos , the husband of Berenice IV, after he was killed in battle, ensuring him a proper royal burial. Cleopatra, then 14 years of age, would have traveled with the Roman expedition into Egypt; years later, Antony would profess that he had fallen in love with her at this time. Gabinius

11664-510: Was well received by the populace of Alexandria, both for his heroic actions in restoring Ptolemy XII to power and coming to Egypt without an occupation force like Caesar had done. In Egypt, Antony continued to enjoy the lavish royal lifestyle he had witnessed aboard Cleopatra's ship docked at Tarsos. He also had his subordinates, such as Publius Ventidius Bassus , drive the Parthians out of Anatolia and Syria. Cleopatra carefully chose Antony as her partner for producing further heirs, as he

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