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Cleopatra and Julius Caesar: Political Power Couple (part one)

Cleopatra and Julius Caesar: Political Power Couple (part one)

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LaToya Allen
October 26, 2024

Hey Team,

LaToya here! I want to send a quick thank to to Loren, the founder of https://lutely.shop/ - the shopping platform that allows you to share wishlists with people you love, for today’s suggestion.

I asked Loren who I should cover in the newsletter, and she recommended the biography of Cleopatra - a book I’d accidentally donated weeks before.

Luckily, I owned two books that covered overlap with today’s characters: The Fortunes of Africa and The History of the Ancient World. And I was able to stop by McNally Jackson in Midtown East on my lunch break last week, where I got a second copy of Cleopatra’s biography.

So here we are! Let’s get into it.

The Berlin Cleopatra, a Roman sculpture of Cleopatra

Today’s Strategy: Don’t Make The Dumb Move

Julius Caesar found himself in the middle of the worst fight known to man - a fight between brother and sister. Cleopatra spent the summer of her 21st year raising an army to protect herself. Her thirteen-year-old brother-husband raised an army to kill her. His goal was to preside over their falling-apart empire; hers was to stay alive. Caesar, who was in his early fifties, and clearly too grown to be dealing with this shit, wanted an end to the conflict and unite the two. An unstable Egypt was bad for Rome. And Julius Caesar loved nothing more than Rome.

The sibling rivalry was the second most troubling conflict Caesar needed to clean up; he was also in the middle of The Roman Civil War. Caesar was going up against Pompey The Great - a powerful general who used the Roman military to put Caesar in power. Together, they transformed Rome from republic to empire. But alas, Pompey wasn’t just a former political ally; Pompey was married to Caesar's daughter. Pompey was Caesar’s son-in-law.

Caesar wanted the siblings to stop fighting, but the siblings also had expectations of Caesar. They knew Rome spent decades protecting the Egyptian monarchy. The siblings expected The Romans to keep doing what they’d in the past - keep Egypt their bloodline in power.

Cleopatra wanted to figure out her next move, but her brother Ptolemy knew his. Ptolemy wanted whatever his advisors told him he wanted - because, as a tween king, Ptolemy had no real power or control. His advisors wanted to get on Caesar’s good side so Caesar would help secure the throne. So, Ptolemy’s advisor made a big move.

That fall, they murdered Pompey the Great and sent his head to Caesar as proof.

Caesar cried.

And you’ll never guess what happens next.

Best,

LaToya

p.s. Tell me - What did you and your siblings used to fight over?