Cleopatra Research Paper

Cleopatra and What She Contributed to the World. By : Salima Sher #21

When people think of Egypt, they usually think of King Tut. But there is another story. Cleopatra’s story. Her life was filled with drama, death, and ruling Egypt. Her reign and life are important in Egypt’s history. At the height of her reign, Cleopatra was the richest woman in the entire world. She reigned for about twenty years. She was one of the greatest pharaohs of Egypt. She was also the last. The war that lead to her downfall was a short one, but by the end of the war, Cleopatra was dead and Octavian (later known as Emperor Augustus.) was in control of Egypt. Cleopatra’s life was filled with ups and

Since Cleopatra lived in Alexandria, famous for its amazing library, she had access to many amazing books. When Cleopatra was a young girl, she would recite the Greek alphabet. Soon, after she had mastered that skill she traced the letters onto a wooden slate. Private tutors would give her complicated words to recite so she would understand the syllables. Cleopatra knew Aesop’s fables very well. On occasions teachers in the first century BC. would select stories to their students and ask them to reiterate the tale aloud. Public speaking was an important skill and historians say that Cleopatra had a remarkable skill to address crowds. While she was still growing up, Cleopatra determined that she would learn to speak and read Egyptian. There is no record that any former Greek ruler of Egypt learned to speak their country’s native language. The reason for this is most likely because Egyptian is difficult to read or write. Cleopatra did not want to depend on an interpreter to inform her what her subjects were saying. Historians say that learning new languages was never difficult for Cleopatra. Thanks to her education, Cleopatra could speak with ease to diplomats from other countries when she became

Cleopatra was just eighteen. His will stated that Cleopatra and her ten year old brother would rule together. In order to keep the throne in the family, the Ptolemy dynasty married each other. Soon, Cleopatra married her brother Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator. In 49 BC, Cleopatra’s husband/brother’s advisers turned against Cleopatra. Cleopatra soon fled to Syria. She raised an army to oppose her brother. The next year, she went to battle her brother’s forces. Meanwhile, in Alexandria, Julius Caesar, a famous politician from Rome was visiting. Cleopatra smuggled herself into Caesar’s room through a carpet in an attempt to convince Caesar to help her. Her plan succeeded. In 47 BC Ptolemy XIII was killed by Cleopatra and Caesar’s forces. Cleopatra was forced to marry again. This time, to her brother Ptolemy