Englischverständnis für fortgeschrittene Anfänger – Buch 1

her life? Read on to find out what made the Egyptian monarch so special.
    Cleopatra was born around 69 BC - 68 BC. She was born into the Ptolemaic dynasty . The Ptolemaic dynasty came from Greece and ruled Egypt after Alexander the Great's death during the Hellenistic period . Traditionally, the Ptolemies only spoke Greek and refused to speak Egyptian. This is why Greek, as well as Egyptian languages, was used to write official court documents such as the Rosetta Stone.
    When Cleopatra’s father Ptolemy XII died in 51 BC, she began to rule with her younger brother Ptolemy XIII. The brother and sister married, which was the tradition at that time. We will never know if she was as attractive as the stories say, however she was definitely an extremely intelligent woman and a skilful politician. Cleopatra brought prosperity to Egypt (the country was bankrupt ). She also brought peace as Egypt was split by civil war. Unlike her family, she learned to speak Egyptian and told people that she was a reincarnation of the Egyptian goddess Isis. 
    Things began to change in 48 BC. This is the year when Egypt got involved with the conflict in Rome which was developing between Julius Caesar and Pompey. Pompey escaped to the Alexandria (the Egyptian capital). Ptolemy gave the order to murder Pompey and he was quickly killed. Caesar arrived in Egypt and he and Cleopatra became lovers. At this time, Cleopatra was not living in Alexandria because she had been exiled by Ptolemy. Now she had Caesar’s support, she was again queen (with Roman military support). Ptolemy was killed in the fighting.
    In 47 BC, Cleopatra had Caesar’s child - Caesarion - however Caesar never publicly admitted that the Caesarion was his son. Cleopatra went with Caesar to live in Rome.  Cleoparta returned to Egypt after Caesar’s assassination in 44 BC. Ptolemy XIV, Cleopatra’s other brother, passed away at this time (some people believe she had something to do with it). Cleopatra now began to rule Egypt with her son Caesarion.
    Three years later, in 41 BC, there were problems in Rome.  Mark Antony, whose mother had been Caesar’s cousin, was quarrelling with Octavian (the adopted son of Caesar). Mark Antony and Octavian both wanted power in Rome.
    Mark Anthony and Cleopatra started a political and romantic relationship. They had three children together - two sons and a daughter. In 31 BC, the combined armies of Mark Antony and Cleopatra tried to defeat Octavian's forces at Actium (the battle took place at sea), on the west coast of Greece.
    Cleopatra and Mark Antony fled to Egypt after Octavian won the battle. Octavian pursued the couple and he also conquered Alexandria in 30 BC. Mark Antony committed suicide and Cleopatra did the same, killing herself on 12 August 30 BC. Many people believe Cleopatra famously killed herself by making an asp (a poisonous snake) bite her. However, some historians believe that she drank a poison - we will never know for sure.
    Now its ruler was dead and its army was defeated, Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire. Although her reign was over, Cleopatra lives on as one of history’s most interesting and memorable women.
    Click this link to watch a video about Cleopatra.
     
    Glossary
    monarch – a king or queen.  Monarch, Monarchin
    dynasty – a line of hereditary rulers of a country. Dynastie
    Hellenistic period - The Hellenistic period describes the era which followed the conquests of Alexander the Great. Hellenistische Zeit
    prosperity – the state of being prosperous, e.g. becoming rich. Wohlstand
    split – ‘to split’, to separate. teilen, aufteilen
    to be bankrupt – to have no money bankrott sein
    reincarnation – the rebirth of a soul in a new body. Reinkarnation , Wiedergeburt
    conflict – a serious disagreement or argument. Konflikt
    exiled – ‘to exile’, to expel someone from their native country. verbannen
    assassination – murder, killing. Ermordung, Attentat
    quarrelling – ‘to quarrel’, to argue. streiten, sich streiten
    defeat – ‘to defeat’, to win a victory over someone in a battle or other contest. besiegen
    pursued – ‘to pursue’, to follow. verfolgen, nachgehen
    fled – past tense of ‘to flee’, to run away, escape. fliehen
    battle – a fight between two armies. Schlacht
    reign – the time a king or queen rules a country. Herrschaft , Regentschaft
     
    Questions about the text
    1. How many children did Cleopatra have?
    2. How did Caesar die?
    3. What two