Cleopatra

Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (lived c. 69—10 August 30 BC, reigned 51—30 BC) was the queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt. A member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, she was a descendant of its founder, Ptolemy I Soter, who was one of the generals of Alexander the Great. Marc Antony, one of Julius Caesar’s generals and ruler of the client kingdom of Egypt, had a love affair with Cleopatra despite being married to the sister of Octavian (later named Caesar Augustus). As a result of Octavian’s propaganda campaign against Antony and Cleopatra, naming them traitors, Rome declared war on them. Antony and Cleopatra were defeated at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, after which they both committed suicide. Because Cleopatra was the last of the last dynasty of Alexander the Great’s generals, her death ended the Hellenistic Period.