High drama and ancient history combine in this novel of the early life of Egypt's infamous queen, at once a beautiful seductress, brilliant politician, and the most powerful ruler of her time. Even as a child, Kleopatra demonstrates the charisma and intelligence that will ensure her destiny. During an Egyptian coup, she and the King are banished to the worldly capital of Rome, where she accepts the terms of her rightful ascent to power. But the return to Egypt proves less than glorious when her father falls ill and dies, leaving her vulnerable to banishment, once again. This time, however, Kleopatra, who has blossomed into a shrewd politician, is undaunted. With a warrior’s heart, she charges her handsome kinsman and lover, Archimedes, to gather an army, while she readies herself for her most royal challenge yet: to reclaim her throne by forming an alliance with the renowned Julius Caesar.

First Published in 2004. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

New media and its enormous diffusion in the last decades of the 20th century and up to the present has greatly increased and diversified the reception of Egyptian themes and motifs and Egyptian influence in various cultural spheres. This book seeks to provide new evidence of this interdisciplinarity between Egyptology and popular culture.

Following on from Kleopatra, the glittering epic of Egypt's queen continues as she allies herself with Anthony and begins a love story that immortalizes her as one of history's greatest political players and most tragic heroines. Kleopatra has been reinstated to the throne and now shares her bed with Caesar. But in order for their infant son to be officially recognized as Caesar’s rightful heir, Kleopatra must journey with the child to Rome. There she forms an intimate bond with Antony, Caesar’s second-in command. When Caesar is assassinated, it is Antony who wages war against the slain ruler’s monstrous nephew, Octavian, who claims it is he, and not Kleopatra’s son, who is next in line to rule. Now Antony and Kleopatra are inextricably allied in love and a fierce battle against a formidable enemy, where no less than the control of the world is at stake.

Egypt was the last of the Macedonian Successor states to be swallowed up by Roman expansion. The Ptolemaic rulers had allied themselves to Rome while their rivals went down fighting. However, Cleopatra's famous love affair with Marc Antony ensured she was on the wrong side of the Roman civil war between him and Octavian (later to become Caesar Augustus). After the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra at the naval battle of Actium, Octavian swiftly brought Egypt under direct Roman control, though it took several campaigns to fully subjugate the whole country. These campaigns have previously been largely neglected.??Judaea was a constant source of trouble for the Romans, as it had been for the Seleucids, the previous overlords of the region. The Romans at first were content to rule through client kings like the infamous Herod but were increasingly sucked in to direct military involvement to suppress religiously-inspired revolts.??John Grainger's clear narrative and insightful analysis of these campaigns allows the reader to understand how Rome eventually brought this strategically vital region fully within their empire.