Cleopatra, though not an Egyptian, was a famous Queen of Egypt. She belonged to the Macedonian dynasty and, unfortunately, was the last of her bloodline. She ruled Egypt since the death of Alexander, The Great, in 323 BC. Her reign continued till 30 BC until her demise.

Queen Cleopatra was talented and had great administration capability. At times, she was merciless but was of great charm. Here are some more interesting facts about Cleopatra.

• She was the only member of her family to learn the Coptic, Egyptian language. Apart from this she knew more twelve languages. Hence it can be said that she was quite intellectual and educated. With all these glamour, her life was still considered a misery.

• Cleopatra was born in 69 BC in Egypt. She is the seventh lady of this dynasty to be christened with the name Cleopatra, which means, ‘œGlory of one’s father.’ She was the second daughter born to Ptolemy XII. Her entire dynasty was pure Macedonian, Greek by nature or maybe Iranian, but certainly not Egyptian.

• In 58 BC, Cleopatra’s father, Ptolemy XII was banished from Egypt. The Roman Army brought him back to power in 51 BC. He died that year and according to his will the throne now belonged to his daughter Cleopatra and ten-year old son Ptolemy XIII.

• In Egypt, Pharaohs marry their own sisters to make sure that the throne belongs to the family. Therefore, she was married to her brother Ptolemy XIII. Cleopatra made up her mind to keep the controls in her own hands.

• The guardians and mentors of Ptolemy XIII revolted against Queen Cleopatra in 49 BC, and she was driven out of the kingdom of Alexandria. In the same time, Julius Caesar was waging war against Roman leader Pompey, who was defeated in a fight and escaped to Egypt.

• Caesar arrived in Egypt to kill Pompey, but he was assassinated even before Caesar’s arrival. In the meantime, Cleopatra secretly arranged for her meeting with Caesar. It would be an intimate meet than formal. She rolled herself in a carpet that was carried to Caesar’s room.

• Caesar was fifty-two then and was taken by the miraculous beauty of this twenty-one year old Egyptian Queen. It was not her beauty that took Caesar but her audacity and mettle. Her brilliant strategy and tricks had amused Caesar a great deal.

• She was known for her innumerable acts and art of flattering. But Caesar took interest in her because of her property. She was then perhaps the wealthiest woman in the world.

• She finally became Caesar’s mistress in 47 BC, and she used his huge army against her arch rivals in Egypt. Ptolemy died while trying to escape the battlefield. Cleopatra then sat on the throne with another younger brother Ptolemy XIV.

• Very soon, in 46 BC Cleopatra gave a son to Caesar, who was named Caesarion and was known as Ptolemy Caesar. She then joined Caesar in Rome along with Ptolemy XIV. There Caesar ordered to install a gold-plated idol of Cleopatra in the Venus Genetrix temple as his clans were considered descendants from Venus.

There had been many ups and downs in her life even after Caesar’s death. Finally, she committed suicide by poisoning herself with a venomous snake’s bite on her chest and thus, ended the story of an audacious ruler on a sad and tragic note.