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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>