The Rise and Fall of Cleopatra's Egypt Nowadays, in the 21st Century everyone is busy with the future, and only very few take a moment to look back to the past and think about what really happened. Let me guide you and take your hand, together we will travel back in time. We will resurrect the dead and see how life really was hundreds and thousands of years ago. Cleopatra VII (69 BC - 30 BC), the last Pharaoh of Egypt, was a very educated, crafty, ambitious and clever woman. Her intellect and charisma - far greater than her beauty and sexuality - allowed her to keep the power for nearly twenty years by fighting against - and allying with - the greatest power at the time, Rome. Although her history was written by who defeated her and, therefore, modified according conveniences of them, there have been found, in recent archaeology researches, evidences of her intellect and achievements that portrayed her beyond her beauty and sexual power. She captivated the two greatest Romans of her time, and destroyed herself. Cleopatra was representing everything that the Romans didn't like. Not only was she a woman, but she was a woman with power. Cleopatra, one of the most famous of all of Egypt's illustrious Pharaohs, has become an indelible part of our understanding of ancient Egypt. What is less well known is the context of her reign - the cultural and political climate at the time of her birth, rule, and death. As a leader, Cleopatra was much more than just a seductive, beautiful temptress. She was a young woman brought to power during a tumultuous time in the history of her country, as well as during the rise of what would become one of the biggest and most powerful Empires in the history of the world: Rome.