The Relation Between Queen Cleopatra VII and King Caesar

---

When Pompey tried to enter Alexandria , he was refused by the guards of Ptolemy XIII , and then he proceeded along the coast to Pelusium where Ptolemy XIII and his advisors decided to kill him with the idea of doing a favor to Caesar . When he landed , he was killed by Archillas and Lucius Septimius: his head was cut and he was handed with his signet ring to Caesar . When he had arrived Alexandria three days later , he was the master of the city . Ptolemy XIII returned from Pelusium to a position of low power but Cleopatra could not be got by her brother's troops , and had to go to Alexandria through an indirect way . Whether she really arrived at Caesar's feet wrapped in a carpet carried by Apollodorus , it's now impossible to state . She conquered Caesar , although he was more than twice her age .
We don't have an actual portrait of Cleopatra , but she's said to be depicted on one of the walls of the Temple of Dendera and also represented on some coins (currency) , but it's believed that it's just an image that is not real . The only one who described her beauty is Plutarch , but it seems he talked about the beauty of her character . It's said when she was in a meeting with community and people from both sexes , all the attendants concentrated exclusively on her and listened merely to her .
Ptolemy XIII was furious when he heard that Cleopatra had become Caesar's mistress , and even the return of Cyprus to the Egyptian authority did not help a lot in calming down the feelings of Ptolemy XIII towards their relation . Ptolemy tried to be reconciled to his sister , but this reconciliation didn’t last for long . In 48 BC , Caesar spent most of his time at Alexandria .
In November , Archilles with a great army marched to Alexandria . Caesar seized the 72 ships in the harbor , since he was afraid not to be able to hold them , and they might fall into the hands of the enemy , so he set fire to them . The fire spread everywhere and destroyed a lot of documents which were intended to be added to the collection of the library . At the same time , Cleopatra's half-sister Arisnoe (hated Cleopatra and Caesar as well) joined the camp of Archilles and the Alexandrians declared her as Queen of Egypt . Although Caesar was nearly defeated , he managed to hold off the attacking army , and soon , the troops that he sent from Western Asia began to arrive . When Caesar succeeded to strengthen his position , Archilles was defeated , and young Ptolemy XIII drowned trying to escape , and Arisnoe and Alexandria fell into the hands of Caesar .
The strong interference of Rome in the internal affairs of Egypt became very explicit . Caesar retained Cleopatra on the throne and associated Ptolemy XIV (her younger brother) with her as co-ruler in 48 BC . Caesar , Cleopatra VII and Ptolemy XIV went on a Nile trip till they reached Upper Egypt . Cleopatra was pregnant at that time and she gave birth to a boy calling him Ptolemy Caesar or Caesarion . We found an inscription in Memphis , exhibited in Louvre Museum now , telling us this story . Caesar left them and went to Africa seeking some conquests . Then , he returned to Rome and celebrated his victories , among them was that one he achieved in Egypt over Archilles and Ptolemy XIII as well as the execution of Arisnoe .
Later , Cleopatra VII took Ptolemy XIV and her son (Ptolemy Caesar) and went to Rome for two purposes: to confirm the treaty with Rome and to continue the relation with Julius Caesar .
Caesar married a lady called Calpurina in Rome , and the Roman law didn't allow marrying more than a woman , regardless of the nationality . When Caesar admitted Caesarion , Calpurina was driven mad and she went to the Senators to complain . She complained that he married another lady , and other indictments were addressed to him that he made everything under his name , and he attributed all the victories to him , neglecting the name of Rome . Cleopatra spent thirteen months in Rome till Caesar was murdered after a decision from all the members of the Senate . Such a decision was done with the acceptance of all the Senate's members and every one of them participated in the murder . After the death of Caesar , Cleopatra VII and Ptolemy XIV were scared , as they were the reason of murdering Caesar , so they decided to go back to Egypt . Right after they were back , Ptolemy XIV died , and it's said that she had a role in this to take the throne for herself or to avoid her brother getting revenge of her , as she heard he would . Then , she appointed her son , Caesarion , on the throne of Egypt and this was an announcement of the interference of Rome in Egypt .