Cleopatra: A Life

On her way to meet Mark Antony in Antioch, Cleopatra is aware that the balance of power has shifted between them. She has borne him a son and daughter who are in line for the Egyptian throne, she has sole control of Rome’s entire grain supply, and her vast wealth is the only thing that can underwrite Antony’s long-simmering campaign against the Parthians.

Arriving in Antioch, Cleopatra is pleased to witness Mark Antony accept and recognize their children as his own, and equally pleased to accept Antony’s gift of vast territories throughout Lebanon, Libya, Turkey, and most of the Mediterranean coast. In a single trip, Cleopatra shores up Egyptian, and possibly Roman, succession for her children, and essentially reconstitutes the Ptolemaic empire at its third-century height. A few months later, Cleopatra sees off Antony at the Parthian front. She is pregnant with another one of his children. She returns to Alexandria, and declares a new era in Egypt.

Mark Antony’s campaign in Parthia is disastrous, revealing several weaknesses in his army, as well as the unwillingness of local sovereigns to recognize Antony’s position. He calls Cleopatra to a Syrian shore, seeking reinforcements and supplies, which she gives him.