The Life and Times of Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt

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, presenting 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 Julius Caesar and Mark Antony to the larger events that shaped the origin of the Roman Empire. This approach makes the work useful to readers seeking 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-driven style popular with early twentieth-century historians, the book blends historical reconstruction with detailed 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.

While modern scholarship has advanced since Weigall’s time, the book remains a lively and well-told account, well suited to readers looking for a classic historical biography or an introduction to the late Hellenistic world and the Roman civil-war period.