Cleopatra

Descriptive Essay # 115520

History > Leaders
History > Middle Eastern

Cleopatra

A brief biography of the life of Cleopatra.

1,168 words () | 5 sources | APA | 2009 United States

Paper Summary:

Cleopatra was a queen of Egypt during ancient times, and is also known for her associations with the Roman empire during the time of Augustus and Mark Antony. Officially, her title was Cleopatra VII Philopator, and although she was an Egyptian queen, she had a Greek or Hellenic background. In this paper, a brief biography of Cleopatra is given, including her association with the early Roman empire through Mark Antony, her achievements and contemporary effects of the times, and her famous death by the suicide poison of an asp.

From the Paper:

"Cleopatra became queen at a very young age, being only eighteen when she ascended to her high position, and because according to the laws and customs of the time, a female ruler had to have a brother or son as a person of interest in their high court, she had to be married to her brother. Such arrangements were not all that uncommon in royal monarchies of ancient times, as they were often based on complicated systems of bloodline purity and genetics understanding, which led to some amount of intermarriage and often, in one of the unfortuante side effects of such a system, inbreeding. Cleopatra, however, was in no way dominated in her relationship to Ptolemy XII, as he was only twelve years old and she was eighteen. Instead, she effectively took power and control on her own."

Sample of Sources Used:

Jones, P (2006). Cleopatra. New York: Haus.
Charveau, M (1997) Cleopatra: Beyond the Myth. Trans. David Lorton. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Cleopatra (2009). http://www.king-tut.org.uk/egyptian-pharaohs/cleopatra.htm
Cleopatra VII (2009). http://departments.kings.edu/womens_history/cleop7.html
Cleopatra: Last of the Pharoahs (2009). http://users.bigpond.net.au/gary_fletcher/Cleopatra.html#Top