Gregory Aldrete

And by the time he dies, there's no one literally almost left alive who can remember the republic. So at that point, by the time he dies, this is the only system we know.

Yeah, that's a fluke of fate, but it's hugely influential on history.

Yeah, that's a fluke of fate, but it's hugely influential on history.

Yeah, that's a fluke of fate, but it's hugely influential on history.

Cleopatra is interesting. I mean, she was a direct descendant of one of Alexander the Great's generals, Ptolemy. When Alexander's empire had broken up, Ptolemy, this general, had seized control of Egypt, made it his kingdom. And she, 10 generations later, is a descendant of this Macedonian general.

Cleopatra is interesting. I mean, she was a direct descendant of one of Alexander the Great's generals, Ptolemy. When Alexander's empire had broken up, Ptolemy, this general, had seized control of Egypt, made it his kingdom. And she, 10 generations later, is a descendant of this Macedonian general.

Cleopatra is interesting. I mean, she was a direct descendant of one of Alexander the Great's generals, Ptolemy. When Alexander's empire had broken up, Ptolemy, this general, had seized control of Egypt, made it his kingdom. And she, 10 generations later, is a descendant of this Macedonian general.

So Egypt had been ruled by, in essence, foreigners, these Macedonian dynasty of kings, and often they literally were ruled by the same dynasty because they had a habit of marrying brothers to sisters. And Cleopatra was, in fact, originally married to her younger brother. But despite that, she seems to have intensely identified with Egypt, right?

So Egypt had been ruled by, in essence, foreigners, these Macedonian dynasty of kings, and often they literally were ruled by the same dynasty because they had a habit of marrying brothers to sisters. And Cleopatra was, in fact, originally married to her younger brother. But despite that, she seems to have intensely identified with Egypt, right?

So Egypt had been ruled by, in essence, foreigners, these Macedonian dynasty of kings, and often they literally were ruled by the same dynasty because they had a habit of marrying brothers to sisters. And Cleopatra was, in fact, originally married to her younger brother. But despite that, she seems to have intensely identified with Egypt, right?

In fact, she seems to have been the first one of all these Ptolemy kings who actually bothered to learn to speak Egyptian. So she seemed to really have cared about Egypt as well. And she was clearly very smart, very clever.

In fact, she seems to have been the first one of all these Ptolemy kings who actually bothered to learn to speak Egyptian. So she seemed to really have cared about Egypt as well. And she was clearly very smart, very clever.

In fact, she seems to have been the first one of all these Ptolemy kings who actually bothered to learn to speak Egyptian. So she seemed to really have cared about Egypt as well. And she was clearly very smart, very clever.

And so she's living at a time during the late republic when Rome is having all these civil wars, and Egypt is really the last big independent kingdom left around the shores of the Mediterranean. Everything else has been conquered by Rome. So she is in this very precarious position where clearly she wants to maintain Egyptian independence, but Rome is this juggernaut that's rolling over everything.

And so she's living at a time during the late republic when Rome is having all these civil wars, and Egypt is really the last big independent kingdom left around the shores of the Mediterranean. Everything else has been conquered by Rome. So she is in this very precarious position where clearly she wants to maintain Egyptian independence, but Rome is this juggernaut that's rolling over everything.

And so she's living at a time during the late republic when Rome is having all these civil wars, and Egypt is really the last big independent kingdom left around the shores of the Mediterranean. Everything else has been conquered by Rome. So she is in this very precarious position where clearly she wants to maintain Egyptian independence, but Rome is this juggernaut that's rolling over everything.

And she ends up meeting Julius Caesar. When Caesar comes to Egypt chasing Pompey, his great rival, after he defeats Pompey, Pompey runs to Egypt thinking he'll find sanctuary there. And the Egyptians kill him and chop off his head. And when Caesar lands, they hand it to him and say, here, have a present. And she, of course, famously ends up having a love affair with Caesar.

And she ends up meeting Julius Caesar. When Caesar comes to Egypt chasing Pompey, his great rival, after he defeats Pompey, Pompey runs to Egypt thinking he'll find sanctuary there. And the Egyptians kill him and chop off his head. And when Caesar lands, they hand it to him and say, here, have a present. And she, of course, famously ends up having a love affair with Caesar.

And she ends up meeting Julius Caesar. When Caesar comes to Egypt chasing Pompey, his great rival, after he defeats Pompey, Pompey runs to Egypt thinking he'll find sanctuary there. And the Egyptians kill him and chop off his head. And when Caesar lands, they hand it to him and say, here, have a present. And she, of course, famously ends up having a love affair with Caesar.

Was that a genuine love or was she just sort of using this as a way to try and keep Egypt independent to give it some status? We don't know. She does have several kids with Caesar. After Caesar is assassinated and the Roman world is having another civil war between Octavian and Mark Antony, Mark Antony is basing himself in the east. He meets Cleopatra and he has a big love affair with her.