Cleopatra's Family

Cleopatra VII was the third daughter of Ptolemy Auletes. She had two older sisters, Cleopatra VI and Berenice IV as well as a younger sister, Arsinoe IV. There were two younger brothers as well, Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV who would subsequently become her consort during her reign.

Violence, corruption and a lust for power was the order of the day in Ptolemy's court. Political intrigues and the politics of survival were some of the many lessons that she learned at her father's knee. Growing up in a palace full of Ptolemy children, she would see her siblings lusting for power ready to kill anyone who stood in their way.  She also saw her father struggling to retain his throne and his efforts to seek out the help of the powerful Romans would influence her destiny in the years to come.

Berenice IV

Once when Ptolemy Auletes and Cleopatra were away on a trip to Rome, her sister Berenice IV seized power to become the queen of Egypt. Her reign lasted for a mere two years during which she spent lavishly on luxuries and had put to death her husband whom her counsels had forced upon her. But her father soon returned with Roman forces and had her beheaded.


Right after Ptolemy Auletes was restored to the throne, he willed it to his most loyal daughter Cleopatra VII. Following the tradition of the ancient Egyptians, she had to marry her brother Ptolemy XIII if she wanted to keep the throne. She was a young woman of 18 years then, while her brother was a mere boy of ten. But she knew that if she wanted to rule, she had to accede to her father's wishes.

During the two centuries that preceded Ptolemy Auletes death, the Ptolemies were allied with the Romans. The Ptolemies' strength was failing and the Roman Empire was rising. City after city was falling to the Roman power and the Ptolemies could do nothing but create a pact with them. During the later rule of the Ptolemies, the Romans gained more and more control over Egypt. Tributes had to be paid to the Romans to keep them away from Egypt. When Ptolemy Auletes died in 51BC, the fall of the dynasty seemed imminent.

History of the Ptolomic Dynasty

Did you know that Cleopatra was not an Egyptian by birth?

When we think of Cleopatra our mind automatically conjure images of the Great Pyramid, the Sphinx and the bountiful Nile with the queen regally ruling over her subjects. But the surprising fact is that Cleopatra was not an Egyptian by birth. She was a Greek!

Leonor Verela as Cleopatra

So how did a woman of ‘Greek’ origin come to be the queen of the ancient Egypt? It started with Alexander the Great. In 332 BC he invaded Egypt and established his suzerainty over it but he had plans to conquer the world. So he appointed General Ptolemy (one of his bodyguards) as Satrap of Egypt. Ptolemy ruled Egypt in Alexander’s name until the conqueror died in 323 BC. In 305 BC he declared himself independent and started his own dynasty that would rule over Egypt for the next 275 years!

Ptolemy I Soter

How did they do it? Didn’t they face rebellion? Didn’t the people of Egypt revolt to throw these foreigners out of their Kingdom?

The answer to these questions is a lesson that any would-be conqueror (in the present world) ought to learn. General Ptolemy was initially a representative of the Greek King. But when Alexander died, he became the Pharaoh of the people. In other words, he took their faith and became an Egyptian in all but name. 

Ptolemy as Pharaoh of Egypt
 British Museum, London

He worshipped their Gods, built temples for them and mummified his dead.  He knew that if he wanted to rule over Egypt, he needed to be one of them. He adopted their Gods as his own, showed them due respect, had faith in their belief and was in turn accepted as their Pharaoh.

And thus began the Ptolomic Dynasty!