The Cleopatra Series: Part 3
When Ptolemy XII was driven from Alexandria in 58 BC, his eleven-year-old daughter Cleopatra suddenly disappears from the historical record.
What happened to her?
Most historians assume she remained in Egypt while her sister, Berenice IV, seized the throne. But there is another possibility.
What if Cleopatra went into exile with her father?
We cannot prove it. But some modern historians have argued that she may have accompanied him as he sought Roman support to reclaim his kingdom.
If so, the future queen of Egypt may have encountered the Roman world long before Julius Caesar arrived in Alexandria.
At the time, Rome was not an empire but a turbulent republic dominated by powerful figures such as Pompey, Caesar, Crassus and Cicero. The fate of kingdoms could depend on their decisions.
For an observant young princess, it would have been an extraordinary political education.
The ancient sources describe Ptolemy’s exile and eventual restoration but do not explicitly state that Cleopatra travelled with him. That gap in the evidence is where history ends and interpretation begins.
For a historical novelist, it is a fascinating possibility.
If Cleopatra was there, she may have witnessed first-hand the growing Roman influence over Egypt. She may have learned that power was no longer won solely through armies and dynastic marriages, but also through diplomacy, money, alliances and political patronage.
Those are lessons she would later use with remarkable skill.
Did a childhood in Rome help shape the woman who would negotiate with Caesar, ally with Antony and challenge Octavian?
We cannot know.
But it is entirely possible to imagine that while history was being made around her, an eleven-year-old Cleopatra was already watching.
Historical References
Perseus Digital Library: Strabo, Geography, Book XVII
https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Strab.%2017
Oxford Classical Dictionary: Christelle Fischer-Bovet, ‘Cleopatra VII, 69–30 BCE’
https://oxfordre.com/classics/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.001.0001/acrefore-9780199381135-e-1672
Oxford University Press: Duane W. Roller, Cleopatra: A Biography
https://global.oup.com/academic/product/cleopatra-9780199829965
Stacy Schiff: Cleopatra: A Life
https://stacyschiff.com/cleopatra-a-life.html
Recommended Non-Fiction Books
- Duane W. Roller, Cleopatra: A Biography
- Stacy Schiff, Cleopatra: A Life
- Joann Fletcher, Cleopatra the Great
- Christelle Fischer-Bovet, ‘Cleopatra VII, 69–30 BCE’ (Oxford Classical Dictionary)
Historical Novels
- Margaret George, The Memoirs of Cleopatra
Widely regarded as one of the finest historical novels about Cleopatra, written as an autobiographical memoir. - Colleen McCullough, Antony and Cleopatra
A richly detailed portrayal of Cleopatra set against the political struggles of the late Roman Republic. - Michelle Moran, Cleopatra’s Daughter
Focuses on Cleopatra Selene and the aftermath of Cleopatra’s defeat by Octavian. - Jo Graham, Black Ships and Hand of Isis
Historical novels that explore the wider Mediterranean world in the centuries before and after Cleopatra. - Margaret George, Helen of Troy and Mary, Called Magdalene
Not Cleopatra novels, but excellent examples of the author’s immersive historical fiction style.
Further Reading
• Strabo, Geography, Book XVII
• Christelle Fischer-Bovet, ‘Cleopatra VII, 69–30 BCE’
• Duane W. Roller, Cleopatra: A Biography
• Stacy Schiff, Cleopatra: A Life
• Margaret George, The Memoirs of Cleopatra