Cleopatra was born in 69 BC to Ptolemy XII Auletes, the king of Egypt. She was part of the Ptolemaic dynasty that had ruled Egypt since the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC. Cleopatra's lineage can be traced back to Ptolemy I Soter, a Macedonian Greek general who served under Alexander.

As a member of the royal family, Cleopatra was privileged but her early life was tumultuous. Her father Ptolemy XII faced threats to his rule and was driven out of Egypt in 58 BC. Cleopatra would have been about 11 years old at the time. She spent her adolescence in exile with her father as he attempted to regain his throne with the military backing of Rome.

Ptolemy XII died in 51 BC, leaving his throne jointly to 18-year-old Cleopatra and her younger brother Ptolemy XIII, who was about 10 years old at the time. As was customary for Macedonian Greek royalty, the siblings were expected to marry and rule Egypt together. However their relationship was troubled from the beginning.

Seeking sole power over Egypt, Cleopatra was forced to flee Alexandria in 48 BC during a civil war against Ptolemy XIII, who was aided by powerful court eunuchs and also by the Roman dictator Pompey. Cleopatra would regain the upper hand the following year when Julius Caesar arrived in pursuit of Pompey, who had recently been defeated in a Roman civil war.

Cleopatra famously had herself smuggled rolled up inside a carpet to meet Caesar when she was 21 years old. Captivated by her intelligence and ambition, Caesar supported Cleopatra's claim as sole ruler of Egypt over her brother. An affair developed and nine months after their first meeting Cleopatra gave birth to a son she named Caesarion, which means “little Caesar”.

Caesar defeated Ptolemy XIII and installed Cleopatra as the sole ruler of Egypt, alongside her other younger brother Ptolemy XIV, whom she later had killed. Caesar spent several months living openly with Cleopatra in Egypt from 47-45 BC and even took her on his military campaigns in the Middle East. Although he was already married to a Roman woman named Calpurnia, it was rumored Caesar intended to marry Cleopatra and make their son his heir. However, this was cut short when Caesar was assassinated in Rome in 44 BC before he could make his plans official.

After Caesar’s assassination, Mark Antony seized control in Rome and summoned Cleopatra to explain her role in Caesar’s plans. Cleopatra was determined to charm Mark Antony the same way she had won over Caesar. By all accounts she was successful beyond expectation. Mark Antony became utterly devoted to her, spending the winter of 41-40 BC living in luxury with Cleopatra in Egypt while his wife Fulvia was leading armies on his behalf back in Rome.

Mark Antony and Cleopatra formalized their alliance when Antony’s divorce from Fulvia was finalized. Their twin children Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene were born soon after their marriage in 37 BC. Mark Antony increasingly adopted Eastern styles, causing ou

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