COMPREHENSIVELY CLEO

Of course, everyone knows the story of Cleopatra. Egyptian queen, lover of two Roman leaders, killed herself with a snake-bite. In fact this historical figure was Cleopatra VII, last of the Ptolemaic Dynasty. This dynasty had what may seem to us very strange rules about marriage and the royal succession. Ptolemaic law said that you would only rule Egypt if you married a female member of the royal family - even if you yourself were already a member of the royal family! The unfortunate long-term effect was to lead to weaker and weaker rulers; people descended from one rather than two families have weaker immune systems, are more prone to diseases and tend to die younger.

Cleopatra I was the only foreign Cleo, the daughter of King Antiochus I of Syria. After the magnificent campaigns (336-323 B.C.) of Alexander the Great, his empire had been split amongst his generals, with Ptolemy getting Egypt and becoming Pharaoh Ptolemy I. Ptolemy and his successors ruled well at first, but by the time of his great-great-grandson Ptolemy V, Egypt was weak again, and its enemies were threatening to attack. To stop this, Ptolemy V agreed to marry the daughter of his enemy Antiochus. The marriage took place in 194 B.C., and they had three children, two more Ptolemies and a Cleopatra. When Ptolemy V died in 186 with his children still young, it was Cleopatra I who took over Egypt, running it until her elder son became Ptolemy VI five years later.

Cleopatra II, born around 175 B.C., was the daughter of Cleo I. A sporty girl, she took part in and won several athletic competitions. When she was twelve, she married her brother Ptolemy VI (who was about sixteen years her senior!), and ran Egypt in his name when he was kidnapped by Egypt's Seleucid enemies. Indeed, she seemed in no great hurry to get him back! Eventually the Egyptians tired of their captive king, and elected a distant cousin as Ptolemy VII, although Cleo continued to share power. When he died in 145, Cleo married her younger brother who became Ptolemy VIII. He divorced her in 140, though she remained part of the royal family, and in 132 she actually mounted a rebellion against him. This lasted five years, after which they both ruled along with Cleo's daughter by her first marriage, Cleopatra III. Ptolemy VIII died in 116, and was replaced alongside the two Cleos with Ptolemy IX (more of him later!). Cleo II died the following year.

Cleopatra III was the daughter of Cleo II and Ptolemy VI, and was soon married to her own stepfather/uncle Ptolemy VIII. From this marriage came two more Ptolemies (IX and X) and three Cleopatras (IV, Selene and Tryphaena). Cleo III was as much of a handful as previous Cleos; she was supposed to rule alongside her two sons but in reality she ran everything. When in 109 B.C. Ptolemy IX tried to get rid of her, she had him murdered and replaced with the more amenable X. This was a mistake; her new choice had her thrown out of power just two years later, and then had her murdered around the year 101 B.C.

Cleopatra Thea was the younger sister of Cleo III. Having been married off to Demetrius II King of Syria, she might have thought herself well out of Egyptian politics. Unfortunately for her, being royal anywhere at this time was dangerous. Her husband died in 126 B.C., and she ruled alone along with her son, Antiochus VIII. Unfortunately her son resented her interference, and had her murdered after just six years.

Cleopatra Selene was the eldest of the three Cleo daughters of Cleopatra III and Ptolemy VIII. She first married her elder brother Ptolemy IX, and they had one daughter, Berenice III. When he was murdered she was 'transferred' to the younger brother, Ptolemy X. Unfortunately this marriage earned her the enmity of her younger sister Cleopatra Tryphaena, who had her murdered just 19 days after the marriage.

Cleopatra IV had been briefly married to her brother, Ptolemy IX. The marriage lasted long enough to produce one son, the future Ptolemy XII, before they were divorced. Curiously though she was allowed to stay on in joint control of the country, perhaps because she later married King Antiochus IX of Syria.

Cleopatra Tryphaena was the youngest of the three Cleos of Cleopatra III and Ptolemy VIII. But what goes around usually comes around; her brother-in-law King Antiochus IX of Syria captured her and had her murdered for the murder of her sister.

Cleopatra V was the daughter of Berenice III and (probably) Ptolemy XI. Unusually this fifth Cleo didn't marry her brother - instead she married her cousin Ptolemy XII. They had three other children, a Cleo and two more Ptolemies.

Cleopatra VI. Eldest daughter of Berenice III and Ptolemy XII, thus half-sister to Cleo V. She should have had some power, but was very soon bumped off by another sister, Berenice IV.

Cleopatra VII came to the throne alongside her brother/husband Ptolemy XIII in 51 B.C. Egypt was in a terrible state, and was threatened by the mighty Roman Empire. In 48 the Roman leader Julius Caesar arrived with orders to restore order, and Cleo quickly became his lover, arranging for her husband to be murdered. She was supposed to share power with her sister Berenice IV and other brother Ptolemy XIV, but both of these soon met with 'unfortunate accidents'. The affair with Caesar led to a son, Ptolemy XV (also called Caesarion), but Caesar refused to accept him as his heir, and the great general's murder in 44 B.C. threatened Egypt again. This time the Romans sent Marc Anthony to restore order, only for him to become Cleo's lover too. Relations between Egypt and Rome got worse, until in 31 war was declared. The Roman forces defeated those of Anthony and Cleopatra at the battle of Actium, and both fled to Egypt. Hearing he had fallen on his sword, Cleo killed herself by holding a poisonous snake (asp) to her skin until it bit her. Unfortunately Anthony wasn't dead - but stabbed himself anyway on hearing of her death! The Romans quickly had little Caesarion put to death too. Over three thousand years of history was at and end; Egypt would now be just one part of the mighty Roman Empire.

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