![]() ![]() It was not invincible, but only the most warlike people could fend them off. The Roman army was a highly scientific fighting machine. But on the other side of the Mediterranean sea, in Italy, the City of Rome was flexing its muscles. Her father, Auletes, was king of the most important country in the Middle East. The year 10 BC is closer to our time than the year 100 BC.Ĭleopatra was born in the year 69 BC and lived to 30 BC. When we are talking about years that are BC – or Before Christ – we are counting back. ![]() I’ll just make a little note here about dates. The most powerful city of the age was Rome, but the money and glamour were to be found in Alexandria. The lighthouse of Alexandria was one of the highest buildings in its time – and one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Out to sea, a 400 foot tall beacon blazoned in the sky at night. Giant hawk-headed statues guarded the temples and palaces. Almost every race in the world could be seen there. ![]() The pavements were sheltered from the Egyptian sun by colonnades. Eight chariots could ride alongside each other down its main avenue. The city of Alexandria was built on wide sweeping streets. Its mines produced gold – which of course contributed immensely to its wealth – and also salt which was used to embalm the Egyptian mummies in their tombs. Every summer, the River Nile flooded its banks and watered the fields. The crops grew amazingly well because Egypt had a wonderful combination: sunshine and water. It was a wealthy country, and when the Ptolemys took over, they raked in the money. The Egyptian pharaohs had perfected the art of collecting taxes. If you were king or queen of Egypt, you could live a life of fabulous luxury, but you would never feel entirely safe.Īt least a ruler of Egypt would always be rich. Even worse, they were prone to murdering each other – often by poison. For that reason, brothers and sisters were often expected to marry each other. They did not like to share their power with people outside the royal family. Although they were magnificently rich and powerful, being born into the family that ruled Egypt was a mixed blessing. If you think that your own family is a little bit difficult sometimes, just be glad that you are not a Ptolemy. His family ruled Egypt right up to Roman times. Ptolemy was one of his generals, and he became ruler of Egypt. His empire stretched around the shores of the Mediterranean sea. 300 years before she was born, Alexander the Great from Macedonia in Northern Greece had conquered a large part of the known world. And as for her beauty impressions on her coins show a rather hook-nosed face – and the historian Plutarch says that her irresistible charm lay more in her wit and conversation than her looks.įirst let me tell you a bit about her family. The ancient historians say that she was smuggled in to see Julius Caesar, but they talk about a sack, rather than a beautiful carpet. ![]() The second fact about Cleopatra rolled up in the carpet, is not so far from the truth. She was a member of the Ptolemy family who had ruled Egypt since the time of the Greek general, Alexander the Great. In fact, Cleopatra wasn’t Egyptian, she was Greek. I bet even your mum and dad could have told you those facts! But actually, they would definitely have been wrong about the first one. She was smuggled in to see Julius Caesar rolled up in a carpet. Her life was exciting and brilliant – but be warned, she met a tragic end.īut first, here’s three facts which you might have heard about Cleopatra: Her name was Cleopatra, and she was the last queen of Ancient Egypt. The person in this case is one of the wealthiest and most glamorous women who ever lived. A biography, as you probably know, is the story of a person’s life. Hello, this is Natasha, and I am here with a story that is actually a piece of history. ![]()
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