What happened to Cleopatra's sisters?

Cleopatra was always a healthy child but one that was never destined to rule Egypt. How many brothers and how many sisters did Cleopatra have? Two brothers and three sisters.

Cleopatra's three younger siblings *Arsinoe IV, Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV* were all half siblings. Cleopatra's mother died when she was little. Berenice IV and Cleopatra VI, Cleopatra's older sisters, overthrew their father, Ptolemy XII, in order to rule by themeselves.

Cleopatra VI vanished strangely one day and not long after Ptolemy XII took back his throne with the aid of the Romans. What punishment did he give to Berenice IV? She was executed in front of her father.

To the end, Berenice blamed her father for letting the Romans into Egypt and claimed that he had given away their kingdom. Shortly after Cleopatra had ascended to the throne there was an attempted coup. Her co-ruler Ptolemy XIII and her younger sister Arsinoe raised the Egyptian Army aginst her in a plot to remove her from power.

Which Roman general helped Cleopatra to win back her throne? This is about the same period when Cleopatra and Julius Caesar fell madly in love and conceived their first child. How many children did Queen Cleopatra VII have altogether by her two lovers Julius Caesar and Marc Antony?

Cleopatra's child by Caesar was Ptolemy XV Caesar and by Marc Antony she had Cleopatra Selene, Alexander Helios and Ptolemy Philadelphes. After Cleopatra's death Octavian had Ptolemy XV Caesar murdered and the rest of the children were brought up by his sister Octavia, who had previously been married to Marc Antony. (Such marriages weren't necessarily taboo at the time).

What happened to Cleopatra's younger sister Arsinoe after she was caught when escaping from the Alexandrian War? She was taken back to Rome and led in a trail of conquest through the streets. Cleopatra and Arsinoe and always been very similar strong willed personalities and Arsinoe did not just settle for rulership of the island of Cyprus when it was offered to her - she had to have it all!

After Caesar's death in 44BC, the Roman Empire was split between Marc Antony and Octavian. Marc Antony and Cleopatra became very close while he was governing in the east . What did Octavian have to say about this?

That Antony no longer cared at all about Rome but only about the Egyptian Queen. Back in Rome Octavian was trying to blacken Antony's name so that he could become sole ruler of Rome and show all the Romans just how respectable he was with his values and loyalty to Roman affairs. In the 30s BC Octavian declared war on Marc Antony.

Antony moved to the cove of Actium to prepare all his resources for battle. Many Roman soldiers at Actium with Antony disliked Cleopatra's presence. They felt a woman didn't belong on a battlefield.

Antony and Cleopatra stayed at Actium for many weeks preparing for battle. What happened at the Battle of Actium in 31BC? Cleopatra and Antony's navy was almost completely obliterated and Cleopatra had to flee back to Egypt with Antony lagging behind.

The Battle of Actium was a very disapointing defeat for Cleopatra. Antony almost drowned and when he returned to Egypt he was in such deep despair that even Cleopatra could barely raise his spirits. When the Roman army approached Alexandria, Cleopatra locked herself and her two female servants Charmian and Iras, into her mausoleum.

Roman soldiers climbed in through a window and pulled Cleopatra out and she was then locked up in her room. She used the pretence of preparing Antony's body for the afterlife in her tomb to go back inside her tomb. What fate befell Queen Cleopatra?

Cleopatra, dressed in all her finery, killed herself using an asp. With Cleopatra's death was also the death of Pharonic Egypt. Egypt was now to be governed as a Roman province but her memory lives on to present day as one of the greatest queens that ever reigned.

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