Cleopatra was queen of Egypt in the 1st century B.C. An ambitious woman, she had an engaging personality that men found intriguing, despite her plain looks.
Hence, she was able to become the mistress of Julius Caesar, king of Rome.
In 44 B.C., Caesar was assassinated and three men uneasily joined forces to rule Rome: Gaius Octavian, Caesar's grandnephew; Marcus Lepidus, an army general; and Mark Antony, a Roman politician and general.
Antony invited Cleopatra to visit in 41 B.C., hoping to forge a strategic alliance with Egypt. It was love at first sight for both, and a romance ensued.
But the trio ruling Rome often fought with each other—and with outsiders—so eventually Antony married Octavian's sister to help keep the peace and secure his power.
In 36 B.C., Antony returned to Egypt, and he and Cleopatra resumed their romance. The two definitely loved one another, yet they also used each other to their respective political advantage: Cleopatra had money, and Antony had power.
So Antony could help Cleopatra fend off any invasion of Egypt by the Romans, while Cleopatra could help finance Antony's armies.
But the world didn't like these two political powerhouses joining forces. Octavian stirred up animosity against the couple, partly because Antony decided to divorce Octavian's sister to marry Cleopatra.
During Antony's final battle against Octavian and his forces, he was told Cleopatra had committed suicide by getting herself stung by a poisonous snake.
Devastated, he killed himself with a sword and the two were buried next to each other. .
