In 55 B.C., with the support of the Romans, Ptolemy XII was put back on the throne and took his 17-year-old daughter Cleopatra VII as his co-ruler. She was succeeded by another woman named Berenice IV. In 58 B.C., Ptolemy XII was exiled and a woman named "Cleopatra Tryphaena" (a different Cleopatra) became ruler of Egypt, dying not long afterwards. "Ptolemy XII was heavily dependent upon the Romans and as their ‘friendship' put an increased strain upon the Egyptian economy, his rule came under increasing scrutiny from the Egyptian elite," writes Sally-Ann Ashton, a keeper at the University of Cambridge's Fitzwilliam Museum, in her book "Cleopatra and Egypt" (Blackwell Publishing, 2008). Ptolemy XII (reign 80-58 B.C.) was under a great deal of pressure from the Romans and struggled to hold onto power. Although they had ruled Egypt for nearly three centuries, their kingdom was eclipsed by the power of Rome and there was a great deal of internal dissension that eventually led to Cleopatra fighting against her own brother.Ĭleopatra was the daughter of Ptolemy XII and a mother whose identity we do not know. The Ptolemies were descended from a Macedonian general who had served under Alexander the Great. (Image credit: ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images) (opens in new tab)Ĭleopatra was born in 69 B.C. Sally-Ann Ashton admires one of the statues of Cleopatra at the launch of an exhibition at the British Museum in London in 2001.
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