The Life and Times of Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt by Arthur Weigall

Description

The Life and Times of Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt is a book by Arthur E. P. B. Weigall, first published in 1914. Weigall — an Egyptologist and contemporary commentator on archaeological discoveries — frames Cleopatra’s story not simply as a royal biography but as part of the grand sweep of ancient history, telling of Ptolemaic Egypt at the moment it collides with the rising power of Rome. The narrative places Cleopatra at the centre of political and cultural forces, connecting her personal alliances with Caesar and Mark Antony to the larger events that shaped the origin of the Roman Empire. This makes the work useful to readers searching for a readable Cleopatra biography, a study of Roman–Egyptian relations, or an accessible account of ancient Egypt’s last native ruling house. Written in the straightforward, narrative-heavy style popular with early 20th-century historians, the book mixes historical reconstruction with eye-for-detail descriptions of court life, geography and ceremony. It is illustrated and organised to guide readers through both Cleopatra’s life and the background of the Ptolemaic dynasty, making it a good fit for those seeking an historical biography, a classic history text on ancient Egypt, or an introduction to the Roman civil-war period from a late-Hellenistic perspective. While modern scholarship has advanced since Weigall’s time, his book remains a lively, well-told account.

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