She stood within her tomb in Alexandria, clutching her treasures and threatening to burn them all as the forces of Octavian closed in. It was August of 30 BC, and the dream of a revived Hellenistic empire had collapsed into a desperate stand against the rising tide of Rome.

Born in 69 BC to Ptolemy XII Auletes, she was a daughter of the Macedonian Greek dynasty that had ruled Egypt since the death of Alexander the Great. While her royal ancestors rarely bothered to learn the local tongue, she famously mastered the Egyptian language, setting her apart from the insular court of Alexandria.

Her rise to power was forged in the chaos of a civil war against her brother, Ptolemy XIII. Seeking an advantage, she famously charmed the Roman dictator Julius Caesar, securing his military support and a private partnership that produced their son, Caesarion.

The hinge of her life arrived after the assassination of Caesar in 44 BC. She aligned herself with the Roman Second Triumvirate, eventually forming a legendary political and romantic alliance with Mark Antony to secure her kingdom’s autonomy against the ambitions of Octavian.

This partnership ended in the 31 BC Battle of Actium, where the naval forces of Octavian, commanded by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, decisively defeated the fleet of Antony and Cleopatra. The ensuing invasion of Egypt left Antony to take his own life in despair.

Faced with the humiliation of being paraded through Rome in a triumphal procession, she died on 12 August 30 BC, likely by poison. Her death marked the final end of the Hellenistic period, as Egypt was formally annexed as a province of the Roman Empire.