Did you know that Cleopatra was not Egyptian?
While Cleopatra was born in Egypt, Her family origins are Macedonian Greece and Ptolemy I Soter, one of Alexander the Great’s generals. Ptolemy took the reigns of Egypt after Alexander’s death in 323 B.C., and he launched a dynasty of Greek-speaking rulers that lasted for nearly three centuries. Despite not being ethnically Egyptian, Cleopatra embraced many of her country’s ancient customs and was the first member of the Ptolemaic line to learn the Egyptian language. She was the Last Egyptian Cleopatra in the history of ancient Egypt.
