Cleopatra's Family Tree

The Ancestry of Egypt's Most Famous Queen

Ancient Egyptian papyrus
Bravo1954/Getty Images 

During the Ptolemaic Period in Ancient Egypt, several queens named Cleopatra rose to power. The most famous and influential of these was Cleopatra VII, the daughter of Ptolemy XII (Ptolemy Auletes) and Cleopatra V. She was highly educated and spoke nine languages, and came to power at the age of 18 in March of 51 B.C., ruling jointly with her 10-year-old brother, Ptolemy XIII, whom she eventually overthrew.

Incest and Conquest

As the last true pharaoh of Egypt, Cleopatra married two of her own brothers (as was custom in the royal family), won a Civil War against Ptolemy XIII, was mistress to and fathered a son (Caesarion, Ptolemy XIV) with Julius Caesar, and finally met and married her love, Mark Antony. 

Cleopatra’s reign ended with her suicide, at the age of 39, after she and Antony were defeated by Caesar’s heir, Octavian, at the Battle of Actium. It is believed that she chose the bite fo an Egyptian cobra snake (asp) as the means of her death to ensure her immortality as a goddess. Caesarion briefly reigned after her death before Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire.  

Cleopatra's Family Tree

Cleopatra VII 
b: 69 BC in Egypt
d: 30 BC in Egypt

Cleopatra's father and mother both were children of the same father, one by a wife, one by a concubine. Therefore, her family tree has fewer branches, some of them unknown. You will see the same names crop up frequently, going back six generations.

Cleopatra's family tree

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Family Tree of Ptolemy VIII (Paternal and Maternal Great-Grandfather of Cleopatra VII)

Cleopatra's family tree

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Family Tree of Cleopatra III (Paternal and Maternal Great-Grandmother of Cleopatra VII)

Cleopatra III was the daughter of a brother and sister, so her grandparents and great-grandparents were the same on both sides.

Cleopatra's family tree

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Powell, Kimberly. "Cleopatra's Family Tree." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/queen-cleopatras-family-tree-4083409. Powell, Kimberly. (2023, April 5). Cleopatra's Family Tree. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/queen-cleopatras-family-tree-4083409 Powell, Kimberly. "Cleopatra's Family Tree." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/queen-cleopatras-family-tree-4083409 (accessed March 29, 2024).