15,697
edits
Changes
no edit summary
It took little time before Ptolemy XIII and his advisors, who were no doubt pulling the strings, decided Cleopatra VII was no longer needed so she was expelled from Egypt. It was at that point that Egypt became a major theater of operations during the Roman Civil Wars. The general Pompey fled to Egypt after his defeat to Julius Caesar at the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC; but instead of being welcomed in Egypt, Pompey was murdered, which gave Caesar the pretense to enter Alexandria with his legions to make Cleopatra VII the sole ruler of Egypt in 47 BC. <ref> Chauveau, p. 24</ref>
At that point, Cleopatra was clearly more of an Egyptian than a Macedonian ruler. The idea of a woman ruling alone was rare in ancient Egypt, but not totally unheard of, with at least three known examples before Cleopatra, the best one being Hatshepsut (ruled ca, 1478-1458 BC). Hatshepsut adopted the titulary of kingship in texts and was shown with the accoutrements of kingship in artistic depictions, leaving no doubt to modern scholars that she was in fact a “king” in the pharaonic sense. <ref> Robins, Gay. <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0674954696/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0674954696&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=6b94f30f49ec6e295d5ca206d6b8ce3b Women in Ancient Egypt].</i> (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993), p. 46</ref> There is no evidence to suggest that Cleopatra consciously followed Hatshepsut’s example, or if she even knew about her illustrious predecessor, but there is little doubt that she also assumed all of the prerogatives of an ancient Egyptian king, much like Hatshepsut. One of the first things she did was to give her full support to Caesar and Rome, which she believed would be bolstered when she gave birth to his son, Ptolemy XV/Caesarion on July 23, 47 BC. <ref> Chauveau, p. 25</ref>
Any plan that Cleopatra may have had of ruling over Rome and Egypt at Caesar’s side was dashed when he was assassinated on the Senate floor in 44 BC. His assassination led to the formation of the Second Triumvirate by Octavian, Mark Antony, and Lepidus and another round of the Civil Wars. After the trio achieved victory over Brutus, they divided their spoils with Mark Antony gaining control of the allied eastern kingdoms, which included Ptolemaic Egypt. Mark Antony and Cleopatra soon found themselves as natural allies and later as lovers: she wanted to restore the Ptolemaic Egyptian Empire and he wanted to reorganize the east into Roman provinces. <ref> Chauveau, p. 26</ref> Eventually, Octavian made his own move to conquer all Roman territory by declaring war on Cleopatra. Mark Antony loyally went to war for his ally and lover but was soundly defeated by the upstart Octavian at the Battle of Actium on September 2, 31 BC. Cleopatra VII and Mark Antony fled to Alexandria, but eleventh months later Octavian and the Roman army came calling. <ref> Chauveau, p. 28</ref>
