The giant streaming service, Netflix has re-stirred the race controversy surrounding the Last Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, Cleopatra. The American-based company released a trailer for its four-part docudrama Queen Cleopatra last week, depicting the ancient Queen as a black woman.

This has led to numerous debates amongst historians and enthusiasts across several social media mediums. However, this is not the first debate or discussion over the identity of Cleopatra. She has been variously claimed as Macedonian, Greek, Egyptian, and African.

It is imperative to note that there is a general consensus among scholars that Cleoprata was predominantly of Macedonian Greek ancestry and minorly of Iranian descent. Others, including scholars and laymen, have publicly speculated on whether she may have had additional ancestries

Who Was Cleoprata

Cleopatra VII was the seventh, but most well-known Egyptian ruler. She was the last member of the Ptolemy dynasty to rule Egypt after 5,000 years of Pharaonic rule; her reign lasted 21 years before she died by suicide on August 30 B.C.

Cleopatra was the second of five children born to King Ptolemy XII, and his wife, Cleopatra V. Tryphania. She was born in Alexandria, Egypt in 69 B.C. and undertook medical studies as well as learning philosophy, rhetoric, and oratory, and was believed to speak many languages in addition to her native Greek. Cleopatra was the first Ptolemaic ruler to learn native Egyptian, a now-extinct language that Spoken Coptic descended from.

Upon the death of her father, Cleopatra ascended the throne in 51 B.C., sharing with one of her younger brothers Ptolemy XIII. But she eventually claimed the so-called double crown, replacing her brother as sole ruler.

Cleopatra Ancestry

The Ptolemy dynasty descended from Greek Macedonian roots and ruled ancient Egypt during its Hellenistic era, with marriages typically occurring within the family. The dynasty was established when Alexander the Great conquered Egypt in 323 B.C.

The part of Cleopatra’s bloodline that remains a mystery is that of her mother and paternal grandmother. However, many experts say there is no evidence to suggest either woman was Black.
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