Video: The mystery of Cleopatra's death: committed suicide or was killed in the struggle for the throne?
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
Name Cleopatra shrouded in mysteries: it is often said about her lovers that they paid with their lives for possessing her for one night, legends are made about her beauty, and her dramatic suicide still excites the minds of both romantics and historians. By the way, the death of the last queen of Hellenistic Egypt is a controversial issue. Until now, scientists doubt whether it really was suicide?
Cleopatra was born in 69 BC and spent her entire life in Alexandria. For more than three centuries, her family ruled Egypt. Cleopatra had an excellent education, spoke seven languages. Amazingly, there were no cases of suicide among her ancestors, but there were plenty of violent deaths. Perhaps it was this fact that made historians doubt the queen's voluntary death.
According to historians, Cleopatra had an explosive character, she was very cruel. So, at the age of 18, she married her younger brother Ptolemy XIII, but did not want to share the throne with him. Soon after Ptolemy matured and claimed his rights, Cleopatra turned to Julius Caesar for help to help her become the only ruler of Egypt. Having entered into a formal marriage with another brother, Ptolemy XIV, Cleopatra gave birth to a son by Caesar, who received the name Caesarion. Having a formal co-ruler, the fearless queen poisoned Ptolemy XIV.
A turning point in the life of Cleopatra was her acquaintance with the Roman commander Mark Antony. The queen charmed the Roman with her beauty; at her request, he even executed Arsinia, Cleopatra's sister (in those cruel times, such were the manifestations of sympathy). A few years after they met, Cleopatra gave birth to Mark Antony, a son, Alexander Helios ("The Sun") and a daughter, Cleopatra Selena ("Moon"). The happy life of the rulers in love did not last long: a civil war was brewing, in which Octavian spoke against Mark Antony. According to historical records, after the defeat at the Battle of Actium, Mark Antony committed suicide when he received the false news of Cleopatra's suicide. The queen herself followed his example a few days later.
According to the most common version, Cleopatra died from a snakebite, having passed a suicide note to Octavian before that. Scientists believe that the effect of the poison would take at least several hours, while the note was delivered to Octavian immediately and he could well have time to save the queen.
A more likely version seems to be that Octavian himself became the killer of Cleopatra. Using the queen as a pawn to unleash a war with Mark Antony, who controlled the east of the Roman Empire, Octavian achieved the desired result. To save Caesarion, Cleopatra sent him to Ethiopia, but Octavian tracked down the heir to the throne and gave the order to kill him. On the way to the throne, Octavian was left with only Cleopatra.
According to recent research, Cleopatra may not have died from a snakebite, but from taking a poisonous cocktail. The Egyptians knew a lot about poisons, the mixture that the queen took contained opium, aconite and hemlock. And today it is completely unclear whether the decision to poison oneself was voluntary, or whether someone else was involved in it.
The mystery of Cleopatra's death has not yet been solved. Scientists can only speculate, because we are no longer able to return to the events that occurred 2,000 years ago. True, the history of Ancient Egypt reminds of itself from time to time. So, in 1992 there was opened the tomb of Tutankhamun … However, wasn't this event also a grandiose hoax?
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