WEBVTT 00:00:06.488 --> 00:00:07.628 "Order, order. 00:00:07.628 --> 00:00:09.387 So who do we have here?" 00:00:09.387 --> 00:00:11.437 "Your Honor, this is Cleopatra, 00:00:11.438 --> 00:00:16.888 the Egyptian queen whose lurid affairs destroyed two of Rome's finest generals 00:00:16.888 --> 00:00:19.349 and brought the end of the Republic." 00:00:19.349 --> 00:00:22.128 "Your Honor, this is Cleopatra, 00:00:22.128 --> 00:00:24.609 one of the most powerful women in history 00:00:24.609 --> 00:00:30.618 whose reign brought Egypt nearly 22 years of stability and prosperity." 00:00:30.618 --> 00:00:33.936 "Uh, why don't we even know what she looked like?" 00:00:33.936 --> 00:00:37.515 "Most of the art and descriptions came long after her lifetime 00:00:37.515 --> 00:00:39.879 in the first century BCE, 00:00:39.880 --> 00:00:42.679 just like most of the things written about her." 00:00:42.679 --> 00:00:44.771 "So what do we actually know? 00:00:44.771 --> 00:00:48.688 Cleopatra VII was the last of the Ptolemaic dynasty, 00:00:48.688 --> 00:00:51.570 a Macedonian Greek family that governed Egypt 00:00:51.570 --> 00:00:54.759 after its conquest by Alexander the Great. 00:00:54.759 --> 00:00:58.269 She ruled jointly in Alexandria with her brother- 00:00:58.270 --> 00:01:00.721 to whom she was also married- 00:01:00.720 --> 00:01:03.659 until he had her exiled." 00:01:03.659 --> 00:01:05.899 "But what does all this have to do with Rome?" 00:01:05.899 --> 00:01:08.361 "Egypt had long been a Roman client state, 00:01:08.361 --> 00:01:12.088 and Cleopatra's father incurred large debts to the Republic. 00:01:12.088 --> 00:01:15.689 After being defeated by Julius Caesar in Rome's civil war, 00:01:15.689 --> 00:01:18.549 the General Pompey sought refuge in Egypt 00:01:18.549 --> 00:01:22.399 but was executed by Cleopatra's brother instead." 00:01:22.400 --> 00:01:24.213 "Caesar must have liked that." 00:01:24.213 --> 00:01:29.781 "Actually, he found the murder unseemly and demanded repayment of Egypt's debt. 00:01:29.781 --> 00:01:31.371 He could have annexed Egypt, 00:01:31.370 --> 00:01:35.930 but Cleopatra convinced him to restore her to the throne instead." 00:01:35.930 --> 00:01:38.180 "We hear she was quite convincing." 00:01:38.180 --> 00:01:41.715 "And why not? Cleopatra was a fascinating woman. 00:01:41.715 --> 00:01:43.610 She commanded armies at 21, 00:01:43.611 --> 00:01:45.221 spoke several languages, 00:01:45.221 --> 00:01:48.932 and was educated in a city with the world's finest library 00:01:48.932 --> 00:01:51.492 and some of the greatest scholars of the time." 00:01:51.492 --> 00:01:52.630 "Hmm." 00:01:52.629 --> 00:01:56.921 "She kept Caesar lounging in Egypt for months when Rome needed him." 00:01:56.921 --> 00:01:59.102 "Caesar did more than lounge. 00:01:59.102 --> 00:02:01.901 He was fascinated by Egypt's culture and knowledge, 00:02:01.900 --> 00:02:04.180 and he learned much during his time there. 00:02:04.180 --> 00:02:06.664 When he returned to Rome, he reformed the calendar, 00:02:06.665 --> 00:02:07.992 commissioned a census, 00:02:07.992 --> 00:02:10.262 made plans for a public library, 00:02:10.262 --> 00:02:13.122 and proposed many new infrastructure projects." 00:02:13.122 --> 00:02:17.650 "Yes, all very ambitious, exactly what got him assassinated." 00:02:17.651 --> 00:02:20.743 "Don't blame the Queen for Rome's strange politics. 00:02:20.742 --> 00:02:23.920 Her job was ruling Egypt, and she did it well. 00:02:23.920 --> 00:02:25.542 She stabilized the economy, 00:02:25.542 --> 00:02:27.211 managed the vast bureaucracy, 00:02:27.211 --> 00:02:30.402 and curbed corruption by priests and officials. 00:02:30.402 --> 00:02:33.471 When drought hit, she opened the granaries to the public 00:02:33.472 --> 00:02:35.802 and passed a tax amnesty, 00:02:35.801 --> 00:02:39.451 all while preserving her kingdom's stability and independence 00:02:39.451 --> 00:02:42.472 with no revolts during the rest of her reign." 00:02:42.473 --> 00:02:43.983 "So what went wrong?" 00:02:43.983 --> 00:02:48.603 "After Caesar's death, this foreign Queen couldn't stop meddling in Roman matters." 00:02:48.603 --> 00:02:52.992 "Actually, it was the Roman factions who came demanding her aid. 00:02:52.992 --> 00:02:57.043 And of course she had no choice but to support Octavian and Marc Antony 00:02:57.043 --> 00:03:00.883 in avenging Caesar, if only for the sake of their son." 00:03:00.883 --> 00:03:06.052 "And again, she provided her particular kind of support to Marc Antony." 00:03:06.052 --> 00:03:07.144 "Why does that matter? 00:03:07.144 --> 00:03:08.943 Why doesn't anyone seem to care about 00:03:08.943 --> 00:03:12.013 Caesar or Antony's countless other affairs? 00:03:12.013 --> 00:03:14.748 Why do we assume she instigated the relationships? 00:03:14.747 --> 00:03:19.393 And why are only powerful women defined by their sexuality?" 00:03:19.393 --> 00:03:20.182 "Order." 00:03:20.182 --> 00:03:22.492 "Cleopatra and Antony were a disaster. 00:03:22.492 --> 00:03:25.484 They offended the Republic with their ridiculous celebrations 00:03:25.484 --> 00:03:27.133 sitting on golden thrones 00:03:27.133 --> 00:03:28.924 and dressing up as gods 00:03:28.924 --> 00:03:33.254 until Octavian had all of Rome convinced of their megalomania." 00:03:33.253 --> 00:03:36.412 "And yet Octavian was the one who attacked Antony, 00:03:36.413 --> 00:03:37.555 annexed Egypt, 00:03:37.555 --> 00:03:40.435 and declared himself Emperor. 00:03:40.435 --> 00:03:45.155 It was the Roman's fear of a woman in power that ended their Republic, 00:03:45.155 --> 00:03:46.884 not the woman herself." 00:03:46.883 --> 00:03:48.483 "How ironic." 00:03:48.484 --> 00:03:53.344 Cleopatra's story survived mainly in the accounts of her enemies in Rome, 00:03:53.343 --> 00:03:57.183 and later writers filled the gaps with rumors and stereotypes. 00:03:57.183 --> 00:04:00.954 We may never know the full truth of her life and her reign, 00:04:00.954 --> 00:04:06.706 but we can separate fact from rumor by putting history on trial.