Apex of Power: Cleopatra and Nefertiti – Chronicles of Ancient Egypt | Episode 6 | Documentary

Documentary : The women of ancient Egypt little is known about them today yet they played a significant role in 3,000 years of the Empire's history you see kind of female ruler arise several times strong self-confident women with all avenues open to them their self-confidence impresses their contemporaries this is their story ancient Egypt to many it's the success story of powerful men women usually appear only in marginal roles yet one of ancient Egypt's most famous figures isn't a man but a woman Cleopatra not just in the palace but throughout the Empire women hold High positions in the social hierarchy anci Egypt played a pioneering role in matters of equality we know that women could definitely make their own decision Cleopatra iith was the last ruler of Egypt yet she had female predecessors neati and her mother-in-law Tia rule alongside their husbands she was not content with the state of things Queen had shepit she became one of the most powerful figures on the throne about 300 years before her Norr sobec ra over Egypt as the first female autocrat yet she too had predecessors like Mary neat Marin is Queen around 2,900 BC when her husband dies she has to take over the Regency for her underage son in doing so she secures the fonic throne for him he must have been very thankful for that because he builts for her a magnificent tomb uh near the Tomb of the other the rulers of that time in abidos for women in general Marin is one of the first ladies in ancient Egypt to rule the country about 500 km south of today's Ciro lies abidos burial place of the Pharaohs from early dynastic times here in the year 1900 egyptologists discover an impressive tomb complex a Steely gives the name of the tomb's owner Mary neat at that time researchers still consider neat to be a male deity therefore they initially assumed to have found the Steely of a man that of a male king for the size of the complex is in no way inferior to tombs of other kings in the center of the complex is a room with a wooden Shrine around this burial chamber a grouped eight sto rooms which inter turn a surround Ed by 41 secondary tombs the queen obviously did not go alone to the realm of the Dead in the first dynasty at BOS we have Royal Graves but what's really strange is surrounding them are these subsidiary Graves of lots of people men women um as well as in some cases animals and these seem to have been sacrificed all of them to go with the King to the afterlife so it's like you're taking your court with you and this only lasted for the first dynasty the Old Kingdom begins with the third Dynasty it's also called The Pyramid age to many it's the greatest era in the history of ancient Egypt Administration continues to develop and becomes a model for states around the world its sculptures and Architects refine its unique artistic style it's the time of kentow I first a queen who seems almost forgotten a world famous site the three Pyramids of Giza only as Stones throw away there's the so-called fourth Pyramid of Giza it's the tomb of Kent cow I first a queen of whom even the ancient Egyptians told many Legends no Legend however is a relief in front of her tomb it shows kentow with the nemes headcloth and a ceremonial beard the Insignia of a king so did she in fact rule over Egypt as Cain Kena is has a text on her tomb it's a pyramidal tomb it's a huge tomb and she calls herself either the mother of two kings of Upper and Lower Egypt or one way to read it is the mother of the king of Upper and Lower Egypt and king of Upper and Lower Egypt if that's the correct reading then she was like an early hatch up suit who became king in her own right yeah yet whether as ruler or Regent Kent cow apparently wields extraordinary power during her lifetime she's in charge of the country's Administration economy and even its military with her tomb she erects a monument to herself demonstrating her position initially the complex is planned as a rock tomb but then her Builders add a MBA likee step until her tomb resembles the famous step pyramid in Sakara and as with other Royal tombs a ship is buried next to the pyramid it's supposed to take kentow on her journey to the afterlife the Monumental tomb is meant to ensure Eternal remembrance for its Builder priests who live in houses right next to the tomb are keep her memory alive even as a royal mother kend cow enjoys a prominent position the mothers of divine HS to the throne are considered to guarantee peace and stability not least because they can take over the Regency for their minor Sons if need be Queens are closely associated with the sky goddess hathor she's considered the mother of the Falcon god Horus who has been the patron god of the the Pharaohs since early dynastic times just as the King was the Incarnation of Horus the Queen the Queen Mother especially if she had a child who was to become king was the Incarnation of hat [ __ ] the mother goddess her name literally means the estate or the Mansion of Horus if she is the place of Horus and she holds the potential new Horus even just the potential for conceiving a new Horus and Horus dies and there's no other obvious legitimate he to the throne as the holder of the place of Horus she can assume power statues of Royal mothers show their potential some are clearly modeled on the goddess hathor on their laps they hold the future AES to the throne as servants to hathor women even conquer another male Bastion the priesthood from the fifth Dynasty onwards the number of hathor priestesses Rises significantly one of them is hetet she Bears the sonorous titles Priestess of hathor she close to the king and she who owns land in 2017 her burial chamber is rediscovered its wall paintings show everyday scenes from her life represented more than life siiz heaped sits on an elegant seat and receives precious gifts this kind of oversized representation was a definite statement usually it was reserved for the men of the elite who could afford to have a tomb built and decorated as all this was of course very expensive it was a clear demonstration of power and status not least towards the other priests gradually hathor merges with Isis the goddess of birth and rebirth Isis takes over more and more of hathor's functions even her position as mother of Horus Isis becomes the most famous deity of ancient Egypt and even Beyond its borders she'll be worshiped throughout the later Roman Empire is Isis is a goddess who has many facets and appealed to many people because she wasn't only considered responsible for this world but for the afterlife too adoration for her became common across all strata of Roman society as far away as the Roman provincial capital of M Germany Believers erected shrines to the goddess there was a special right practiced here for a certain time people would inscribe tablets with wishes and curses they're actually quite marvelous to read one example calls for someone to die little by little finally the eyes should also die and everyone should watch so it's quite brutal people would fabricate dolls in proper Voodoo manner with needles stuck in the head and the body yet Isis is most popular because of a gentle side as the caring Mother of God she becomes an icon it's a representation that also Finds Its way into Christianity like with Mary the Mother of God holding the baby Jesus In Her Arms along with Isis one of the most important goddesses is Maat as goddess of just and order she's the spiritual guide for every Pharaoh other deities are responsible for what's considered masculine Fields such as the goddess of war sekmet or sesat the goddess of writing and bookkeeping as early as the Old Kingdom women rise in the state hierarchy as the King's mother or as priestesses they belong to the influential Elite yet there are even more ways for women to advance some upper class women are given High offices in the sixth Dynasty a woman named nebet is appointed visier the second highest office in the Empire about the same time the first known female physician in history appears peset one of her titles is chief of the female Physicians she probably teaches at the medical school in SC where women are trained primarily in Gynecology and a successful career was by no means limited to women of the high society those from lower classes could also make a career it was common in those days for women of the elite to have an all female staff of servants these women then manag the Estates of their Mistresses as treasurers or overseers to the Greek historian Herodotus Egyptian Society seems strange in Egypt the women go to the market and trade whereas the men sit at home and weave he notes in his history paintings prove that women did indeed have their own stores in the markets nevertheless in ancient Egypt trade is predominantly a male Affair yet a good number of occup Pati long considered typically male are also practiced by women they brew beer or even run their own ships more than 4,200 years ago around 2,200 BC the Old Kingdom ends in chaos at least that's what Herodotus relates almost 2,000 years later so our information is not firsthand like that of the story of nitris when her father the Pharaoh is assassinated nitris invites the perpetrators to a banquet in a specially built underground Hall she has water from a river piped into the hall and drowns the murderers to escape punishment nitris commits suicide throwing herself into a fire nris is still a mystery for archaeologists um but uh she has inspired uh a lot of uh artists uh a lot of um writers uh so uh for instance Tennesse Williams but at the end uh for as for historical facts uh there is nothing much uh to grasp but the idea of the Intrigue uh surrounding uh nist gives her this Ambiance in the wake of her death the Egyptian State disintegrates it's the beginning of the so-called first intermediate period new centers of power emerge heracleopolis in the north and in the South there is thieves from from here King menu hotep II succeeds in conquering the North and thus reunify the Egyptian Empire the first intermediate period is followed by the Middle Kingdom a new period of prosperity for Egypt it's the time of no sobec the first female autocrat on the Egyptian Throne on record for 3 years 10 months and 24 days she reigned alone as Queen internal and external relations are stable under her leadership even nuia in the south is firmly in Egyptian hands the reasons for noob's sucession to the throne were not too glamorous as a matter of fact she was a stop Gap in the absence of male airs one simply resorted to a female family m a practice that we know from European ruling families as well n SOC differed from her predecessors such as kenow or Marin because she legitimized herself by her own right not as Regent for a minor son the Royal titles she bore testifies to this she is also mentioned in the king lists of kak and Sakara and as that had not been the case before she became a model for later Queens like hatch up suit or to R alas no sobec fails to secure the succession leaving no male Heir a dispute over her throne ensues direct succession ensures peace and stability in the Empire thus the pressure to produce Offspring is high even in the lower classes since children guarantee that the parents will be remembered that's why childbearing is the most important task of women in in Egypt too this may sound patriarchal yet unlike in many other cultures the birth of a girl is considered a blessing the birth of a girl was always a source of joy and in no way to be seen negatively if you look at Egyptian history as a whole numerous princesses play a special role next to princes and thanks to this we see albeit rarely female pharaohs in ancient Egypt with the onset of Labor the expectant mother is taken to what is called a postpartum Bower it's set up on the roof or in the garden of the house when giving birth the mother uses a birthing chair or bricks to support her during delivery the expectant mother places herself under the protection of mezek net the goddess of childbearing men have to wait outside bringing children into the world is the business of women on the day of birth friends and relatives call with gifts after birth it's mainly the mother who takes care of the child to remain mobile she wraps the baby in a sling when the child gets older the mother carries it on on her hip those who can afford it hire a wet nurse for breastfeeding these women are cherished by their nurturing children and often shown close to them in addition to the child's bodily welfare the mother takes care of its upbringing and schooling and may represent her children in legal matters from a legal point of view women had equal rights even since the Old Kingdom a woman could dispose of her property and Beque it to her children she could also exclude certain children from inheritance and she had equal rights before the court in this will from the Middle Kingdom a woman named nanu settles her estate she bees her land to her son if he would take care of her burial an arrangement that sounds surprisingly modern so were there equal rights for women in ancient Egypt of course we can't talk about equal rights in today's sense the distribution of roles was simply still too classical as Mistress of the house a woman primarily took care of the children and household matters or activities that could be performed in the household women in high administrative positions were rather an exception however these exceptions distinguish Egypt from Ancient Rome or Greece as nus SOC does not give birth to an heir her death triggers the second intermediate period which lasts almost 250 years a period of political instability in which the Empire once again breaks up into several small dominions around 1648 BC the hixus A people from the near East succeeded in establishing their own Dynasty in Northern Egypt for the first time parts of Egypt are under foreign rule with the conquest of the north by the hios the concept of rule enters a real crisis one of the pharaoh's most important tasks is to defeat his enemies alas he's still a child his mother must keep order in his place Queen aotp the first takes charge of the military as well in her tomb there are ceremonial axes daggers and even the so-called gold of Honor an ancient Egyptian order that's bestowed only on Persons of exceptional Merit a hotep Reigns at the end of the second intermediate period political struggles and unrest shake the country in the North after about 100 years the foreign hicko still rule in this difficult time a hotep demonstrates true leadership for many years she keeps the hix of bay until her son AK moza is old enough to ass asend the throne aotp can really be called the unifier of Egypt she comes at a very difficult time her husband s re is killed fighting the hexus uh and she has uh to become uh the ruler uh in the place of uh her minor son amza the first at the time where there is a lot of uh political uh struggle and this disorder in Egypt she is able to uh really uh safely take the rule and hand it over to her son a moza when a moza ascends the throne he succeeds in completing his mother's work he drives the hixus out of Egypt for good in gratitude he honors his mother aot not just with a golden medal on a memorial Stone he is erected at the eighth Pilon in carak he Praises her importance for Egypt praise the Mistress of the land who guides the people the king's wife and King's mother the Glorious one she gathered the Army protected and United Egypt the queen aotp Long Live she aot's son a moza becomes first king of the New Kingdom arguing jubly the most glorious era in ancient Egypt he erects the last Egyptian pyramid from then on underground tombs are built near the Valley of the Kings is the ferary Temple of aros's descendant hat shepsut built by the most powerful and successful female pharaoh on the Egyptian Throne hat shepsut Mort Temple is one of the most beautiful and impressive structures Left To Us by the ancient Egyptians had Shep suit's rise begins when she marries her half brother toot mosa II after his early death things seem to run their natural course since T mosa III the heir to the throne is still too young to rule had Shepu takes over the Regency but then she goes one step further she officially proclaims herself Queen and rules alongside to Mosa III thus limiting the power of the young Pharaoh at shepsut leaves nothing to chance to substantiate her claim to rule she decides to take an unusual step although she continues to use female epithets like daughter of Rah or Lady of the two lands she lets herself be portrayed more and more as a man even with a royal ceremonial beard had sheps even has the story of her conception retold on a relief in her Mory Temple her version is carved in stone according to it the sun god Arman United with her mother to conceive her thus she not only legitimizes herself as Queen but makes herself a living demig goddess under her leadership Egypt experiences a period of prosperity her trade missions lead as far as the legendary Land of Punt they bring back wealth and rare luxury goods it's been said luxury is the uh father or mother of invention this trade um you know was what was a part of how the pyramids built Egypt you know by extending these roots way down into pun for frankincense and myrr like hatch UPS suit did this was all part it helped them you know it it incentivized them to build great ships all of this you know increased Egypt's infrastructure in terms of its they now they had seagoing vessels not just Nile barge transport barges trade is crucial for Egypt's wealth and power by opening up new markets hat shepit boosts the country's economy the base of a stable Empire after reigning for about 21 years at Shepu dies and is solemnly buried in the Valley of the Kings following her death however her memory is systematically destroyed at shepsut stepson to Mosa III was long regarded as the one behind the annihilation of her pictorial representations however Recent research dates the destruction into later times whoever it was he did not succeed in erasing hat sheep's memory with hatchepsut Begins the Glorious era of the New Kingdom her successor to Mosa II becomes a great warlord under him Egypt reaches the greatest expansion of its history Arman hotep thei however is remembered primarily as a builder he has numerous sanctuaries built the mnon colossi near the Temple of hatchepsut a part of his mortty Temple yet beside him stands a powerful woman his great Royal wife Tia their special connection is shown in this colossal statue both are depicted as the same size the message is clear this woman is not a subordinate she is a partner officially Tia is merely Arman hotep's wife yet for all practical purposes she's his co-ruler together they determine the fate of the Empire on the Nile when Arman hotep III declares himself a god Tia appears as his female counterpart at his side kuning and Tia Tia is one of the important queens of the New Kingdom this can be derived from the frequency of her appearance in effes from large statues down to the smallest jewelry no Queen before her is depicted as often as she is she's given a Temple dedicated expressly to her which is another honor bestowed on no Queen before her her officials have large tombs built in her neighborhood and they obviously have the resources to do that resources that were supplied by the queen she also appears in the Diplomatic correspondence of the time foreign rulers writing to the Royal Court at hermana called the queen as a witness to certain events so she must have had adequate knowledge about the political actuales of her time Tia and Arman hotep have at least six children together including akatan who goes down in Egyptian history as the heretic King his wife nefatiti becomes even more famous her Immaculate bust turns her into an icon her name means the beautiful one has come but where she actually came from remains a mystery to this day she was probably a member of the Egyptian upper class after his accession to power akatan fundamentally restructures the Egyptian Empire he disempowers the influential Priests of the Imperial God Arman the new Soul God is arton the sundisk he founds a new capital aket arton far away from thieves the seat of the Arman priesthood from here he and nepti Ruled the Land like her predecessor Queen Tia Neti regularly appears together with her husband akatan and nepti appear almost as Inseparable what's more like Queen Tia Neti is shown in scenes that are unusual for Queens such as the slaying of enemies while the king slays male enemies nefatiti has shown slaying female enemies finally there's a crown that only she wears no Queen before her and no Queen after her are depicted with such a crown in carak we see another telling detail in a temple where reliefs on the pillars show the queen sacrificing to the god Aton without her husband this too is a novelty that the queen may appear alone at rights together the couple revolutionizes art the so-called Amana style shows the royal family in their private surroundings for the very first time they staged themselves as a kind of Holy Family a counterd design to the traditional group representation of the Egyptian gods at the same time these images portray them as approachable and thoroughly human it's a style that still seems amazingly modern nepa's end is as mysterious as her origin she was long believed to have died in Akin natan's 12th or 14th year of Reign or even to have been disowned by her husband but then in 2012 archaeologists discover a crucial clue in a quarry they find an inscription from akan natan's 16th year of Reign IT addresses nepati as the great Royal wife thus it's clear that she was alive at least until shortly before Akon aran's death however this doesn't explain nepa's mysterious disappearance from history and has led to much speculation it has been assumed that she continued to rule independently under the name of pharaoh semar after Akin natan's death since some is show her with the crown of a pharaoh about her end nothing is known yet her legendary bust one of the most famous Treasures of ancient Egypt has made nefatiti Immortal and an icon of beautyy highly important in Ancient Egypt however it didn't just matter how one looked a well-groomed appearance brought order to a person's Natural State and that's why it was important for women as well as for men one of the most famous beauty features is the eyeliner so typical for the ancient Egyptians apart from enhancing your makeup it has a very practical purpose the lead compound used for the coal protects the eyes from infection s wigs are another popular accessory they even serve for love making as texts tell us to arouse her man the Egyptian woman does not put on a fine negl but her wig instead the importance of beauty is also shown by numerous ferary Goods related to Beauty care such as ointment vessels perfume bottles Combs or precious mirrors it's nowhere better Illustrated than in the Tomb of nefatari in the Valley of the Queens on every pillar and on every wall she's shown with different robes and pieces of filigree jewelry objects of Timeless Beauty and timelessness is an important as set for the ancient Egyptians in politics too akatan successor totin caran restores the rule of the old gods 11 pharaohs follow under the name of Ramses the most famous of them is rames II under his Reign the biblical Exodus from Egypt is said to have taken place his numerous temples and colossal statues make him famous always at his side the fairest of the fair his wife nefatari nefatari and Ramsey II are a true power couple the Pharaoh seems to know quite well what he has in his clever wife even if nefatari does not rule as a pharaoh like hat shepsut she commands extraordinary powers and great influence for many years the conflict between Egypt and its northern neighbors the Hittites has been simmering at cadesh the two empires Clash for Ramsey the battle ends in a lucky draw the Hittites are under pressure from the growing Assyrian Empire and seek peace with Egypt after tough negotiations Ramsey II and the hitti King hatou III conclude the first peace treaty in history not least thanks to the skillful diplomacy of nefatari neat must not only have been uh a beautiful woman but also a very intelligent woman and uh we have clear evidence that she uh played a role in the negotiations for the peace treaty with uh the Hittites as she was in charge of the correspondence with uh the hit Queen uh puua sonari played a crucial role in achieving the first pece treaty ever a copy of it is hanging now in the building of the United Nations in New York being able to read and write hieroglyphics is far from being a commonplace skill in ancient Egypt only a few Egyptians mastered this art in her tomb nefatari has herself depicted with a Writing Tablet before to the god of scribes and science the message is unmistakable she is a scribe shortly before her death Ramsey honors his wife with a last gift he has two temples built at Abu zimal in the south of the Empire one of them is dedicated to the goddess hathor and to his beloved nefatari and her statues at the temple are not just as tall as those of Ramsey they're even a few inches taller rames II must have adored nefatari because he built for her a magnificent Temple beside his own Great temple in Abu simul it seems that she uh died shortly after this Temple was inaugurated and this must have been a big blow for Ramses II although he must have had uh dozens of women in his harm nefari seems to have been the love of his life and his support just a few years later another woman ascends the throne talr at this time Egypt is plagued by the raiding sea peoples then Ramsey's the third SU EDS in winning a decisive Victory recorded for posterity in his Mort Temple of medinet Habu yet under his successes Egypt experiences a severe economic crisis with ramse the 11th the New Kingdom descends into chaos and Revolt the third intermediate period begins Egypt breaks up into two dominions apart from the high Priests of Armen in the South a Libyan Dynasty asserts itself in the north there too women increasingly take over in important posts one of them is neson in the 19th century locals discover an extraordinary necropolis near the Temple of hat shepsut instead of a single tomb they find a veritable depository of mummies the so-called Royal cachet of Dia El Bahari more than 40 sarcophagy are stored here to protect them from tomb r us the mummies of hatchepsut T mosa III and Ramsey II were brought here and the mummy of a neson who is this unknown buried among Royals as Steely reveals neson bore titles usually reserved for men Vice Roy of kush overseer of the foreigners and priest of Kum this would have made her one of the most powerful women of her time not surprisingly her funerary goods are of high quality canopic jars of cow site a finely scripted Book of the Dead and glazed yepes that she could afford them is confirmed by a decree that was placed in her grave a kind of ancient Egyptian receipt yet neson is not the only woman holding extraordinary power in the third intermediate period with the transition to the lay period a group of priestesses Rises to Royal dignitaries the spouses of Arman 1200 years earlier Armen becomes king of all gods the center of his cult is the temple complex at caruk which continues to grow over the centuries caruk develops into the most important cult site and the leading economic Center of Egypt carck was like the Vatican of ancient Egypt it's the sacred Center the high priest of Amen eventually after the Kingdom and into the late period becomes almost equal to pharaoh and then actually equal to pharaoh and is eventually shown at a bigger scale than Pharaoh himself so you you have this you know interesting development where the gods become more powerful and the Pharaoh less so yet the prosperous religious Center of knuk is no longer under the control of a man in the Tomb of pabasa the chief financial administrator of kak paintings and inscriptions show that a woman was in charge here during the late period as a spouse of Arman she's Supreme servant of the king of the Gods and thus Mistress of the riches of caruk the spouses of Arman are priestesses they're considered wives of the highest God their task is to take care of the Earthly needs of Armen according to ancient Egyptian belief he regularly descends from Heaven to the temple if he finds everything to his satisfaction he will protect the land notably during the 25th Dynasty under the rule of the Nubian Kings the spouses of Amon played a crucial role they were mostly Daughters of these Kings and would rise to Eminence especially in the thean Empire as wives of Amon they were of crucial importance not just in Rel matters but also politically their power was indeed amazing and can be equated with that of modern religious leaders their influence in religion as well as in politics cannot be overestimated in the late period armen's wives are at the Zenith of their power they perform ritual acts previously reserved for the Pharaoh such as the driving of the four cves they appear in line with Horus and Isis and thus at eye level with the Gods in the late period after a succession of Libyan Nubian and Assyrian rulers Egyptians reclaimed the pharaoh's Throne yet the so-called Egyptian restoration remains an episode in 525 BC the Persians become overlords of the Empire after the battle of isos in 333 BC Egypt Falls to Alexander the Great the late period ends now the Greek tmis rule the Empire on the Nile a time for power conscious women like aroa II she rules alongside her brother husband Tommy II and bears the title king of Upper and Lower Egypt during her Reign the Lighthouse of Alexandria is completed one of the seven wonders of the ancient world yet no ruler will become as famous as Cleopatra iith her fate is inextricably linked with the Fall of Ancient Egypt Cleopatra is perhaps the most publicized of all pharaohs to this day numerous myths persist about her yet what's behind the image of the man devouring Fen fatal with a ponchon for powerful men as a young girl Cleopatra enjoys an education befitting her status she becomes the favorite of her father who appoints her his successor to the shagon of a younger brother tonomy after her father's death she ascends the throne with her brother yet he wants to rule alone and banishes his now 22-year-old Sister Cleopatra however does not give up in the midst of their power struggle Julie Caesar reaches Egypt Cleopatra succeeds in winning over the most powerful man of the Roman Empire and her efforts pay off she wins the battle for the throne when Tommy the 13th perishes while fleeing from Caesar she finally achieves her goal Cleopatra is now sole pho cleopatras Cleopatra's goals were clearly set she came to power at a time when Egypt was dependent on Rome yet she wanted Egypt to remain an independent Empire the question is how could both sides get as much as possible for themselves I think she made the most of her opportunities and thereby helped Egypt to a last renewal of its Fame and Power in 44 BC Caesar is assassinated in Rome Cleopatra is on her own again and shows the world that she is a capable ruler Cleopatra proved a skilled politician after cesa death she had to reorient herself she had to weigh who might benefit her most and how she could keep her position and so she Maneuvers very skillfully she observes who would turn out to be the stronger party that of Caesar's supporters or that of Caesar's murderers who were at war with each other and in the beginning it was not at all foreseeable who would win once again Cleopatra goes all in she opts for an alliance with Mark Anthony but her luck has run out the Civil War among Romans engulfs the fonic Empire and drags Cleopatra into the abyss in 31 BC she loses the Battle of actium against Octavian later known as the Emperor Augustus deciding her own end she commits suicide on August 12th 30bc choosing death rather than be paraded as a trophy by the victor Cleopatra iith was an extraordinary ruler for the tmes because she seemed to have been interested in Egypt had a sense of responsibility she seems to have known Egyptian the language not just spoken in Greek so she had a real appreciation and care for her country and she did try and fight to keep Egypt intact and away from Roman rule Cleopatra's death spelled the end of the dynasty of the tonies yet also the end of three Millennia of ancient Egyptian history the end of an Empire where women could take their Destiny into their own hands due to their social status they enjoyed an astonishing array of Rights and Liberties the myth of Egypt lives on not least thanks to them since it's not just the tales of powerful men that keep the fascination for Egypt alive there are also the stories of strong extraordinary women