Is Queen Cleopatra on Netflix a true story? Who was pharaoh played by Adele James - how did she die

Immortalised by Shakespeare and Elizabeth Taylor, Cleopatra is known for her beauty and her tragic downfall at the end of the Roman Republic. Many aspects of her life are shrouded in myth, but what’s certain is that she had a huge impact on the history of Egypt and the Roman world.

A new Netflix docudrama series, Queen Cleopatra, starring Adele James as the Egyptian ruler, arrived on the site on 10 May. Episodes have been review bombed online - each episode has a rating of less than 1.5/10 on IMDB at the time of writing, although this will likely change.

The negative reviews have in many cases stemmed from the decision to cast a mixed raced actress as Cleopatra despite the fact that the queen is widely believed to have been of Greek heritage.

Despite the controversy, the series will follow the historic narrative of Cleopatra’s life, from her rivalry with her brother and co-ruler, to her romances with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, and her death by her own hand.

Who was Queen Cleopatra?

Cleopatra VII was an Egyptian Queen and the last Pharaoh of Egypt - she was born in Alexandria, Egypt around 70 BC and traced her ancestry through Greece to the time of Alexander the Great.

She was descended directly from  Ptolemy I, a companion of Alexander, and was the last in the line of the Ptolemaic kingdom in Egypt which lasted for almost three centuries.

Cleopatra was known as the lover of Julius Caesar and through him strengthened her claim to the disputed throne of Egypt - she had a child, Caesarion, believed to be Caesar’s. She married her brother, Ptolemy XIV, as was the custom with Ptolemaic rulers, and when he died in 44 BC she became the sole ruler of Egypt. 

Caesar was assassinated the same year - the event began a civil war in which Cleopatra would become involved. Mark Antony, a general under Caesar, contested Octavian’s claim as successor to the role of Roman dictator. 

Antony met with Cleopatra, recognised her position as the ruler of an independent Egypt, and allied with the queen. After three years back in Rome, during which time Antony married Octavian’s sister, he returned to Cleopatra having realised that he could not find common ground with his Roman rival.

Caesarion was proclaimed Julius Caesar’s heir and King of Kings, whilst Cleopatra was Queen of Queens. However, the Roman senate rallied around Octavian and declared war on Cleopatra, and Mark Antony gave her his support.

How did Queen Cleopatra die?

The Battle of Actium was a major naval battle in the last civil war of the Roman Republic.  Octavian faced off against the forces of Antony and Cleopatra off the coast of northwestern Greece. Hundreds of galley ships and thousands of soldiers were involved in the battle which ended in a decisive defeat for the Egyptian forces.

Following the battle, Antony and Cleopatra fled to Egypt - Antony killed himself using his own sword. Cleopatra then killed herself, possibly by allowing a venomous snake to bite her. The pair were buried together. Following their deaths, Octavian became Caesar Augustus, the first Roman Emperor.

Cleopatra’s death (her son Caesarion was executed weeks later) marked the end of the Ptolemaic dynasty and an independent Egypt - it soon became a protected state under the influence of the Roman Empire.