Cleopatra VII

Cleopatra VII Philopator (January 69 BC – 30 BC) was a Hellenistic ruler of Egypt, originally sharing power with her father Ptolemy XII and later with her brothers/husbands Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV; eventually gaining sole rule of Egypt. As Pharaoh, she consummated a liaison with Gaius Julius Caesar that solidified her grip on the throne. After Caesar’s assassination, she aligned with Mark Antony; with him she produced a set of twins and a son. Cleopatra had four children in all, firstly, a born son by Caesar (Ptolemy Caesar nicknamed Caesarion), and three by Mark Antony (the twins, Cleopatra Selene II and Alexander Helios, and a son Ptolemy Philadelphus). Her successive unions with her brothers produced no children. Her reign marks the end of the Hellenistic Era and the beginning of the Roman Era in the eastern Mediterranean. She was the last Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. Her son by Julius Caesar, Caesarion, co-ruled in name with his mother only a very few years before Octavian, later on renamed Caesar Augustus, had him executed, most probably by strangulation, which in Antiquity was the execution method reserved for infants and pre-pubescents, thus adding humiliation to his execution.