Cleopatra

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Barbara J. Feldman

She is known in pop culture as simply Cleopatra, although there were six Egyptian queens before her with the same name. Cleopatra VII (69 - 30 BCE) was the last pharaoh in the Ptolemy dynasty, and although ruthless at times, her intelligence and charm has captured history's imagination.

British Museum: Cleopatra of Eypt

5 stars

Take a virtual tour of highlights from the 2001 British Museum's Cleopatra of Egypt exhibit. Each of the fourteen objects is annotated, and a click on the thumbnail (or the magnifying glass) brings up a beautiful, enlarged view of the art piece. "The exhibition traced Cleopatra's life as queen of Egypt and her liaisons with the two great Roman leaders of the day, Julius Caesar and Mark Antony."

Egyptology Online: Infamous Cleopatra

5 stars

"Pharaoh Ptolemy XII died in March 51 BC making the 18 year old Cleopatra and her 12 year old brother Ptolemy XIII joint monarchs. These first three years of their reign was difficult due to economic difficulties, famine, deficient floods of Nile and political conflicts." This site introduces Cleopatra and six other pharaohs, and puts them in the context of thousands of years of Egyptian history. Don't miss the timeline (in the Chronology section) that starts in the Predynastic Period (c5500 - 3100 BCE) and ends in the Macedonian and Ptolemaic Period ( 332 - 30 BCE).

Field Museum: Cleopatra of Egypt

5 stars

"Cleopatra was descended from a line of rulers that began with Ptolemy I, a general who served under Alexander the Great in the 4th century BCE." Although the Cleopatra of Egypt exhibit has long left Chicago, you can still explore parts of it online. Best clicks include the quick facts page, the "Who Was Cleopatra?" quiz, and the Flash simulation game. In the game, you will help archaeologists search Alexandria for shards from an early portrait of Cleopatra, then reassemble the pieces.

King Tut One: Cleopatra - Egypt's Last Pharoah

4 stars

King Tut One presents Cleopatra's biography in five parts, with a special emphasis on her childhood years. Cleopatra's father, Ptolemy XII, was an unpopular ruler because of the greed and corruption that marked his reign. But he lavished his six children with luxury and the finest education his money could buy. "Because of this attention to education, Cleopatra studied philosophy, literature, art, music, medicine, and was able to speak six different languages. These languages were Aramaic, Egyptian, Ethiopic, Greek, Hebrew, and Latin."

Royalty.nu: History of Eygpt - Cleopatra VII

3 stars

Cinderella , a history and reading fanatic, created this Royalty.nu site "for fun" in 1998. The seven-page Cleopatra biography is in iPaper format (a PDF alternative), making it easy to read and print, but difficult to copy and paste from (this is probably a good thing!) To print, click on the iPaper menu. To increase the font size, use the plus and minus next to the magnifying glass (that looks like a "Q"). Following the biography, Cinderella lists a huge selection of related books and Cleopatra movies.