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The Cleopatras
The Cleopatras: The Forgotten Queens of Egypt | Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones
1 post | 1 read
The definitive story of the seven Cleopatras, the powerful goddess-queens of ancient Egypt One of history’s most iconic figures, Cleopatra is rightly remembered as a clever and charismatic ruler. But few today realize that she was the last in a long line of Egyptian queens who bore that name. In The Cleopatras, historian Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones tells the dramatic story of these seven incomparable women, vividly recapturing the lost world of Hellenistic Egypt and tracing the kingdom’s final centuries before its fall to Rome. The Cleopatras were Greek-speaking descendants of Ptolemy, the general who conquered Egypt alongside Alexander the Great. They were closely related as mothers, daughters, sisters, half-sisters, and nieces. Each wielded absolute power, easily overshadowing their husbands or sons, and all proved to be shrewd and capable leaders. Styling themselves as goddess-queens, the Cleopatras ruled through the canny deployment of arcane rituals, opulent spectacles, and unparalleled wealth. They navigated political turmoil and court intrigues, led armies into battle and commanded fleets of ships, and ruthlessly dispatched their dynastic rivals. The Cleopatras is a fascinating and richly textured biography of seven extraordinary women, restoring these queens to their deserved place among history’s greatest rulers.
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shanaqui
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Apparently reading for four hours in total on Thursday wasn't enough for me, despite being 4x as much as I usually manage, so I read for another hour before bed to finish this. I liked it a lot, though as ever I'd have liked it more with numbered citations and I wish the nature of evidence for his assertions had been discussed, e.g. *why* does he assert that "Chickpea" and Cleopatra IV were a love match? On what evidence?!