1 00:00:06,488 --> 00:00:07,628 "Order, order. 2 00:00:07,628 --> 00:00:09,387 So who do we have here?" 3 00:00:09,387 --> 00:00:11,437 "Your Honor, this is Cleopatra, 4 00:00:11,438 --> 00:00:16,888 the Egyptian queen whose lurid affairs destroyed two of Rome's finest generals 5 00:00:16,888 --> 00:00:19,349 and brought the end of the Republic." 6 00:00:19,349 --> 00:00:22,128 "Your Honor, this is Cleopatra, 7 00:00:22,128 --> 00:00:24,609 one of the most powerful women in history 8 00:00:24,609 --> 00:00:30,618 whose reign brought Egypt nearly 22 years of stability and prosperity." 9 00:00:30,618 --> 00:00:33,936 "Uh, why don't we even know what she looked like?" 10 00:00:33,936 --> 00:00:37,515 "Most of the art and descriptions came long after her lifetime 11 00:00:37,515 --> 00:00:39,879 in the first century BCE, 12 00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:42,679 just like most of the things written about her." 13 00:00:42,679 --> 00:00:44,771 "So what do we actually know? 14 00:00:44,771 --> 00:00:48,688 Cleopatra VII was the last of the Ptolemaic dynasty, 15 00:00:48,688 --> 00:00:51,570 a Macedonian Greek family that governed Egypt 16 00:00:51,570 --> 00:00:54,759 after its conquest by Alexander the Great. 17 00:00:54,759 --> 00:00:58,269 She ruled jointly in Alexandria with her brother- 18 00:00:58,270 --> 00:01:00,721 to whom she was also married- 19 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:03,659 until he had her exiled." 20 00:01:03,659 --> 00:01:05,899 "But what does all this have to do with Rome?" 21 00:01:05,899 --> 00:01:08,361 "Egypt had long been a Roman client state, 22 00:01:08,361 --> 00:01:12,088 and Cleopatra's father incurred large debts to the Republic. 23 00:01:12,088 --> 00:01:15,689 After being defeated by Julius Caesar in Rome's civil war, 24 00:01:15,689 --> 00:01:18,549 the General Pompey sought refuge in Egypt 25 00:01:18,549 --> 00:01:22,399 but was executed by Cleopatra's brother instead." 26 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:24,213 "Caesar must have liked that." 27 00:01:24,213 --> 00:01:29,781 "Actually, he found the murder unseemly and demanded repayment of Egypt's debt. 28 00:01:29,781 --> 00:01:31,371 He could have annexed Egypt, 29 00:01:31,370 --> 00:01:35,930 but Cleopatra convinced him to restore her to the throne instead." 30 00:01:35,930 --> 00:01:38,180 "We hear she was quite convincing." 31 00:01:38,180 --> 00:01:41,715 "And why not? Cleopatra was a fascinating woman. 32 00:01:41,715 --> 00:01:43,610 She commanded armies at 21, 33 00:01:43,611 --> 00:01:45,221 spoke several languages, 34 00:01:45,221 --> 00:01:48,932 and was educated in a city with the world's finest library 35 00:01:48,932 --> 00:01:51,492 and some of the greatest scholars of the time." 36 00:01:51,492 --> 00:01:52,630 "Hmm." 37 00:01:52,629 --> 00:01:56,921 "She kept Caesar lounging in Egypt for months when Rome needed him." 38 00:01:56,921 --> 00:01:59,102 "Caesar did more than lounge. 39 00:01:59,102 --> 00:02:01,901 He was fascinated by Egypt's culture and knowledge, 40 00:02:01,900 --> 00:02:04,180 and he learned much during his time there. 41 00:02:04,180 --> 00:02:06,664 When he returned to Rome, he reformed the calendar, 42 00:02:06,665 --> 00:02:07,992 commissioned a census, 43 00:02:07,992 --> 00:02:10,262 made plans for a public library, 44 00:02:10,262 --> 00:02:13,122 and proposed many new infrastructure projects." 45 00:02:13,122 --> 00:02:17,650 "Yes, all very ambitious, exactly what got him assassinated." 46 00:02:17,651 --> 00:02:20,743 "Don't blame the Queen for Rome's strange politics. 47 00:02:20,742 --> 00:02:23,920 Her job was ruling Egypt, and she did it well. 48 00:02:23,920 --> 00:02:25,542 She stabilized the economy, 49 00:02:25,542 --> 00:02:27,211 managed the vast bureaucracy, 50 00:02:27,211 --> 00:02:30,402 and curbed corruption by priests and officials. 51 00:02:30,402 --> 00:02:33,471 When drought hit, she opened the granaries to the public 52 00:02:33,472 --> 00:02:35,802 and passed a tax amnesty, 53 00:02:35,801 --> 00:02:39,451 all while preserving her kingdom's stability and independence 54 00:02:39,451 --> 00:02:42,472 with no revolts during the rest of her reign." 55 00:02:42,473 --> 00:02:43,983 "So what went wrong?" 56 00:02:43,983 --> 00:02:48,603 "After Caesar's death, this foreign Queen couldn't stop meddling in Roman matters." 57 00:02:48,603 --> 00:02:52,992 "Actually, it was the Roman factions who came demanding her aid. 58 00:02:52,992 --> 00:02:57,043 And of course she had no choice but to support Octavian and Marc Antony 59 00:02:57,043 --> 00:03:00,883 in avenging Caesar, if only for the sake of their son." 60 00:03:00,883 --> 00:03:06,052 "And again, she provided her particular kind of support to Marc Antony." 61 00:03:06,052 --> 00:03:07,144 "Why does that matter? 62 00:03:07,144 --> 00:03:08,943 Why doesn't anyone seem to care about 63 00:03:08,943 --> 00:03:12,013 Caesar or Antony's countless other affairs? 64 00:03:12,013 --> 00:03:14,748 Why do we assume she instigated the relationships? 65 00:03:14,747 --> 00:03:19,393 And why are only powerful women defined by their sexuality?" 66 00:03:19,393 --> 00:03:20,182 "Order." 67 00:03:20,182 --> 00:03:22,492 "Cleopatra and Antony were a disaster. 68 00:03:22,492 --> 00:03:25,484 They offended the Republic with their ridiculous celebrations 69 00:03:25,484 --> 00:03:27,133 sitting on golden thrones 70 00:03:27,133 --> 00:03:28,924 and dressing up as gods 71 00:03:28,924 --> 00:03:33,254 until Octavian had all of Rome convinced of their megalomania." 72 00:03:33,253 --> 00:03:36,412 "And yet Octavian was the one who attacked Antony, 73 00:03:36,413 --> 00:03:37,555 annexed Egypt, 74 00:03:37,555 --> 00:03:40,435 and declared himself Emperor. 75 00:03:40,435 --> 00:03:45,155 It was the Roman's fear of a woman in power that ended their Republic, 76 00:03:45,155 --> 00:03:46,884 not the woman herself." 77 00:03:46,883 --> 00:03:48,483 "How ironic." 78 00:03:48,484 --> 00:03:53,344 Cleopatra's story survived mainly in the accounts of her enemies in Rome, 79 00:03:53,343 --> 00:03:57,183 and later writers filled the gaps with rumors and stereotypes. 80 00:03:57,183 --> 00:04:00,954 We may never know the full truth of her life and her reign, 81 00:04:00,954 --> 00:04:06,706 but we can separate fact from rumor by putting history on trial.