The struggle with her teenage brother over the throne of Egypt was not going as well as Cleopatra VII had hoped. In 49 B.C. read more
Cleopatra VII was born in early 69 BC to the ruling Ptolemaic pharaoh Ptolemy XII Auletes and an unknown mother, perhaps Ptolemy XII's wife Cleopatra VI Tryphaena (also known as Cleopatra V Tryphaena) —mother of Cleopatra's older sister Berenice IV. read more
Though Cleopatra bore him a son, Caesar was already married, and Egyptian custom decreed that Cleopatra marry her remaining brother, Ptolemy XIV. Caesar was assassinated in 44 B.C., and with her ally gone Cleopatra had Ptolemy XIV killed to prevent any challenges to her son's succession. read more