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She rejected a power-hungry suitor. She outmaneuvered a wicked prince to become sole queen. She dunked on her annoying little brother constantly (same guy). She wrapped the most powerful man in the world around her... finger, twice. She nearly put her kids on the thrones of the entire east. Perhaps even rome, although that kid likely wasn't long for this world in any scenario.
The idea that Cleopatra had Mark Antony wrapped around her little finger was literally a lie that Augustus made up to justify starting yet another civil war. It was important to frame it as a war against that foreign seductress, Cleopatra, rather than what it actually was, a civil war between the two most powerful men in Rome for control of the whole empire (again).
The plan to put Cleopatra's children on the thrones of the East (the "donations of Alexandria") was an administrative strategy that Antony came up with to stabilize the eastern empire by centralizing power in Egypt. It wasn't some wicked scheme of Cleopatra's to usurp Rome.
Whatever, it happened. Let's assume this was entirely mark anthony's idea and decision. It's still a massive win for her egypt to become the eastern dominant kingdom he apparently needed, and to provide 50% of the genes of those kings. And again, it happened twice. Caesar made some questionable decisions for rome that ended up benefitting Cleopatra greatly. How does the saying go? Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, well okay she missed the third time but only because octavian was as cold as they come.
Cleopatra was greek, not egyptian. She was a Lagid, descended from the subordinate of Alexander the Great who claimed Egypt after the great conqueror kicked the bucket at 33. Even the name "Cleopatra" is greek, which means "Father's Glory" ("Kleos" = glory, and "Pater" = father). The people she ruled were Egyptian.
I said 'her egypt', as in, egypt was her posession. Anyway, when you've ruled a country for 10 generations, they give you a passport, it's in the UN charter.
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Or, more cynically, because the position of "woman who got romantically involved with Octavian to insure success for herself and her son" was already filled -- by Livia.
They were other impediments too: Augustus framed himself as the restorer of traditional Roman virtues, including sexual ones.
And then - as mentioned - he demonized Cleopatra as the opposite.
It was never really viable.
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Marrying a Roman consul to their queen and putting Mark Antony's children on the thrones of all the neighbouring kingdoms would have solidified Roman rule over Egypt. If Egypt had become the lynchpin of Roman rule over the East as Antony intended, that would have meant that Rome would have controlled the East by controlling Egypt - note the part where Egypt gets to be controlled by Rome, not rise to become a co-equal partner. I don't think cementing your overlord's control over your kingdom is normally characterized as "[becoming] the eastern dominant kingdom." The dominant power was Rome. There are no points for being best-in-your-category.
Cleopatra's brother Ptolemy ('s scheming advisors) tried to pull away from Rome and exercise more independence - or at least more obstinance. Cleopatra smuggled herself into the palace and presented herself to Caesar as a more pliable alternative ruler, if he would just put her on the throne. Caesar had Ptolemy put to death and installed Cleopatra as queen. After Caesar died she picked up where she left off with Mark Antony, but that ended in disaster and she was deposed and committed suicide, after which Rome not only annexed Egypt but took it as the personal possession of the Emperor.
Every step she took led to less power for Egypt and more for Rome. Her path ended in the annexation of her kingdom and the end of her dynasty. Again, not seeing it.
It was probably inevitable.
Dynastic conflict may have accelerated it but that was already happening: as you say she was already in the middle of a struggle for Egypt and Caesar had already showed up. One she probably would have lost. Getting out of that jam alone was a success.
Cleopatra lost in the end but it's hard to imagine predicting the deaths and losses of both Antony and Caesar. Especially since Caesar appeared to have tamed all opposition.
There's a very different but equally conceivable timeline where she stays the favored vassal/paramour of the leader of Rome or at least a Triumvir.
In a sense, marking her as particularly foolish would be reinforcing the Augustan propaganda that she was more of a protagonist than she probably was. She was probably savvy. It's more her fate wasn't in her hands.
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I didn’t say she was an egyptian patriot who worked tirelessly for the good of the country. It’s her interests she advanced, and egypt's with it.
You can always find a reason why supporting her against her brother, giving away cyprus, subordinating the other client kingdoms to egypt etc makes sense for them somehow, but you’ve got to admit that caesar and anthony’s behaviour is unusual. The last time caesar went to a client kingdom, the king bequeated it to rome and it was incorporated as a province. I guess Cleopatra gave better head than Caesar.
The romans already controlled the east. A wily ruler would present himself as pliable, amass power and then do as he pleases once his greater power made him capable of challenging his overlord. Getting egypt from a client kingdom among many (slowly absorbed) to the junior partner in a dominating roman alliance is an upgrade. And the consequences of her and antony’s defeat can hardly be called a ‘step she took’.
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