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Clever Cleopatra's Fight for the Throne 

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Clever Cleopatra's Fight for the Throne 

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She was the last of the Pharaohs set up in Egypt by Alexander the Great and was a Macedonian Princess by decent.

When Cleopatra died, Egypt became the Roman province of Aegyptus. Keep reading for more facts about the famous Egyptian queen.

Queen Cleopatra Facts & Information

Cleopatra's full name was Cleopatra VII Philopator. She was born on Alexandria, Egypt in the year 69 BC.

She was the last active Pharaoh of the Ancient Egyptian Empire and reigned of the kingdom for 21 years, from 51 BC until her death in 30 BC.

She came from a long line of the Ptolemaic dynasty. This Macedonian Greek family came to power thanks to Alexander the Great who invaded and conquered Egypt in 332 BC.

She was one of only a few Ptolemies to learn Egyptian. Many in her family refused to learn Egyptian and chose to speak in their native Greek language instead. Cleopatra wanted to learn Egyptian to be able to educate her people so that they regarded her as the reincarnation of the ancient Egyptian goddess, Isis.

Cleopatra originally ruled Egypt with her father, Ptolemy XII Auletes.

Later during her reign she also ruled with her brothers, and through tradition she had to marry her brother Ptolemy XIV. Finally, she became the sole ruler and Pharaoh of Egypt.

Cleopatra had a relationship with Roman ruler Julius Caesar. Nine months after they first met, in 47 BC, she gave birth to a son. His name was Ptolemy Caesar and he was known as Caesarion, meaning little Caesar.

Caesarion became co-ruler of Egypt when he was three years old. Cleopatra named him co-ruler on September 2, 44 BC and they ruled together from 44 BC to 30 BC.

She sided with Mark Antony when Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC. Antony was a Roman politician who was opposed to Caesars legal heir Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus - also known as Augustus.

Antony and Cleopatra had a relationship together. She had three children with Mark Antony named Cleopatra Selene II and Alexander Helios, who were twins, and another son, Ptolemy Philadelphus.

The queen died by committing suicide with a poisonous snake. She did this because Mark Antony's troops lost the Battle of Actium against the army of Augustus and he killed himself. She held an asp snake to her body and let it kill her with its poisonous venom.

Caesarion ruled Egypt briefly before he was defeated and killed. He was too young and easily overpowered by Octavian, who later declared Egypt a Roman province and became the Emperor Augustus. Caesarion was only 17 years old when he died on August 23, 30BC.

Cleopatra is still popular and well-known in Western culture. There are many works of art that tell the story of Cleopatra. From Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra to George Bernard Shaw's Caesar and Cleopatra, and the movie from 1963 which was simply called Cleopatra.

Cleopatra was known for her incredible beauty. One common and well told story about Queen Cleopatra was that she took baths in donkey milk to preserve her beauty. In fact, myth and legend says that nearly 700 donkeys were used to provide enough milk for her daily bath!

Read about Ancient Egypt Facts

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Queen Cleopatra Facts and Information for Kids | History Kids

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A collection of fun and interesting facts about Queen Cleopatra, the last Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt and one of the most famous women in history.

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Ancient Egyptian Biography for Kids: Cleopatra VII

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Kids learn about the biography of Cleopatra VII of Ancient Egypt. The last Pharaoh and friends of Romans Julius Caesar and Marc Antony.

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Hatshepsut, like other pharaohs, was the child of a king. Unlike the others, she was a woman.

One of only a few female pharaohs in thousands of years of ancient Egyptian history, Hatshepsut didn't inherit her rulership like a man would have-only sons were allowed to succeed their fathers. She was born around 1504 B.C., and when her father, King Thutmose I, died without sons, Hatshepsut married her half-brother, Thutmose II, to help him become pharaoh.

When he died, his son-Hatshepsut's stepson-became pharaoh, even though he was just three years old. Hatshepsut ruled in his name, but he was still considered the only pharaoh. But when Thutmose III was about eight years old, she took the throne herself and officially became his coruler around 1473 B.C. Some historians think she made the move because other people wanted to steal the throne, and she knew if they were both pharaohs they would be too powerful to overthrow. Hatshepsut and Thutmose III would rule together as pharaohs for the next 22 years.

Considered one of Egypt's greatest pharaohs-man or woman-Hatshepsut brought great wealth and artistry to her land. She sponsored one of Egypt's most successful trading expeditions, bringing back gold, ebony, and incense from a place called Punt (probably modern-day Eritrea, a country in Africa). She secured her legacy by building structures that still stand today. She added two hundred-foot-tall obelisks at the great temple complex at Karnak. (One is still intact.) And she built the mortuary Temple of Deir el Bahri, a structure with several floors of columns in front, where she'd eventually be buried.

Hatshepsut was usually carved or drawn as a man, complete with muscles and a beard, as was the artistic tradition for pharaohs. But historians knew the truth: She always made sure the art included a reference to being a woman, such as "Daughter of Re" or "His Majesty, Herself." When she died in 1458 B.C., Egypt would not see as powerful a female ruler for another 1,400 years, when Cleopatra came to the throne.

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The Egyptian who proved women could be powerful pharaohs

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Ancient Egyptian Biography for Kids: Hatshepsut

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Kids learn about the biography of Hatshepsut of Ancient Egypt. A famous and powerful woman Egyptian pharaoh.

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Hatshepsut

In ancient Egypt, all pharaohs were supposed to be men. The title was passed down from father to son, or eldest male relative. It wasn't until a short while ago that archeologists found out that there actually was a female pharaoh. The reason they didn't know about her is that after she passed away, the people that were left tried to hide that she ever existed. Hatshepsut was one of the most successful pharaohs that reigned in Egypt.

Hatshepsut was actually the queen of a pharaoh, King Thutmose II. After he died she took the title of 'regent' to her nephew (Thutmose III) who was a baby and next in line. A regent is a kind of guardian for a pharaoh when they are too young to make decisions. It falls on the regent to make all of the decisions in the place of the young pharaoh.

Hatshepsut played the role of 'regent' until suddenly, she decided that she was a pharaoh. No one is sure why, but she began to dress in the same male pharaoh clothes and even wore the pharaoh "beard' that was part of their sign of power. It is believed she dressed that way, because they didn't have any way for a female pharaoh to dress.

During the time that Hatshepsut ruled, Egypt did very well. Unlike the other pharaohs, she was more interested in expanding the economy and negotiating peaceful deals. She wasn't interested in war. She knew that the Egyptian people would profit better this way. Hatshepsut built new monuments but also restored some of the older buildings. During her ninth year of reigning she sent trading expeditions to the land of Punt. The ships came back with ivory, gold, myrrh, and trees.

One of her finest buildings was the temple Djeser-djeseru (which means holiest of holy places). This was dedicated to the god Amon. She continued to build and add monuments throughout Egypt. One of the two red granite obelisks still stands at the temple of Amon in Karnak.

It was a tradition that each pharaoh built their burial tomb while they were alive. Most of the pharaohs built pyramid style tombs. Hatshepsut decided to build a totally different type and designed it so that it looked like it was built into the mountainside.

Archeologists and scientists believe that Hatshepsut had a skin disorder and used a particular salve to try to heal it. The salve contained a poisonous substance, and, using it so long, it is believed that this is what killed her.

Once she had passed away, Thutmose III, her nephew went throughout the kingdom and destroyed all of the images of Hatshepsut that he could find. He wanted to erase all of the work she had done, including any inscriptions. He even had a wall built around her obelisks. Some thought he might have done this in revenge, but it is probably so that he could remind the people that he was pharaoh now.

In 1902, when her tomb was discovered, they didn't find any mummies. It wasn't until years later that they found two female mummies, but one didn't have an identification. In 2007, they used the DNA from the tooth of the unidentified mummy to confirm that it was Hatshepsut. Because almost everything that had her name engraved on it was destroyed, very little was ever said about this pharaoh. Now, Egyptologists know that she was one of the best pharaohs that every lived in Egypt and brought success and prosperity to the land.

Egyptologists and archeologists have spent years excavating and repairing the tomb of Hatshepsut. It remains today as one of the most beautiful and unusual tombs of any of the Egyptian pharaohs.

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Hatshepsut for Kids - Facts from History for Kids

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In ancient Egypt, all pharaohs were supposed to be men. The title was passed down from father to son, or eldest male relative. It wasn't until a short while ago that archeologists found out that there actually was a female pharaoh. The reason they didn't know about her is that after she passed away, the ...

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Kids learn about Akhenaten a pharaoh of Ancient Egypt including early life, ruling Egypt, changing the Egyptian religion, wife Nefertiti, the city of Amarna, legacy, and fun facts.

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Akhenaten

Akhenaten, born around 1380 BC, was an Egyptian pharaoh who ruled during the Eighteen Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. Akhenaten was the second son to the Pharaoh Amenhotep III, but became first in the line of succession following his older brother's death.

He grew up in the royal palace and learned the art of ruling from his father until his death in the year 1353 BC.

During Akhenaten's reign, Egypt was at its peak - it was wealthy, powerful, and respected the world over for its contributions to science and architecture. When he took the throne, the country continued to experience great prosperity; but this isn't what he's most famous for. Akhenaten's reign is most famous for the changes it made to the Ancient Egyptian religion; namely, his effort to switch the people from polytheistic worship (the worship of many gods) to the worship of a single god, Aten.
How did Akhenaten try to change the Egyptian faith?
The first way Akhenaten showed his new faith was by changing his name. When he first took the throne, he was named Amenhotep like his father, but changed it to Akhenaten during his fifth year as pharaoh. This changing of his name represented his commitment to the new religion, and means "Living Spirit of Aten" when translated to English.

For thousands of years, the Egyptians worshipped a respected collective of gods: for example, Bast, Isis, Osiris, Horus, Thoth, and Anubis. To weaken the peoples' faith, Akhenaten built a great number of temples to Aten and closed many of the old ones, going as far as to remove the old gods' names from their inscriptions. Although many of the Egyptian people didn't like this, it didn't trigger revolt in the country - even when Akhenaten changed the location of the capital.
What was the city of Amarna?
Around 1346 BC, Akhenaten ordered that a new city be built to honor Aten. At the time, the city was simply named Akhenaten; but nowadays, archaeologists call it Amarna. Amarna became the capital of Egypt during Akhenaten's reign. He had a new royal palace built there, as well as the Great Temple of Aten. Following his death, it lost much of its significance; the capital city moved back to Thebes, and the royal palace and temple built there were abandoned entirely.
What else was Akhenaten known for?
Aside from his changes to the Egyptian religion, Akhenaten also ordered a transformation in Egyptian art. Before his reign, Egyptian art was characterized by its lack of realism; people were often drawn with their heads facing the wrong way, for example, in case they came alive and attacked their creators. Any "realistic" art was drawn to the image of the ideal, where everybody had perfect faces and bodies. During Akhenaten's rule, Egyptian artists began to depict people as they really were, a style which persisted after his death even when policies did not.

Akhenaten's fame was also boosted by that of his wife, Queen Nefertiti. Nefertiti ruled alongside Akhenaten as the second-in-command of Egypt and was renowned for her wisdom and good looks. She's often referred to in history as "the most beautiful woman in the world," and one of the oldest surviving Egyptian sculptures is a carving of her likeness.

Following his death, Akhenaten's reputation suffered immensely. Because he "defied the traditional ways" by worshipping a different god to the classical Egyptian deities, he was known as "the enemy" in the official records of the pharaohs that succeeded him. The enmity held towards him might be why his body was never discovered - some historians believe that it was destroyed shortly after its burial.
Facts about Akhenaten:

Akhenaten, born around 1380 BC, was an Egyptian pharaoh who ruled during the Eighteen Dynasty of Ancient Egypt.

Akhenaten was the second son to the Pharaoh Amenhotep III.

He grew up in the royal palace, and learned the art of ruling from his father until his death in the year 1353 BC.

Akhenaten's reign is most famous for the changes it made to the Ancient Egyptian religion; namely, he tried to change the religion from polytheistic worship (the worship of many gods) to the worship of a single god, Aten.

When he first took the throne, he was named Amenhotep like his father, but changed it to Akhenaten during his fifth year as pharaoh. This changing of his name represented his commitment to the new religion, and means "Living Spirit of Aten" when translated to English.

To weaken the peoples' faith, Akhenaten built new temples to Aten and closed many of the old ones, going as far as to remove the old gods' names from their inscriptions

Around 1346 BC, Akhenaten ordered that a new city be built to honor Aten. At the time, it was simply named Akhenaten; but nowadays, archaeologists call it Amarna.

Amarna became the capital of Egypt during Akhenaten's reign. He had a new royal palace built there, as well as the Great Temple of Aten.

Akhenaten also ordered a transformation in Egyptian art, which saw a shift towards realism rather than abstract expression.

Akhenaten's fame was also boosted by that of his wife, Queen Nefertiti, who is often referred to as "the most beautiful woman in history."

Following his death, Akhenaten's reputation suffered immensely. He was known as "the enemy" in the official records of the pharaohs that succeeded him, and it's believed that his body might have been destroyed after its burial.

QUESTIONS:
When was Akhenaten born?

What was Akhenaten's name before his fifth year as pharaoh?

Amenhotep (like his father!)

What was the name of the god Akhenaten worshipped?

What was Queen Nefertiti often described as in historical documents?

The most beautiful woman in the world.

Why was Akhenaten despised after his death?

He defied the tradition of Egyptian worship.

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Akhenaten, born around 1380 BC, was an Egyptian pharaoh who ruled during the Eighteen Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. Akhenaten was the second son to the Pharaoh Amenhotep III, but became first in the line of succession following his older brother's death. He grew up in the royal palace and learned the art of ruling from ...

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Akhenaten was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh who abandoned traditional Egyptian polytheism and introduced worship centered on the Aten. Akhenaten tried to change Egypt’s tradition to his culture, but most did ... Read more

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Ancient Egyptian Biography for Kids: Ramses II

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Kids learn about the biography of Ramses II of Ancient Egypt. The greatest of the Egyptian Pharaohs, he ruled for 66 years.

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Ramesses II Ancient Egypt - History for Kids

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Who was Ramesses II? Ramesses II was a pharaoh of Egypt, who ruled from 1279-1213 BC. He was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Egyptian Dynasty, and is arguably the greatest pharaoh of all Egyptian history. Ramesses II was born around 1303 BC. He was the son of the Pharaoh Seti I, who became phara…

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Ramses II was born in 1303 BC. His dad was called Sethi, and his mum was called Tuya. Ramses II was named after his granddad, Ramses I. When Ramses II ... Read more

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National Geographic Kids: Facts About Tutankhamun 

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National Geographic Kids: Facts About Tutankhamun 

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Here at Nat Geo Kids, we know how much our readers love reading facts about Ancient Egypt. Check out the famous 'Boy King', in our five fab Tutankhamun facts..
Tutankhamun facts

1. King Tut was nicknamed the Boy King because he began his reign when he was only nine years old!

2. Tutankhamun died when he was only 18, and his body was mummified, which is how the ancient Egyptians preserved their dead.

Did you know that we have a FREE downloadable Ancient Egypt primary resource, full of helpful Tutankhamun facts? Great for teachers, homeschoolers and parents alike!

3. His golden coffin was buried in a tomb in the Valley Of The Kings (pictured below), surrounded by 5,000 priceless treasures.

4. These treasures included a golden throne, crown and cobra, pottery and big chests like the one pictured here...

5. Along with a golden burial mask, King Tut's sandals were also found in the tomb. These had paintings of his enemies on the soles - so everywhere the king went, he trampled all over his foes!

Want to know more about the Ancient Egyptians and their pharaohs? Then check out this cool clip!

Pictures: Getty Images UK

What did you make to our Tutankhamun facts? Let us know by leaving a comment, below!

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Tutankhamun facts! | National Geographic Kids

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Here at Nat Geo Kids, we love everything Ancient Egypt! Discover five top Tutankhamun facts, one Egypt's most famous Pharaohs, the 'Boy King'...

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Ancient Egyptian Biography for Kids: Tutankhamun

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Kids learn about the biography of Tutankhamun of Ancient Egypt. The pharaoh and boy king famous for the treasures of his tomb.

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Tutankhamun

Tutankhamun or "King Tut" is probably the most well-known Egyptian pharaoh. One of the reasons is that his burial tomb is one of the few that was discovered with everything still in it.

It was common for tomb raiders to steal all of the treasures that were buried with the pharaohs and so very little has ever been found.

The tomb raiders didn't locate King Tut's tomb and we can use the contents of the tomb to learn about the culture and people of ancient Egypt.

When was Tutankhamun born?

King Tut lived from around 1341 to 1323 BC, and because he was only ten years old when he became a pharaoh, he was called the 'boy king'. King Tut's father was the pharaoh Akhenaten.

This pharaoh made complete changes to the religion of Egypt, getting rid of their idea of many gods and changing their worship to one god: Aten, the sun god.

He became unpopular with the people of Egypt and the priests of the many temples, especially when he destroyed the images of all of the other gods.

When he died, many people removed his image and name, hoping everyone would forget about him.

Who Was Tutankhamun?

King Tut's original name was Tutankhaten which means 'the living image of Aten".

After the death of his unpopular father, he changed his name to Tutankhamun which means 'the living image of Amun".

His father had paid so much attention to making changes that he had moved the center of government to another city and ignored all of the foreign policies.

King Tut relocated the city back to Thebes and rebuilt some of the temples for the gods.

His hope was to restore the popularity of the pharaoh and try to fix the damage that his father had done.

Tutankhamun Married

King Tut did get married but he and his wife did not have any children that survived.

Many people have tried to study King Tut's mummy to see the reason that he died, but no one has come up with anything definite.

King Tut died at the age of 19 and after he was buried there was very little information in the usual records for pharaohs.

His tomb was never touched and so the people that study history didn't even know that it existed.

Who Discovered Tutankhamun's Tomb

In 1922, British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered the burial tomb of King Tut.

This was the first tomb that had everything in it and was untouched.

Ancient Egyptians believed that when a person died they would enter an 'afterlife' where they would live in the same way that they did when they were alive.

In order to do that, they would need to take everything they needed with them.

The burial tombs of pharaohs were piled with all of their possessions: beds, chariots, games, artwork, walking sticks, weapons, and even food.Advertisement

Pharaohs had the most highly crafted items, many were made of gold, imported wood, inlaid gems, and ivory.

King Tut's Tomb

When Howard Carter discovered King Tut's tomb, he found a huge chamber with four rooms filled with everything King Tut would need in the afterlife.

The most prized item was a 'sarcophagus' which is usually the burial box for the mummy.

For King Tut, they placed the mummy in one sarcophagus and then that was in two additional ones.

The third or last one was made of gold and that is the famous 'gold' image that has become the symbol of King Tut that we know today.

What was found in King Tut's tomb

It took seventeen years to go through all of the things in the tomb and catalog (write down) each item.

One of the things that Carter noticed when he first looked into the tomb is that many of the things appeared to have been tossed into the tomb, rather than organized.

Another thing that was later noticed is that one of the sarcophagi may have belonged to someone else and they changed it for King Tut.

It has been thought that the reason for this is that King Tut died so suddenly and unexpectedly that they didn't have time to make a sarcophagus for him.

The treasures and artifacts from King Tut's tomb became so popular that the Egyptians allowed them to go on a world tour and be shown at museums in many cities.

Tutankhamun Facts for Kids

Tutankhamun was born a prince in Egypt's around 1341 BC.

Tutankhamun lived around 1341 to 1323 BC

His original name was Tutankhaten

His father was the pharaoh Akhenaten

His tomb is in the Valley of the Kings

British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered the burial tomb in 1922

The objects in the [original] tomb were in four rooms.

5,000 items were found inside Tutankhamun tomb.

It took Carter eight years to remove and catalog everything

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Tutankhamun Facts for Kids - History for Kids

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Tutankhamun or "King Tut" is probably the most well-known Egyptian pharaoh. One of the reasons is that his burial tomb is one of the few that was discovered with everything still in it. It was common for tomb raiders to steal all of the treasures that were buried with the pharaohs and so very little ...

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The BBC (British Broadcasting Company): Who was Tutankhamun? 

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The BBC (British Broadcasting Company): Who was Tutankhamun? 

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Tutankhamun was a young Pharaoh who ruled over Ancient Egypt many thousands of years ago. Find out more with this BBC Bitesize Year 5/6 History guide.

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The pharaoh that wouldn't be forgotten - Kate Green