12.2 Cleopatra, Last Pharaoh of Egypt (rebroadcast)

Her Half of History

Cleopatra inherited a joint throne, but pushed first one and then a second brother out of it to rule alone. In a world where rising Roman dominance was a fact of life, she managed to maintain control of her country by negotiating (in every possible way) with both Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. Though she lost in the end, she still managed to close out 3000 years of Egyptian history on her own terms.

This episode originally appeared in series 2 on Women Who Seized Power, but it fits equally well in series 12 on Last Queens.

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