At the time of the birth of Cleopatra, much of the
Mediterranean World was either governed by
Rome or under the control of the Romans. During
the 60s BC Pompey added and organised the
provinces of the East and settled client kings in
place. During the 50s BC Caesar added Gaul
(France and Belgium). He also made two attempts
to add Britain to the Empire. The result was that in
49 BC the Empire stretched from the River Rhine
south to the Alps and across to the Black Sea in the north. In the East the area
included lands between the Black Sea and Egypt, while much of the northern coast of
Africa was Roman.
During these two decades Rome was
dominated by three politicians/generals.
Julius Caesar
and Civil War
49 BC – 44 BC
Crassus
One of these, Publius Licinius
,
said to be the wealthiest man in Rome, died
in 53 BC attempting a conquest of Parthia.
The remaining two,
Pompey and Julius
Caesar, fought over the spoils of the Empire in a Civil War which started in 49 BC.
Pompey was defeated by Caesar at the battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC. Escaping to
Egypt, where he expected support, he was murdered by Pothinus and Achillas,
the agents of the young king Ptolemy XIII. When Caesar arrived in Egypt, he was
given Pompey’s head. Instead of leaving, as the Egyptians expected, he stayed
and began the first real involvement of Rome with the Egyptians, one in
particular, Cleopatra.
Although Pompey was dead, the civil war was not over, Caesar still had battles to
fight in Alexandria, at Zela in Syria, at Thapsus in Africa and at Munda in Spain.
Only then, on March 17th 45 BC after the victory at Munda, was the issue settled
and Rome was controlled by a single man. He was given the title dictator later
that year.
This was the end of over three decades of individual Romans struggling for
power and using the resources of the Empire to do so. Cleopatra grew up,
therefore, well aware that survival meant the support of this super power; and
as the power slowly came into the hands of one man rather than the Senate or
the People of Rome, it was the support of this one man she needed to survive.