|
| cleopatra |
Although
this is a page in progress, it is already a fairly large page; it
might take a while to load completely
Chronology
of Cleopatra's Life
- 69
B.C. -- Cleopatra (technically she is Cleopatra VII Philopator)
is born to the extravagant (and extravagantly-named) Ptolemy XII
Auletes Theos Philopator Philadelphos Neo Dionysos and Cleopatra
Tryphaena (maybe?)
- 63
B.C. -- birth of Cleopatra's brother and future husband Ptolemy
XIII
- 59
B.C. -- birth of Cleopatra's brother Ptolemy XIV
- 58
B.C. -- the Alexandrians expel Ptolemy XII; he flees to Rome and
leaves his wife/sister Cleopatra Tryphaena and eldest daughter
Berenike IV in charge as co-regents
- 57
B.C. -- Cleopatra Tryphaena dies; leaving Berenike IV as sole
regent; Ptolemy XII Auletes was restored to the throne with the
military help of Aulus Gabinius (who had on staff a young Marcus
Antonius as his cavalry commander)and Berenike IV was
subsequently executed
- 51
B.C. -- death of Ptolemy XII Auletes; Cleopatra is named joint
heir with her brother Ptolemy XIII and almost immediately is
issuing decrees in her name alone
- 48
B.C.
- In
a palace coup of sorts, a certain Theodotus, Pothinus, and
Achillas expelled Cleopatra in favour of her younger
brother/husband; of course they appointed themselves as
regents
- August
10 -- Julius Caesar's forces defeat the pro-republican
forces of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Pompey) at Pharsalus; he
flees, eventually heading for Egypt
- September
28 -- Pompey arrives at Alexandria and is killed on the
orders of Pothinus via Ptolemy XIII
- October
2 -- Julius Caesar arrives at Alexandria; shortly thereafter
he restores Cleopatra (?)
- November
-- the Alexandrian War begins
- 47
B.C.
- --
by the end of March, the Alexandrian War had come to an end,
Ptolemy XIII had fled and drowned in the Nile, and Cleopatra
was sole ruler of Egypt
- June
23 -- birth of Ptolemy Caesar, a.k.a. Caesarion, claimed to
be the son of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra
- 46-44
B.C. -- Cleopatra living in Rome; he placed a statue of her in
the Temple of Venus Genetrix
- March
15, 44 B.C. -- Julius Caesar is assassinated and Cleopatra flee
to Alexandria
- November
27, 43 B.C. -- the lex Titia creates the triumvirate of Gaius
Julius Caesar Octavianus (Octavian), Marcus Antonius (Mark
Antony), and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus; proscription of triumviral
enemies follows
- October
23, 42 B.C. -- the forces of Marcus Antonius defeat the
pro-republican forces of Cassius and Brutus at Philippi; by
agreement with Octavian, Antonius subsequently undertakes the
task of organizing the eastern half of the empire (and heads for
the east, obviously)
- 41
B.C. -- Marcus Antonius summons Cleopatra to meet him in Tarsus;
subsequently he would spend the winter with her in Alexandria
- 40
B.C. -- the Perusine War/siege forces Marcus Antonius to return
to Italy; Cleopatra gives birth to twins, Alexander Helios and
Cleopatra Selene; Marcus Antonius was the father; Treaty of
Brundisium is made between Octavian and Antonius, as a result of
which (among other things) Marcus Antonius marries Octavian's
sister Octavia and returns to organizing the east (he took
Octavia with her)
- 37
B.C.
- the
triumvirate is renewed after a meeting at Tarentum and
Marcus Antonius returns to the east (without Octavia);
- Antonius
and Cleopatra's relationship is renewed and Marcus Antonius
gives Cleopatra control of Cyprus, Cilicia, Phoenicia,
Coele-Syria, Judaea and Arabia; he also formally
acknowledges his paternity of Alexander Helios and Cleopatra
Selene
- 36
B.C.
- January
31 -- Octavia gives birth to Antonia
- May
-- Marcus Antonius sets off to conduct his ill-starred
Parthian campaign
- September
22 -- the triumvir Marcus Aemilius Lepidus was effectively
stripped of power and the Roman world was essentially
divided between Octavian and Antonius (and the friction
between them grows!)
- ?
-- Cleopatra gives birth to their third child Ptolemy
Philadelphus
- 35
B.C.
- Early
in the year -- Cleopatra joins Marcus Antonius in Syria
- shortly
thereafter -- Octavia brings troops (one tenth of what had
been promised by Octavian) to help Antonius, but he refuses
to receive her and sends her back to Rome
- Spring
-- Cleopatra and Marcus Antonius return to Alexandria
- 34
B.C. -- after a successful campaign in Armenia, Antonius returns
in triumph to Alexandria and presents the so-called "Donations
of Alexandria" (Caesarion was made joint-ruler with his
mother and given the title "King of Kings"; Cleopatra
was given the title "Queen of Kings"; Alexander Helios
was proclaimed king of most of what had once been the Seleukid
kingdom; Cleopatra Selene was named Queen of Cyrenaica and
Crete; Ptolemy Philadelphus was named king of Syria and Asia
Minor
- 32
B.C.
- Marcus
Antonius officially divorces Octavia
- Octavian
publishes Marcus Antonius' will in which he declares his
desire to be buried next to Cleopatra (all part of a mutual
propaganda campaign)
- October
-- war is declared on Cleopatra
- September
2, 31 B.C. -- Octavian's naval forces defeat those of Marcus
Antonius and Cleopatra at Actium; they flee to Alexandria
- 30
B.C.
- before
August 10 -- having lost all support and with Octavian on
the way, Marcus Antonius commits suicide and dies in
Cleopatra's arms
- August
10 -- rather than submit to Octavian and be displayed in his
triumph, Cleopatra commits suicide
|
| links |
| There
are some very good resources about Cleopatra on the web (and,
unfortunately, very many bad ones). Among the best online
biographical treatments of Cleopatra's life are:
Some
scholarly papers (not that the above aren't scholarly; these are
things that appeared in journals)
For
additional background to all the political events surrounding
Cleopatra's life, see:
|
| images
of cleopatra |
|
Coming
soon ... |
| elsewhere
at the atrium |
|
Other
items of interest
|
| bibliography |
|
In
addition to the bibliographies mentioned in passing above:
|
|