Page 70 - All About History - Issue 18-14

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POWER OF

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pharaoh fought, schemed and seduced

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a][poiuytr gypt was in turmoil. In the year 81 BCE children,andCleopatraVIIwasthesecondoldest vcxz
;s.s;d/s;d’s/’d[e Ptolemy IX, the pharaoh who had dared after her sister, Berenice IV. qwerfdg
tomeltdownthegoldcoffinofAlexander The young princess was clever and quick-
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E violentfamilyfeudshadrobbedhisdynasty by a near-insatiable thirst for knowledge. She
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of any legitimate male heirs so his popular and easily excelled at her studies and even her
a][poiuytr beloved daughter, Bernice III became queen. esteemed scholars were amazed by her aptitude vcxz
Following the family tradition, she married her for languages, readily conversing with any foreign jdndnjf
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half-brother,PlotemyXI,butjust19daysafterthe visitors whether they were Ethiopians, Hebrews,
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andclaimedthethroneashisown.Thecitizensof While she surrounded herself with the wonders of
a][poiuytr Alexandria were furious and an angry mob quickly theacademicworldintherichesandluxuryofthe vcxz
;s.s;d/s;d’s/’d[e seizedthenewpharaohandlynchedhim.Egypt royalresidence,outsideherpalacewindowthereal qwerfdg
was leaderless and seemingly out of control. onewasbeingstretchedattheseams,indangerof
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presence was essential to prevent mass unrest in position. His father had promised Egypt to Rome,
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than no pharaoh at all. So the throne was offered on – not yet, at least. Still, Ptolemy XII was smart jdndnjf
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to the illegitimate sons of Ptolemy IX, and Ptolemy enough to understand that to keep the Romans
’\/.,mnbvc XIIsteppedforwardtoclaimit.Anotorious happy was to ensure Egypt’s survival. He sent ytrewq
womanizer with a fondness for drink and excess, masses of money and bribes to Julius Caesar (at
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he was hardly the shining beacon the struggling thattimeoneofRome’smostimportantfigures),
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country needed to guide it through the dark pit which secured the Romans’ support, but dammed jdndnjf
it had fallen into. A nickname for the illegitimate him in the eyes of his tax-burdened citizens. In 58
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pharaoh quickly became popular – Nothos, or ‘the BCEhewasforcedintoexile,takinghistalented
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