HIST Final Project

1. Cleopatra
The Woman Who Influenced Two Societies
Sarah Duran-Trujillo
HIST 101

2. Some say that Cleopatra did not make much of an impact on Roman society but rather, she focused on
making Egypt better. This argument is valid because she was the last of the Ptolemaic Pharaoh of Egypt
and because of this, at first her intentions were to benefit from the Roman empire. However, just like
Egypt Rome benefited from Cleopatra’s relationships with both Mark Antony and Julius Caesar. I would
like to know what kind of impact she had overall on both societies? From my own research I have
discovered that Cleopatra influenced both Rome and Egypt by enlisting Julius Caesar to help her regain
the shared throne left by her father, putting into motion the deaths of Caesar and Antony, and what her
death meant for the futures of both Rome and Egypt.

3. Cleopatra: Facts & Biography
By Owen Jarus
• https://www.livescience.com/44071-cleopatra-biography.html
• The article gives a detailed explanation of how Julius Caesar helped Cleopatra regain her throne from
her brother/husband Ptolemy XIII. The author explains how Cleopatra manipulated Julius Caesar with
her beauty, to utilize the strength of his Roman army to help regain her shared throne with Ptolemy
XIII as her father requested. Cleopatra gave birth to Julius Caesar’s son named Caesarion. Caesar stayed
in Egypt to help Cleopatra for his own reasons mostly to sustain a steady surplus of grain for Roman
societies.

4. “For reasons lost to history, Caesar decided to stay in Egypt and deal with the dispute
between Ptolemy XIII and Cleopatra. It could be because Rome depended on Egypt for its
grain supplies and a stable Egypt was seen by Caesar as being in Rome’s interest.”
I believe this article to be a credible source because Life Science is a well known and
decorated institution. The article has also been published within the last ten years so
therefore its is not outdated.

5. Cleopatra
by History.com Staff
• https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/cleopatra
This article explains more in depth the relationship that Cleopatra had not only with her brother
Ptolemy XIII but Julius Caesar as well. The article explains how her beauty influenced the aid of Julius
Caesar to help in the restoration of her power as co-ruler of Egypt. How she became the mother of
Caesarion and how her reign impacted both the citizens of both Rome and Egypt. Through deception
and deceit she became one of the most powerful influential women in history.

6. • “Caesar restored the throne to the equally unpopular Cleopatra and her younger brother Ptolemy
XIV (then 13 years old). Caesar remained in Egypt with Cleopatra for a time, and around 47 B.C. she
gave birth to a son, Ptolemy Caesar. He was believed to be Caesar’s child, and was known by the
Egyptian people as Caesarion, or Little Caesar.”
The reason this article is a credible source is because the History channel has always given us facts based
on evidence rather than assumptions. The History channel is not biased and is always up to date with
their information.

7. What was the relationship between Cleopatra and Julius Caesar like?
Response by Cleopatra_philopater
• https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/77qxdy/what_w
as_the_relationship_between_cleopatra_and/
The blog was about the relationship between Julius Caesar and Cleopatra. The blog stated that the
relationship between the two started off as motives to influence each other for their own personal
agenda’s. Cleopatra used Julius Caesar to help restore her position as Pharaoh of Egypt alongside her
brother Ptolemy XIII, and Caesar tried to reinstate his power as Roman emperor. The blog also
explained how Caesar had an infatuation with affairs which made his relationship with Cleopatra less
intimate.

8. • “It was by this device of Cleopatra's, it is said, that Caesar was first captivated, for she showed herself
to be a bold coquette, and succumbing to the charm of further intercourse with her, he reconciled her
to her brother on the basis of a joint share with him in the royal power.”
Reddit has a specific thread blog named /AskHistorians in which users can ask credible historians for
information on specific subjects. The author uses credible quotes throughout his article and remained
completely biased on the topic.

9. The Timeline of the Life of Cleopatra
by Thayer Watkins
• http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/cleopatra.htm
This timeline article explains significant event that have transpired from the years 320 BCE and 31 BCE.
The article explains how the relationship between Mark Antony and Cleopatra came to be as well as how it
came crashing down. The Article explains how Antony waged war on the Parthian Empire and called upon
the support of Cleopatra. The two fought together side by side and were soon married. Cleopatra gave birth
to 3 children but soon after a lost battle against Octavian the two grew apart. Cleopatra faked her death in
hopes that Antony would commit suicide driven by grief. Upon hearing the news Antony committed suicide
and thus the reign of the last Ptolemy Pharaoh’s came to an end.

10. • “She conceives a fiendish plot. She has a message sent to Mark Antony saying that she had killed
herself. Upon hearing that his loved one was dead he falls upon his sword. “
I believe this to be a credible source because it comes from a decorated university from a professor who
has extensive research in the field. Another reason I believe this source to be credible is because you
can access plenty of information from the website.

11. Five Women Who Played a Role In Caesar’s Murder
by Barry Strauss
https://www.biography.com/news/julius-caesar-assassination
This article talks about how Cleopatra was the mistress of Caesar and the mother of his son Caesarion.
The article explains that she was visiting Rome and housed in his Villa while he was assassinated.
Senator became enraged over his relationship with her and plotted the death of the Roman emperor.
The article also talks about other women believed to play a role in the murder of Caesar such as Brutus’
family.

12. • “Her presence added spice to the rumor that Caesar wanted to become a king himself.”
This source is deemed credible to me because the author is an expert in his field of history. He is a
professor of history at Cornell University and the information is relevant because it has been published
recently.

13. Ten things you might not know about Cleopatra
by Anne Zaccardelli
• https://blog.oup.com/2010/04/cleopatra/
This article is about little known facts about Cleopatra. Cleopatra used Caesar and Mark Antony to gain
power and wealth and vice-versa. Cleopatra was the actually Cleopatra VII, the first Cleopatra being
Alexander the Great’s sister. The article also posits how Cleopatra was in Rome when Caesar was
assassinated, possibly being the cause of his death.

14. • “Romans were not particularly enthralled with Caesar’s relationship with Cleopatra and her visit
probably provided the final impetus to remove Caesar.”
I believe this blog to be a credible source because information came from Dwayne W. Roller a historian
and professor of Greek and Latin. Roller is also a published author, and information is easily accessible
on the web page.

15. The Suicide of Mark Antony
by James Shoonmaker
• http://manchesterhistorian.com/2015/2907/
The article is about how Cleopatra and Mark Antony had an affair after she had one with Caesar. It
goes on to talk about how Antony was married to Octavia, but when he divorced her to marry
Cleopatra she waged war on his new lover. In the battle of Actium in 31 BCE was due to the joining of
Cleopatra and Antony. Cleopatra sent a message to Antony faking her death in hopes he would kill
himself. Upon hearing the news he attempted suicide but did not die right away and hearing that
Cleopatra was in fact not dead. He asked to be taken to her side and he died in her arms.

16. • “With no other refuge to escape to, Antony committed suicide by stabbing himself with his sword in the
mistaken belief that Cleopatra had already done so, with many suggesting that this message was calculatedly
sent in order to prompt Antony to kill himself. Antony’s wound was not immediately fatal, and upon being
tragically informed that Cleopatra still lived, Antony had himself carried to Cleopatra’s retreat where he
finally died in her arms.”
The source is credible because it is from a newspaper from Manchester University where history majors are the
journalists for the paper. As well as related article available on the website to broaden the readers scope of
resources.

17. Cleopatra VII: The Last Pharaoh of Egypt
by N.S. Gill
• https://www.thoughtco.com/cleopatra-p2-117787
The article explains the events proceeding the death of Cleopatra. Although her son Caesarion did
succeed her as Pharaoh, the reign was short lived as Octavian quickly made Egypt a providence of
Rome. The article goes on to explain how Cleopatra was the last true Pharaoh of Egypt. After her death
two hundred years that was the Ptolemaic dynasty came to an end and laid way for a future under total
Roman rule.

18. • “With Cleopatra's death, the rule of Egypt finally passed to the Romans. Although her son may have
held nominal power for a few days beyond Cleopatra's suicide, she was the last, effectively ruling
pharaoh.”
This site listed all of its sources and has been published recently so therefore it is considered credible.
The has a direct link to access of the author who is highly experienced in historical articles.

19. Egypt: From Ptolemaic and Roman Rule to the Arab Conquests(332 BC-
646 AD)
by U.S. Dept. of Defense
• https://www.cemml.colostate.edu/cultural/09476/egypt02-07enl.html
This article goes into full length about the history of Egypt from 332 BCE to 646 CE. The article goes into
details about the aftermath of the fall of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Pharaoh’s following the death of Cleopatra
and how Roman rule came to be in Egypt. One of the main reasons stated by the article that Emperor
Octavian(later changed to Augustus) allowed Egypt to maintain its normal lifestyle was to continue the surplus
of grain back to his people in Rome. He established peace within the government and allowed most of the ranks
excluding the higher ranks, to maintain the Greek style of life they have become accustomed to.

20. • “The main Roman interest in Egypt was the reliable delivery of grain to the city of Rome. To ensure
continued delivery, Roman administrators made no change to the Ptolemaic system of government other than
replace the Greeks in the highest offices. But Greeks continued to staff most of the government while under
Roman rule, and Greek remained the language of government at all but the highest levels. “
This article is deemed credible to me because it come from a website that is publicly sponsored by the United
States Government. All credibility can be found on the bottom of the page.

21. Cleopatra and the Romans in Egypt
by Karen Carr
• https://quatr.us/history/cleopatra-romans-egypt.htm
This article talks about how life after the apparent suicide of Cleopatra took place in Egypt and how
Roman rule came to be. The author explains how Emperor Octavian valued the territory of Egypt
because of how fertile the land was and how much food it produced. This allowed them to put taxes on
all the food coming from Egypt to Rome. It also broadened the horizons on the citizens of ancient Egypt
by introducing them to a whole new system of writing as well as communication.

22. “The Romans valued Egypt very highly, because it was so fertile and produced so much food. Roman tax
c0llectors took a lot of that Egyptian food, especially wheat for bread, from Egypt for taxes. The Romans sent it
to Rome on big ships. To make it easier to collect these taxes, the Romans also established Roman-style
government in Egypt, though the main language of government was still Greek (the way it had been under
Greek rule) rather than Latin. By this time even most ordinary people in Egypt knew some Greek. Gradually
people stopped writing hieroglyphs and wrote mostly in the Greek alphabet.”
This blog is written by a highly decorated professor, who specializes in the field in the Department of History,
Portland State University. She holds a doctorate in Classical Art and Archaeology from the University of
Michigan.

23. Conclusion
• In conclusion Cleopatra played a major role in both Roman and Egyptian history. If it were not for
Cleopatra relationship with Caesar she may never have returned to her place on the Egyptian throne,
thus not bringing the end of a dynasty just yet. Caesar may have not upset the senators like he did
and he may not have been assassinated. Mark Antony may have never left his wife for Cleopatra and
Rome may never have ruled over Egypt. Because of the influence of Cleopatra Roman expansion led
way to a whole new life in Egypt. A life that many had to adapt to due to the differences in cultures.
This made way to the introduction of Christianity and other advancements.

24. Works Cited
• Jarus, Owen. “Cleopatra: Facts & Biography”. LiveScience. 13 Mar. 2014:
https://www.livescience.com/44071 -cleopatrabiography.html
• History.com staff. “Cleopatra”. History.2009.
https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/cleopatra
• Cleopatra_Philapator. “What was the relationship between Cleopatra and Julius Caesar
like?”. Reddit. Nov. 2017. https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/77qxdy/
what_was_the_relationship_between_cleopatra_and/

25. Work Cited Continued
• Watkins, Thayer. “The Timeline of the Life of Cleopatra”. San JoseState University.
http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/cleopatra.htm
• Strauss, Barry. “Five Women Who Played a Role In Caesar’s Murder”. Biography. 12 Mar.
2015. https://www.biography.com/news/julius-Caesar-
assassination
• Zaccardelli, Anne. “Ten things you might not know about Cleopatra”.
OUPblog. 23 Apr. 2010. https://blog.oup.com/2010/04/cleopatra/

26. Works Cited continued
• Shoonmaker, Michael. “The Suicide of Mark Antony”. Manchester Historian. 15 Mar. 2015.
http://manchesterhistorian.com/2015/2907/
• Gill, N.S. “Cleopatra VII: The Last Pharaoh of Egypt”. ThoughtCo.11 Nov. 2017.
https://www.thoughtco.com/cleopatra-p2-117787
• U.S. Dept. of Defense. “Egypt: From Ptolemaic and Roman Rule to the Arab Conquests(332 BC-646 AD)”. United
States Department of Defense.
https://www.cemml.colostate.edu/cultural/09476/egypt02-07enl.html

27. Cited Sources Continued
• Carr, Karen. “Cleopatra and the Romans in Egypt”. Quatr.us Study Guides. 17 Jun. 2017.
https://quatr.us/history/cleopatra -romans-egypt.htm