Cleopatra was born in 69 BC to Ptolemy XII Auletes, the king of Egypt. She was part of the Ptolemaic dynasty that had ruled Egypt since the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC. Cleopatra's lineage can be traced back to Ptolemy I Soter, a Macedonian Greek general who served under Alexander. As a member of the royal family, Cleopatra was privileged but her early life was tumultuous. Her father Ptolemy XII faced threats to his rule and was driven out of Egypt in 58 BC. Cleopatra would have...