It was the spring of 49 BC. The warm Mediterranean winds swept across the Nile Delta as whispers of civil unrest echoed through the marble corridors of Alexandria. Cleopatra, now around 20 years old, stood far from her city, watching the smoke of her homeland drift on a horizon she had been exiled from.
Just a year earlier, she had co-ruled Egypt alongside her younger brother, Ptolemy XIII, a boy of barely 12. But while the royal decree proclaimed unity, reality within the palace was far different. Ptolemy’s guardians and advisors, chief among them the ruthless eunuch Pothinus and the general Achillas, viewed Cleopatra as a threat. Her intelligence, independence, and direct rule over affairs of state were unacceptable to the men who preferred a pliable boy-king.
So they struck.
Overnight, Cleopatra found herself cut off, her name erased from royal decrees, her access to the treasury blocked. Political pressure mounted. Soldiers loyal to Ptolemy’s faction began closing in on Cleopatra's supporters. The threat was clear: if she stayed, she would be imprisoned or killed.
She fled.
The Exile in Syria
Cleopatra’s journey eastward led her into Syria, then under Roman influence, yet still teeming with mercenaries, traders, and political exiles. The land was arid, marked by sun-scorched hills and the ruins of empires past. Here, in this ancient crossroads of war and diplomacy, she began to plan her return.
Even in exile, Cleopatra’s charisma drew attention. She began assembling an army, hiring mercenaries with funds she had managed to smuggle out before her fall. Word of her determination spread quickly, not just in Syria, but across the Roman Empire. For a woman so young, her ambition was both inspiring and dangerous.
Rome, meanwhile, was boiling. Julius Caesar had crossed the Rubicon, initiating a civil war against Pompey and the Senate. Egypt, rich and fractured, suddenly became strategic ground for Rome’s warring factions.
The Fateful Arrival of Caesar
In 48 BC, Caesar arrived in Alexandria, hot on Pompey’s trail after defeating him in Greece. Pompey, seeking refuge with the Ptolemies, had been betrayed, executed at the shores of Egypt before Caesar could capture him. The killing horrified Caesar. He had lost a rival, but also a political opportunity.
The palace was already a tinderbox of tension. Caesar’s arrival added fire.
Cleopatra saw her chance.
According to ancient sources, she famously had herself smuggled into the palace rolled inside a rug (or a linen sack, depending on the account) and presented to Caesar in secret. When the bundle was unfurled, the Roman general, war-hardened, politically sharp, and no stranger to spectacle, was greeted by a striking young queen, poised, radiant, and unflinchingly bold.
Her gamble worked. Caesar was captivated.
The Return of the Queen
With Caesar’s military strength behind her, Cleopatra demanded a meeting with her brother and his council. But Ptolemy XIII’s advisors panicked. They had no intention of handing power back. Fighting erupted in Alexandria, a brutal, chaotic struggle known as the Alexandrian War.
The city burned. The royal library may have caught fire during the siege. The harbor filled with corpses. Through the chaos, Caesar’s forces held the palace, and Cleopatra remained under his protection.
Eventually, Caesar defeated Ptolemy’s army. Ptolemy XIII tried to flee but drowned in the Nile while escaping. His golden armor was seen floating on the water.
With her enemies vanquished, Cleopatra ascended once more, this time, not as a co-ruler in name only, but as the true and undisputed queen of Egypt. She was reinstated on the throne, this time alongside her even younger brother, Ptolemy XIV, as a formality.
But make no mistake: Cleopatra was now in command.
Queen, Diplomat, Lover
Cleopatra and Caesar grew close; personally, politically, and romantically. He extended his stay in Egypt for several months. It wasn’t just passion; it was politics. Caesar understood the value of Cleopatra’s loyalty, and she understood the weight of his power.
In 47 BC, she bore him a son - Ptolemy XV, nicknamed Caesarion (“Little Caesar”). Cleopatra would forever claim this child was Caesar’s rightful heir, a fact that would later shake the foundations of Rome itself.
From Exile to Empire
From hunted exile to goddess-queen beside Rome’s most powerful man, Cleopatra had played her hand with unmatched precision. She didn’t just survive. She conquered, not with brute force, but with diplomacy, intelligence, and audacity.
This was the dawn of her empire, and the beginning of a story that would reshape the ancient world.
Next Time: Cleopatra Part Three: Love, War, and the Roman Stage
As Caesar returns to Rome, Cleopatra follows with their son, stepping into the heart of Roman politics. But with Caesar’s assassination on the horizon, her world will soon be shattered.