Cleopatra: A Beautiful Mind

She has remained the standard for beauty for more than 2,0000 years, but history's original bombshell was a lot more than a pretty face. In fact, she may have been history's most intelligent leader who outsmarted the Roman empire, twice. 

In this episode, we discuss the life and death of Cleopatra. In our first interlude, we witness the boat ride where Cleopatra and Ceaser join forces and join lips... 

Next, Mark walks us through the rise and fall of Egypt's last dynasty as we witness Cleopatra's turbulent, vibrant life and tragic end. 

In our What If? scenario, Cleopareta uses her political gifts to make deals, and expand Egypt's wealth and power. In our final interlude, we take a boat ride with the son of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra, Caesarion, as he springs a fiery trap on the Roman fleet. 

Put down your eyeliner and press play.  

Transcript

Introduction
Hello, my name is Mark Bouffard. Welcome to What If World History?

Like you, I share a passion for civilizations, cultures, and stories of the past. This show looks at the epic events that sewed the fabric of our history and sculpted the world we now know. And it imagines: What If they happened a little bit differently?

Would it change the outcome? What might the “new history” look like?

I invite you to explore the possibilities with me.

Before we begin, I’d like to take a quick minute to ask you to drop a review on the podcast in whatever app you are listening. You can also follow What if World History? on Facebook and LinkedIn. We are @spin_history on Twitter and hypothetical history on Instagram.

If this is your first time listening, we will explore events as they happened in our history, then we will envision an alternative timeline and show how it will shape a new future. Along the way, we will put you in the shoes of some of the key players through a series of Diaries.

Let’s take a trip.

Our episode today is:
Cleopatra: A Beautiful Mind
In this episode, we will look at the tempestuous life of the original sexy siren, Cleopatra. We see history unfold as she brings Rome to its knees, twice. And we imagine a timeline in which the Goddess of Egypt lives an extended, charmed life and unites the Middle East under her rule.


Sealed with A Kiss
Cleopatra VII
The Nile River
October 22, 48 B.C.

The sun-baked the waters of the Nile, and the luxurious barge meandered slowly down the wide river. Large dragonflies danced among the reeds of the shoreline marshes. Waves of tsetse flies rose up from the water to swarm any unlucky victim. Leathery crocodiles peaked their snouts from the waterline to watch the boat flow by.

About 30 feet long, the wooden barge glistened as the sun bounced off the metal plates that protected its hull. Rowers below decks slowly dipped their oars into the cool waters of the river in rhythmic unison. A vaulted canopy traveled the length of the boat to protect its regal occupants from the summer sun.

Lounging on its deck was the queen of Egypt, Cleopatra the Seventh, ruler of the ancient kingdom and goddess of the Nile. Dressed in flowing purple and white robes intertwined with pearls, she reclined on a plush, golden couch. She was serviced by dozens of servants who saw to every need.

Although a cool breeze followed the boat down the flowing river, Cleopatra was fanned by three servants with palm fronds and ostrich feathers. The purpose was not so much to cool her as it was to keep the flies and other biting insects off of her precious skin. To ensure the focus of the bugs was not on her, an unlucky servant, dressed only in a simple loincloth, stood a few feet from her covered in thick, oozing honey.

Cleopatra’s focus was not on the sites of the river. Rather it was on the lean, angular Roman who lounged on a smaller couch a few feet from her. Julius Caesar was used to being the center of attention everywhere. As a general of the Roman legions and consul of the Empire, the handsome Caesar commanded awe and respect wherever he went. But in this far-off Middle Eastern land, Cleopatra was his focus, and he was enraptured by the beauty of this exotic goddess.

At 5’ 2” and about 130 pounds she was a small delicate woman. But she pulled attention towards her like a collapsing star. Her eyes were a dark chocolate, her skin an alabaster white. Her hair was braided in long, raven rows that hung around the sharp angles of her silken face. Her nose was gently larger than her other features, but that imperfection seemed to radiate beauty.

They conversed in Latin, although she could have spoken fluently with him in five other languages, including Greek. He had only met her a few hours earlier when they began their river-bound journey, but Caesar felt like he had connected with the most important person in his life. In many ways, he was right.

The focus of their intense conversation was the prospect of unifying their sprawling empires. Ceasar extolled the infinite vastness of the Roman territories, its people, and most importantly, its legions. She countered with the breadth of gold, wheat, and silk resources that laid the foundation for the ungodly wealth of her kingdom.

As the temperature rose with the sun, so did the heat between the two. It soon became obvious of the advantageousness of their union. And their attraction grew with the understanding of each other’s power. A gentle handshake sealed the deal, and Ceasar leaned into her to claim his Egyptian prize.

And with that first embrace and passionate kiss, a union is indelibly formed that will alter the fate of the Roman Empire. A mighty conqueror will fall, the fortunes of the Middle East will falter, and thousands of soldiers, sailors, and slaves will be put to the sword.


Part 1: The Seventh of Her Name
The story of pharaohs and kings and queens of Egypt has fascinated the world since the time of Caesar. Keep in mind when the Romans ruled the world, the pyramids had already been around for more than 2000 years.

With no one to speak ancient languages or decipher cuneiform from thousands of years ago, many of these kings and queens were lost to most of our historical records. It is only now, in the last 100 years, that Egyptology and proper archeology have begun to recognize these antediluvian rulers.

In Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt, Joyce Tyldesley writes: In approximately 3100 B.C., the independent city-states of the narrow Nile Valley and the broad Nile Delta united to form one long realm. Lines of heroic, semi-divine kings emerged to rule this new land. Three thousand years of dynastic rule were to see at least 300 kings claiming sovereignty. Those 300 kings were married to several thousand queens, of whom Cleopatra VII was the last.

One group of rulers was, however, never forgotten. The Ptolemies, the last dynasty of independent Egypt, enjoyed three centuries of rule sandwiched between the conquest of Macedonian Alexander the Great and the conquest of the Roman Octavian.

Cleopatra’s story starts with Alexander the Great, who dies in 325 B.C. One of his generals, Ptolemy 1, took over the rule of Egypt from the great city of Alexandria. For the next 275 years, these Greek-speaking rulers would reign as gods among the Egyptian people.

Before we dive into Cleopatra’s remarkable story, we need to highlight a few things about ancient Egypt. First, it was incredibly wealthy, in large part because of its greatest asset, the Nile River.

The ancient Egyptians called it Ar, meaning "black," a reference to the rich, dark sediment that the Nile's waters carried from the Horn of Africa northward and deposited in Egypt as the river flooded its banks each year in late summer. That surge of water and nutrients turned the Nile Valley into productive farmland and made it possible for Egyptian civilization to develop in the midst of a desert.

Tyldesley writes: Egypt’s phenomenal wealth derived from her abundant natural resources: the gold in the deserts, the papyrus in the marshes, and, above all, the rich agricultural land. The Ptolemies made some improvements, including new iron tools, new crops, new harvesting policies, new methods of irrigation, and vast tracts of newly reclaimed land.

The other thing to know about the Ptolemy dynasty is that they were big believers in incest marriage, which was not taboo for the time.

In Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt, Joyce Tyldesley writes: the Kings and Queens of Egypt allied themselves with the gods, who at the very beginning of time, had been more than happy to marry their sisters. This kept non-royals at arm’s length, restricted the number of potential claimants to the throne, and ensured the future queen could be trained from birth to understand her demanding role.

More than a dozen of Cleopatra’s ancestors tied the knot with cousins or siblings, and it’s likely that her own parents were brother and sister. In keeping with this custom, Cleopatra eventually married both of her adolescent brothers, each of whom served as her ceremonial spouse and co-regent at different times during her reign.

Incest may not be a surprise, but the Ptolemies also really liked killing each other to take the throne. Their 300-year history is filled with double-crosses and regicide by sons over fathers, sisters over brothers, even mothers over children.

Against this backdrop of wealth, murder, international intrigue, and deification, Cleopatra is born in early 69 B.C. She was the seventh Cleopatra, whose name meant literally “Renowned in Her Ancestry”.

But despite the nomenclature, history has lost the other Cleopatra’s and only this one remains in its importance. Because during her brief life, she will bring the world to her orbit, not just with her beauty, but with her guile, international machinations, and most of all, her intelligence.


Part 2: Divine Beauty, Luminous Intellect
Brightside.me has an interesting article that details Cleopatra’s look. It says:
After studying various Cleopatra sculptures and her images on ancient coins, scientists came to the conclusion that she had a large nose, rather narrow lips, and a sharp chin. She was 5 feet tall, and plump, when compared to today’s beauty standards.

For his part, the ancient writer Plutarch claimed that Cleopatra’s beauty was “not altogether incomparable,” and that it was instead her mellifluous speaking voice and “irresistible charm” that made her so desirable.

According to legends, she’d take baths with warm donkey milk and honey for her complexion. Cleopatra’s famous black eyeliner was not for decoration, but for health. It contained kohl and helped her to avoid eye infections that were quite common in those days.

The queen painted her lips and cheeks bright red. To keep her skin soft and clear, Cleopatra used rose water as a toner. She used henna as natural nail polish which gave her fingernails a lovely reddish-brown color.

In Cleopatra A Life, author Stacy Shiff writes: Pearls were the diamonds of her day. She coiled long ropes of pearls around her neck and braided more into her hair. She wore others sewn into the fabric of her tunics. Those were ankle-length and lavishly colored, of fine Chinese silk or gauzy linen, traditionally worn belted, or with a brooch or ribbon. Over the tunic went an often-transparent mantle, through which the bright folds of fabric were clearly visible. On her feet, Cleopatra wore jeweled sandals with patterned soles. 

The Queen was rightfully considered one of the most educated women of her time. She was amazingly graceful and could perfectly play the lute and harp, and she also sang and danced. Additionally, Cleopatra knew multiple languages, even becoming the first Ptolemaic ruler to learn the native Egyptian language, so she rarely used translators, communicating with foreigners directly.

Her knowledge of literature, art, politics, and philosophy amazed her interlocutors. She was educated in mathematics, oratory, and astronomy, and Egyptian sources later described her as a ruler “who promoted the ranks of scholars and enjoyed their company.”

Her palace, built over thousands of years, was elevated to glamor under the Ptolemaic dynasty.

In Cleopatra A Life, author Stacy Shiff writes: The palace included well over a hundred guest rooms. No Hellenistic monarchs did opulence better than the Ptolemies, the preeminent importers of Persian carpets, of ivory and gold, tortoiseshell, and panther skin. As a general rule, any surface that could be ornamented was--with garnet and topaz, with brilliant mosaic, with gold. The coffered ceilings were studded with agate and lapis, the cedar doors with mother-of-pearl, the gates overlaid with gold and silver. While Corinthian capitals shimmered with ivory and gold, Cleopatra’s palace boasted the greatest profusion of precious materials known at that time.

As we move into her story, please stop thinking of her as a vapid beauty who sexed her way to the top. She is an exceptionally strong individual; a survivor with the power to dominate and diminish those who surround her. It is this intoxicating, beguiling queen who will charm a Roman emperor, Julius Caesar, and take her seat on the throne of global power.


Part 3: Caesar: Lover, Conqueror, Murder Victim
In Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt, Joyce Tyldesley writes: In 60 Pompey, Crassus and Julius Caesar united to form the first triumvirate. Seizing his moment, Auletes (Cleopatra’s father) offered Pompey and Caesar 6,000 sliver talents, an almost unimaginable sum, the equivalent of half of Egypt’s entire annual revenue, in exchange for recognition as Egypt’s true king. As a result, Auletes sacrificed his dignity, saved his crown, and bought Egypt a few more years of independence.

When in 51, Auletes died an apparently natural death, the throne passed as he had planned to the eighteen-year-old Cleopatra and her eldest brother the ten-year-old Ptolemy XIII. They inherited an insecure land suffering from high inflation and unreliable Nile floods, and their father’s extensive debts.

Tyldesley surmises: Husband or brother, Ptolemy, as king, should have been the dominant partner in the relationship. But he was a minor, and for the first year and a half of their joint reign, Cleopatra becomes the effective monarch, while her brother was pushed into the background.

But that only lasted a few years. A brewing civil war between the two leaders, their factions, and their armies threatened to tear Egypt apart. Rome had a vested interest in Egypt, and let them maintain self-autonomy on the condition that its ample harvests kept the empire fed.

The prospect of civil war put that in jeopardy so Ceasar was sent to decide on whom to appoint to the throne. The loser would presumably be assassinated, exiled, or commit suicide. Ptolemy XIII had allowed Ceasar’s rival, Pompey, to be murdered on his shores so Ceasar did owe him a debt. But it did not prove to be enough.

Her brother’s forces managed to surround the castle to keep Cleopatra from meeting with Caesar, but she snuck into the castle by boat, through the docks, and surprised him in his room. She was dressed regally in flowing robes, perfect make-up, and, as always full of charm and wit.

Tyldesley highlights the man Cleopatra met: Caesar was the supreme celebrity of his age, known by reputation throughout the civilized world. Cleopatra would have understood that she was facing a man of exceptional drive and ambition. An excellent politician, orator, and author, a superb horseman, and an extremely successful, though by no means, infallible general. Caesar was known to be both good-humored and amusing. And he had a reputation for sexual excess that his legionaries repeated with awe and pride: he was “every woman’s man and every man’s woman.”

She goes on to write: Caesar was older and more experienced in all aspects of life than Cleopatra, but the two nevertheless had much in common. Both were ruthlessly ambitious and both were prepared to take prodigious risks to achieve their ambitions. Both had a knack for persuading ordinary people to love them, yet both were to a certain extent lonely and insecure. Caesar had lost his only daughter and suffered from terrible nightmares; Cleopatra, estranged from her younger siblings, had lost her mother, two sisters, and the father who had taught her politics. Caesar needed Egypt’s wealth, while Cleopatra needed Rome’s protection. So who seduced whom?

Regardless, Caesar declared both Ptolemy XIII and Cleopatra, at 22, as joint rulers, but that didn’t quite work out. Ptolemy’s forces surrounded the Alexandrian palace and kept them under siege for more than a year until Roman forces arrived and drove them from the city. The rebellious forces were routed in a battle along the banks of the Nile and her brother drowned trying to escape.

Never one to rule alone, her youngest brother Ptolemy XIV, age 12, was appointed co-ruler. In reality, though Ceaser lived with Cleopatra, and she soon bore him a son, Caesarion. These years were stable in Egypt while Caesar’s power grew in Rome.

In 46 B.C. Caesar, Cleopatra, and Ptolemy XIV went to Rome in a combination victory parade, diplomatic mission, and trade voyage. It was important for the entire Middle East and Southern Europe to see stability in the region’s most wealthy nation. And Caesar was returning to claim his power.

But his dreams of sole leadership were ended on the Ides of March. As history has detailed, instead of the royal diadem, Caesar received multiple, fatal stab wounds as he presided over the Senate chambers. 

In Cleopatra A Life, author Stacy Shiff writes: With the possible exception of Calpurnia, to whom the mutilated corpse was delivered, it is unlikely that the news affected anyone as profoundly as Cleopatra. No matter how it registered on a personal level, Caesar’s death represented a catastrophic political blow. She had lost her champion.


Part 4: The Goddess Lives
Cleopatra had hoped Ceasarion, their son together, would be named Caesar’s heir, but the will named his grandnephew Octavian as the recipient of his wealth. Sensing danger and instability, which were both correct, Cleopatra’s headed back to Egpyt in April of 46 B.C. A few months later, under mysterious circumstances, probably poisoning at her direction, her brother and co-ruler Ptolemy XIV suddenly died.

In a stroke of brilliance, and understanding of Egyptian culture, Cleopatra has Ceasarion declared king. This positions her as Queen Mother, and through her self-promotion, the new Isis, Mother of Egpyt. She is now not just a queen, but the goddess reincarnated in the eyes of her people.

This brings reverence to her and stability to her country. Over the next few years, Cleopatra dutifully manages the fortunes of Egypt and delivers general prosperity to its people. She proves herself to be brilliant in the machinations of commerce, trade, agriculture, and construction.

But in Rome, the second triumvirate of Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus, was falling apart. And their battles would soon bring Rome back to her palace door.

By the end of 42 BC, Octavian had gained control over much of the western half of the Roman Republic and Antony the eastern half, with Lepidus largely marginalized. Antony set up his headquarters in the Turkish city of Tarsos.

Over the next few months, he summoned Cleopatra to him, since Egypt was under his peripheral control. But she coyly ignored the letters, knowing it would increase her leverage. She proved to be right.

Finally, she agreed to travel to him, but under her terms. And in her usual flair for stagecraft, created a floating spectacle that would enchant all who viewed it.

In Cleopatra A Life, author Stacy Shiff writes: In a semiliterate world, the imagery mattered. She had no need for magic arts and charms given her barge featured a gilded stern and soaring purple sails. As they dipped in and out of the water, silver oars glinted broadly in the sun. Their slap and clatter provided a rhythm section for the orchestra of flutes, pipes, and lyres assembled on deck. Had Cleopatra not already cemented her genius for stage management she did so now. She herself reclined beneath a gold-spangled canopy, dressed as Venus in a painting, while beautiful young boys, like painted Cupids, stood at her sides and fanned her. Her fairest maids were likewise dressed like sea nymphs and graces, some steering the rudder, some working at the ropes. Wondrous odors from countless incense offerings diffused themselves along the river banks.

Certainly, the spectacle of arrival confirms she knew his debaucherous tastes. She was among the few in the world who could indulge them. For all the travails in the previous years, she remained the richest person in the Mediterranean.

She hosted Antony and his generals for two days of epic feasts aboard her yacht. At meal’s end on both nights, she sent her guests off with everything they had admired: the textiles, the gem-studded tableware, and the couches.

Plutarch wrote: Her beauty was in itself not altogether incomparable, nor such as to strike those who saw her but conversing with her had an irresistible charm. And her presence, combined with the persuasiveness of her discourse had something stimulating about it. There was sweetness also in the tones of her voice; and her tongue, like an instrument of many strings, could readily turn to whatever language she pleased.

At forty-two, curly-haired and square-jawed, Mark Antony was still a chiseled, broad-shouldered paragon of rude health. The two immediately fell to their passions but were also intoxicated by what the other could do for them.

In Cleopatra A Life, author Stacy Shiff writes: Of all the Romans in all the towns in all the empire, Cleopatra had particular reason to cultivate this one. Antony had equal reason to do the same. If it was convenient for Cleopatra to fall in love, or instep, with the man to whom she essentially answered, it was no less for Antony to fall in with the woman who could single-handedly underwrite his military ambitions.

Shiff says: A dazzling military victory would, once and for all, guarantee Antony’s supremacy at home. And whenever a Roman dreamed of attacking Parthia, his thoughts turned inevitably, necessarily, to Cleopatra, the only monarch who could fund such a massive operation.

She backs his campaign with the support of 200 ships, and he transfers ownership of Cyprus and other ancestral lands back to her control. To further cement the relationship, Cleopatra soon bore him twins, Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene II.

But fortune does not always favor the bold. His campaign in 36 BC was a disaster. He lost more than 30,000 men, some of whom switched sides. Defeated, his army limped back to Alexandria, and he sulked in the palace with Cleopatra and his new son, Ptolemy Philadelphus.

Octavian cemented his hold over the Roman empire during the next few years, as Antony was absent in Egypt. Tensions were allayed when Antony returned to Italy and married Octavian’s niece, Octavia.

By all accounts, he was genuinely happy and she bore him a son and daughter. But the siren song of Cleopatra drew him back to Egypt, and Octavian would soon send an army and a navy to defeat his former co-consul.

The forces meet at the naval Battle of Actium. Although Cleopatra’s navy was larger, it was not as well trained as Octavian’s professional fleet. They were soundly defeated and Antony was forced to flee to Cyrene to raise an army while Cleopatra sailed to Alexandria to maintain her hold on power.

After lengthy discussions, no terms could be reached, so Octavian invaded Egypt in 30 B.C. Antony’s smaller army was quickly defeated and his navy surrendered to Octavian. Holed up in their palace, Cleopatra locked herself in a tomb with her attendants and sent word to Antony she had committed suicide.

Distraught and knowing he would soon be executed by Octavian, he stabbed himself in the stomach and died a slow agonizing death. Cleopatra had him brought to her tomb where he died in her arms.

Troops stormed her stone room and she was captured alive by Octavian. In a show of strength and defiance, she told him that she would not be led in triumph through the city of Rome. He promised only that he would keep her and her children alive.

Sensing his insincerity, and hoping to secure the kingdom for her children, Cleopatra poisoned herself right before Octavian’s guards could stop her suicide. But even in death, she managed one last piece of stagecraft.

In Cleopatra A Life, author Stacy Shiff writes: Cleopatra lay on a golden couch, probably an Egyptian-style bed with lion paws for legs and lion heads at its corners. Majestically, and meticulously arrayed in her most beautiful apparel, she gripped in her hands the crook and flail. She was perfectly composed and completely dead. Her attendant, Charmion’s last words before succumbing to the same poison were: It is indeed most fine, and befitting the descendant of so many kings.” She then collapsed in a heap at her queen’s side.

Despite Roman gossip of the time, she did not induce the bite of a snake. Most likely she swallowed a lethal drink like hemlock and opium. Cleopatra suffered little. There were no shuddering convulsions, which cobra or asp venom would have induced. This toxin’s effect was more narcotic than epileptic, her death was peaceful, swift, and essentially painless.

As a result, the reign of pharaohs, kings, queens, and gods expired on that couch. Eons of tradition, religion, myth, and magic perished with the death of Cleopatra. We may not know the moniker Ptolemy, but the name and mythology of Cleopatra would live on as a symbol of beauty, power, and intelligence for the next two thousand years.



What If? Scenario
After Cleopatra’s regal death, her son ruled for a total of 18 days before he was murdered at Octavian’s direction. This brought Egypt into formal Roman control as a province. And Octavian was renamed Augustus, which means “The Revered”, and became the first Emperor of Rome.

Quick side note, when August Ceasar dies in 19 A.D. his estate was valued at $4.6 trillion in today’s dollars because he personally owned a fifth of the wealth of the Roman empire.

Moving on, in our What If? scenario an unlikely ally changes the outcome of Octavian’s campaign and installs Cleopatra as sole ruler of, not just Egypt, but the entire Middle East.

King Herod was a major player in Mediterranean politics. He is famous in history for killing the firstborn son of every Judean peasant in an attempt to assassinate Jesus. It was his port, hospitality, and supplies that helped Octavian carry the day against Antony and Cleopatra.

But Herod chafed under Roman rule as a vassal ruler. And he was an opportunist that would do anything to further his cause. At one point in his life, he executed several members of his family, including his wife, to consolidate his power.

Herod had originally backed Antony, who had appointed him governor of Syria, in his battles against Octavian. But at a crucial time of need, he did not send troops at the decisive moment Antony requested them. Herod had used a recent earthquake as an excuse to keep his forces in Judea.

In our What If? scenario, Herod’s well-trained navy, and formidable army bolster Antony’s legions and Cleopatra’s ships to swing the tide of battle. And leading the navy to victory would be an athletic, tall, 17-year-old commander Caesarion, the progeny of one of Rome’s greatest military leaders, and Julius Ceasar’s only biological son.



Slaughter at Sea
Ptolemy XV Caesarion
Alexandrian Coast
September 2, 31 B.C.

The triremes of the Roman navy were common to the era. Lighter wood that valued speed and maneuverability over durability. Interestingly the boats had to be carried out of the water each night or they would become too waterlogged to use.

But Cleopatra had directed her shipbuilders to use heavier wood and shorten the lengths of the bow. As a result, the Egyptian navy that took to the crystal blue waters off of the Alexandrian coast were essentially floating tanks.

The commander stood at the bow of his ship staring into the blue horizon. His brown curly hair flipped in the salty breeze. Despite being just 17, he was taller than most men, with a muscular, thin frame that glided in movement. His face was angular, like his father’s, but his eyes were a brilliant green that amplified his gaze. Ceasarion’s bearing gravitated respect, and his men were fully confident they would be victorious, and alive, at the end of the chaotic day.

The rising sun had painted the sky an ascending palette of orange, yellow, and bright blue. Herod’s Judean ships had located the Roman navy. Caesarion’s ships had tacked throughout the night to ensure the morning wind would be in their sails. The movement was driven primarily by oarsmen, but he used sails to maneuver into position and conserve the energy that would be badly needed in a few short hours.

Soon, his keen eyesight spotted the ships in the distance. Caesarion ordered his fleet to lower sails and drop oars. He also commanded his captains to bring the barrels of foul-smelling jelly to their decks.

The Roman admiral maneuvered his lightships into rows vertical to the ships before him. The plan, as was common, was to swiftly move amongst the enemy’s boats and use their maneuverability to ram the sides and sink the ships.

Caesarion mirrored the movement and presented his ships for the rolling skirmish. Rapid drum beats and harsh voices drove the oarsmen to increase speed, and the oak oars began to slap the water in furious strokes.

On the undulating decks, crude, small catapults were assembled and pointed towards the charging ships. Loaded into the cradle of each was a gelatinous, odorous green mixture. The Egyptian alchemists called it napalm since it used oil boiled down from palm leaves.

The slower heavier Egyptian ships waited for the speedy Roman vessels. In a few short minutes, the ships glided amongst each other in a cacophony of shouting, breaking wood, and clashing metal.

Caesarion ordered each ship to launch its supply of napalm barrels amongst the lead ships in each row. Once the barrels crashed onto the decks of the ships archers with flaming arrows launched their deadly missiles at the hapless boats.

In a rush of superheated air, acrid smoke, and burning wood, the ships alighted row by row. Dead in the water, the Roman ships behind them were forced to move out of position and set themselves as perfect targets for the Egyptian catapults.

In a matter of hours, the ships of the Roman navy were fleeing, burning, or at the bottom of the sea. Caesarion’s ships largely avoided the flaming waters by deploying their sails and using their fresh oarsman to quickly maneuver away.

Caesarion’s chicanery, deft deployment of his trap, and the sturdy build of his ships had turned an assumed defeat into glorious victory. And in doing so, he turned the fortunes of fate to his favor, and served notice to Rome, that Egypt was not yet ready to fall under its control.



What If? Aftermath
With Caesarion’s victory at the naval Battle of Actium, Octavian’s campaign stalled. If the Egyptian navy had control over the southern ports of the Mediterranean, reinforcement, and resupply of his troops would be difficult, if not impossible.

Octavian could retreat back to Italy, which would be viewed as a failure, or he could attack Antony’s smaller forces, and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Octavian, in all his campaigns, never retreated so the only choice was forward to battle.

In the Battle of the Nile Delta, as it would be called, Antony’s six Roman legions were bolstered by the Egyptian army, and to Octavian’s surprise, phalanx soldiers from Judea under the leadership of Herod the Great. This formidable army, of veteran Roman soldiers, Egyptian cavalry, archers and charioteers, and pike-wielding Judeans, fought with Octavian in the low lands of the Nile River in early 30 B.C.

It was a Pyrrhic victory. Each side fought their opponent to a standstill, with significant casualties on both sides. At the end of the battle, both armies withdrew to resupply, reinforce and re-evaluate. The fortunes of Rome and Egypt still hung in the balance.

Cleopatra’s emissaries approached Octavian with an intriguing compromise. If Octavian marched his army back to Rome, Antony would renounce all titles to the Roman empire and leave Octavian as sole ruler. In return, Ptolemaic lands in the Middle East would be restored and Cleopatra and Caesarion would be recognized as the rightful, independent rulers of Egypt. To ensure goodwill, 200 vessels of grain shipments would be guaranteed to the empire each year. That would be enough to feed Southern Italy for a month.

It was an offer too good to pass up, which Cleopatra already knew when she devised it. Octavian acknowledged his agreement and withdrew his army to Rome, where he paraded through the streets on his way to crown himself Augustus Caesar, First Emperor of Rome.

Herod was rewarded with formal recognition as King of Judea and was given additional lands to expand his kingdom. His gamble had paid off handsomely. Antony retired to the palace of Alexandria, to live a life of luxury, and became a dutiful, but still fun-loving husband to Cleopatra.

Cleopatra bore two more children, one girl named Tereza Philopator, and one boy named Claudian Ptolemy XVII. With a constant eye to the future, she saw to the marriage of her daughters to kingdoms in the Middle East, which strengthened her control over the region.

She would die in her sleep, of natural causes, at the significant age of 53, the same as her father’s. Her funeral would last for 15 days and display the wealth and abundance of Egypt with feasts, parades, dancing, and gladiator fights. Her tomb, which stands to this day, is the size of a Roman temple and gilded with gold, lapis, and mother of pearl. Her coffin is the largest single piece of gold in the world. It weighs more than 400 pounds and is bedazzled with pearls and rare gems.

Caesarion ruled for more than 40 years and oversaw a significant modernization of the Egyptian economy. In addition to building canals to ensure agricultural irrigation, he constructed five shipyards to create the largest navy in the Mediterranean. For decades, his sturdy triremes patrolled the coast and ports of Africa and the Middle East, while its cargo vessels became the lifeline for commerce across the entire sea.

For the next 300 years, Alexandria became the fulcrum for commerce, intellect, and culture across the entire Mediterranean.

When Cleopatra was given the throne of Egpyt, the country was deeply in debt to Greek moneylenders, under pseudo control of the Roman empire, and relied heavily on the floodwaters of the Nile to feed its economy.

During the 50 years of her reign, she twice wrested control from Rome using her guile, charm, and seduction of its leaders. Cleopatra knew the future of her dynasty rested on control of Mediterranean shipping. And she foresaw that the waters of the Nile and farmlands of the Delta could be controlled with modern engineering techniques.

Cleopatra has been held as the paragon of beauty for more than 2000 years, but to know her, is to be enchanted by the depth of her intellect and the incandescence of her personality. In a world full of gods and kings that ruled over the earth and its minions, we will remember Cleopatra, Queen of Egpyt, who led the way to a better future for her people, and the Middle East.


Conclusion
Thank you for joining me, Mark Bouffard, on this trip. This show is produced by me, Mark Bouffard, and Beto McQuade. It is mixed and edited by Beto McQuade. The music you hear is Shane Ivers of silvermansound.com.

Don’t forget to review, like, and subscribe to this podcast. Check out our blogs on whatifworldhistory.com and follow us on your favorite social media channel.

This has been What If World History? In our next episode, we will look at the events of 9/11, and we will imagine a world where the terrorism threat is extinguished before the horrific attack. And as result, the lives of millions of Iraqi, Afghani, and American men, women, and children are altered forever.