- Reign 51-12 B.C. (Ptolemaic Queen of Egypt)
- Cleopatra VII Philopator, from a family of Macedonian Greek origin, was the last active pharaoh in Ptolemaic Egypt. Initially she ruled Egypt jointly with her father Ptolemy XII Auletes and then later with her brothers Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV.
- Although she was married to Ptolemy XIII at the age of eighteen by their father’s will, Cleopatra made it clear that she would not share power with him and dropped his name from official documents. She also kept his face off of currency, reserving that honor for herself alone.
- She could speak six different languages including Aramaic, Egyptian, Ethiopic, Greek, Hebrew and Latin.
- Circa 48 B.C., Cleopatra fell from power and fled to Syria. While in exile, she assembled a mercenary army and rebelled. She quickly allies herself with Julius Caesar, capitalizing on his anger at Ptolemy XIII for killing Pompey, a Roman consul and the widower of his daughter Julia. With Caesar’s help, Cleopatra reclaims her throne alongside her youngest brother Ptolemy XIV.
Powerful Egyptian Woman 