Who they were
Cleopatra VII (69–30 BC) was the last ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty, reigning from 51 to 30 BC, initially alongside her brothers. According to Plutarch, she was reportedly the first of her dynasty to learn the Egyptian language, and she was famous for her charm and intellect rather than for the pure beauty of later legend.
What they did
She was restored to the throne with Julius Caesar’s backing in the Alexandrian War, and their son Caesarion was born in 47 BC. After Caesar’s assassination in 44 BC she allied with Mark Antony, with whom she had three children. The Donations of Alexandria in 34 BC, which distributed eastern lands to her children, helped push Rome to war. Octavian defeated Antony and Cleopatra at the naval Battle of Actium in 31 BC, and both took their own lives in 30 BC — the story that she died by an asp’s bite comes from ancient accounts and is not certain.
Legacy
With her death and the killing of Caesarion, Ptolemaic rule ended and Egypt became a Roman province. Cleopatra remains one of history’s most retold figures, her story reimagined from Shakespeare’s stage to opera and film.