Pharaoh Cleopatra VII

"I will not be triumphed over."

EGYPTIAN PHARAOH
Ruled Egypt for nearly thirty years through intelligent governance and strategic alliances with Roman Emperors Julius Caesar and Marc Anthony, the most powerful rulers in the region (and therefore the greatest threats to Egypt)
Spoke eight languages
Rolled herself up in a carpet that was delivered to Caesar as a gift so she could make it past his troops and meet him to form an alliance
EXPANDED the world-famous Alexandria library, and may have written a manuscript about makeup
IMPROVED Egypt's floundering economy by increasing exports, and became popular with the people by restoring ancient religious rites

Statue of a Ptolemaic Queen, perhaps Cleopatra VII. Metropolitan Museum of Art [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons

Not So Awesome

~ In the cutthroat world of royal families, Cleopatra's siblings didn't fare particularly well during her reign. One brother drowned, another was poisoned, and her sister was executed by Marc Anthony soon after he met Cleopatra.

~ Instead of standing up to the Romans after Marc Anthony committed suicide, Cleopatra killed herself also, supposedly by intentionally being bitten by a venomous snake.

Bibliography: Drimmer, Stephanie W. National Geographic Kids: The Book of Heroines: Tales of History's Gutsiest Gals. Washington DC: National Geographic Partners, LLC, 2016. Print.
Haley, Shelley P. "Cleopatra VII." The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History, Vol. 1, Oxford University Press, 2008, 417-418.
Krull, Kathleen. Lives of Extraordinary Women: Rulers, Rebels (and What the Neighbors Thought). Orlando: Harcort, Inc., 2000. Print.

Biographies for Kids and Young Adults

(picture book)

Research

Cleopatra the Great: The Woman Behind the Legend

Cleopatra: The Queen Who Challenged Rome and Conquered Eternity

Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt

Historical Fiction

The Royal Diaries: Cleopatra VII: Daughter of the Nile, Egypt, 57 B.C.

Historical Notebooks: Cleopatra: Queen of Egypt

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