Pat Brown - The Murder of Cleopatra Historys Greatest Cold Case

Published 2013 by Prometheus Books

The Murder of Cleopatra: Historys Greatest Cold Case. Copyright 2013 by Pat Brown. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, digital, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or conveyed via the Internet or a website without prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Cover design by Nicole Sommer-Lecht

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Brown, Pat, 1955

The murder of Cleopatra : historys greatest cold case / by Pat Brown.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-61614-650-4 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-1-61614-651-1 (ebook)

1. Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, d. 30 B.C. 2. Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, d. 30 B.C.Death and burial. 3. QueensEgypt. 4. EgyptKings and rulers. 5. EgyptHistory332-30 B.C. I. Title.

DT92.7.B78 2013

932.021092--dc23

2012040641

Printed in the United States of America

Chapter 4: The Making of the Queen:
Part OneThe Ancestors

Chapter 5: The Making of the Queen:
Part TwoThe Macedonian Lineage

Chapter 6: The Making of the Queen:
Part ThreeThe Family

Chapter 11: The Road to Actium:
Part OneThe Conflict

Chapter 12: The Road to Actium:
Part TwoThe Partners

Chapter 13: The Road to Actium:
Part ThreeThe Preparations

This exploration of the life and death of Cleopatra VII has been one of the most fascinating adventures of my life, and, once I decided there was a story to tell, I knew I needed others along with me who wanted the ideas I developed to get out into the world. The journey started in 2003 with Discovery Channel and Atlantic Productions, and if they hadnt selected me to analyze this part of history and be the host of The Mysterious Death of Cleopatra, this book likely would not have been written.

Next I have to thank my wonderful and incredibly supportive literary agent, Claire Gerus, who believed in this book and fought to find a publisher who would believe in it is as well. She brought me to Steven L. Mitchell and Prometheus Books, who took this book on and brought it to fruition. I cant thank Steven enough for choosing this story of Cleopatra for publication.

Finally, I want to thank the people of Egypt for making my two trips so enjoyable, and, especially I want to thank Dr. Zahi Hawass, who oversees everything archeological in Egypt, who saw me without an appointment, and who set up my wonderful trip to Tapasoris Magna. And my utmost thanks to Dr. Said Gohary, whose hospitality and conversation along with his lovely wife, Dr. Jocelyn Gohary, made both my trips to Egypt so very special and helped me immensely in my understanding of ancient Egypt and the times in which Cleopatra lived.

And, finally, my readers; thank you for having a mind that is open enough to read this new look at history and being willing to give Cleopatra the extra attention she has always deserved.

Pat Brown

This book is an examination of the life and death of the last Egyptian pharaoh, Cleopatra VII, with an aim to uncover what really happened to Cleopatra and why. What is not contained in this study is a detailed and complete history of Rome and Egypt. If I endeavored to include such a thorough account of all the events of those days, this book would be a very large tome and it would defeat the purpose of this work, which is to focus on the most relevant issues leading to the queens demise. For this analysis of the death of Cleopatra, I have included the background information most pertinent to understanding Cleopatra and the Roman men in her life and the specific pieces of evidence that will illuminate what led to the final days of Alexandria. For more information about ancient times and the Roman and Egyptian world in which Cleopatra was born and died, I recommend Joyce Tyldesleys Cleopatra and her other books on the queens of Egypt; Michael Grants Cleopatra; Anthony Everitts Augustus; Jean-Yves Empereurs Alexandria Rediscovered; N. G. L. Hammondss The Genius of Alexander the Great; Adrian Goldsworthys Caesar; and Peter Greens The Hellenistic Age. Any of Zahi Hawasss books on Egypt and archeology or the books of Said and Joceyln Gohary on the Egyptian tombs and monuments will round out ones understanding of the world of Egypt until the end of the Ptolemaic Dynasty at Cleopatras death in 30 BCE.

When the sun rose over the city of Alexandria on the morning of August 12, 30 BCE, it did not shine down on the great Alexandria of Egypt, but the new Alexandria of the Roman Empire. The air was heavy with resignation and solemn respect for the passing of the queen and for the transfer of Alexandria into the hands of the Roman general Octavian. Cleopatra had provided a dignified conclusion to the great dynasty with her brave, if surprising, exit from the world.

The story was simple, yet awe-inspiring. Octavian had been in the palace, and Cleopatra in her tomb with her two favorite handmaidens. Somehow, a cobra had been smuggled into the mausoleum hidden in a basket of figs. A soldier delivered a letter to Octavian in which Cleopatra explained that she was about to take her life with a request that her body be buried next to her beloved husband and Roman general, Mark Antony, who had already committed suicide a few days earlier, dying in the arms of his wife. Octavian immediately dispatched his men to the mausoleum to intervene and stop the queen from this rash course of action. However, by the time the soldiers arrived, Cleopatra was dead. Word was sent back to Octavian, We were too late.

Unwilling to believe Cleopatra was truly dead, Octavian hurried to the mausoleum. He was stunned and angered by the sight of the motionless queen. This determined woman who had refused to yield at any time in her life, this enchantress who lured married Roman men into unfaithfulness and turned them against their countries, this queen who had refused to recognize his superiority in life, preferred death over submission to his sovereignty. He would now be unable to bring her back to Rome in shackles and parade her though the streets in his grand triumphhis final coup de grce. Queen Cleopatra, the greatest prize in the entire world, had slipped out of his grasp.

Hoping she was perhaps in a coma, the sleep that mimics death, Octavian desperately sent for the physician and for specialists in snake venom who might still find a way to save her. But the snake-venom experts had no remedies and the doctor pronounced her dead. All of this was witnessed by the soldiers, and after they left, Octavian met with his advisors.