Cleopatra was the name of the seven queens of ancient Egypt's Ptolemaic dynasty. By far the most famous was the last of the Ptolemaic dynasty, Cleopatra VII. She made extraordinary efforts to revive Ptolemaic power through her forceful personality and political skill, efforts which involved or led to romantic liaisons with both Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. Her life and death at her own hand have been the subject of much literature, including William Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra and George Bernard Shaw's Caesar and Cleopatra.

The daughter of Ptolemy XII, Cleopatra became joint ruler with her younger brother Ptolemy XIII in 51 BC. Three years later they fought each other in a civil war, during which time Cleopatra was briefly expelled from Egypt. During her exile she met and captivated Julius Caesar, who was in her part of the world because of a Roman civil war. (He was in pursuit of Pompey the Great, who was ultimately assassinated in Egypt by Ptolemy). Julius Caesar invaded Egypt and defeated Ptolemy, re-installing Cleopatra as queen. Cleopatra married another of her brothers, Ptolemy XIV, but she also became Caesar's mistress and followed him to Rome, where she stayed until his assassination (44 BC).

Returning to Egypt, Cleopatra ruled with her son by Caesar, Ptolemy XV, called Caesarion, as joint king, Ptolemy XIV having been murdered on her orders. In 41 BC she formed an alliance with Mark Antony, whom she married in 37 BC. They planned to set up a vast kingdom to be inherited by her sons by Caesar and Antony. However, Octavian (later Augustus) defeated Antony and Cleopatra in the Battle of Actium (31 BC) and pursued them to Egypt. Antony committed suicide. Cleopatra surrendered and sought to establish a relationship with Octavian. Failing, she killed herself in August 30 BC, allowing herself to be bitten by an asp (cobra), the royal symbol of ancient Egypt. Her son, King Ptolemy XV, was murdered, and the Ptolemaic dynasty ended.