Cleopatra Dies: Egypt's Last Pharaoh Ends a Dynasty
Cleopatra was the first of her dynasty — descendants of Ptolemy, Alexander's general — to actually learn Egyptian. The Ptolemies had ruled Egypt for 250 years and spoke only Greek. She spoke nine languages and presented herself as the goddess Isis. Her relationships with Caesar and then Antony were political alliances as much as anything; she needed Roman power to hold her throne against her own family. When Octavian's forces arrived and Antony died believing her dead, she chose suicide over appearing in a Roman triumph. The asp story is probably myth. The political calculation was real.
August 12, 30 BC
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