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Cleopatra was a name of Egyptian queens.
The most famous Cleopatra was Cleopatra VI, who was the last Queen of Egypt. According to Roman propaganda and legend she was born in 69 BC of Macedonian descent and became joint ruler with her brother, Ptolemy XIV in 52 BC. Exiled by her brother she retired to Syria and secured the aid of Julius Caesar. Ptolemy XIV was killed and Cleopatra was made Queen whereupon she returned to Rome with Caesar as his mistress.
On Caesar's death in 44 BC Cleopatra returned to Egypt and declared Caesarion, her son by Caesar, joint ruler. Mark Anthony now became her lover and put Caesarion to death. Cleopatra killed herself with the bite of an asp after failing to win favour with the new Roman Emperor Octavius and fearing capture.
It is far more likely that the Arabic accounts of Cleopatra are more accurate than the Roman, as Cleopatra was a political enemy of the Roman Empire. The Arabic accounts describe Cleopatra as an accomplished and effective ruler, scholar, alchemist, scientist and physician who effectively challenged Roman rule in the Eastern Mediterranean and who was the antipathy of Roman values.
Whether Cleopatra committed suicide or not is not known. The Roman propaganda, so popular with the Victorian British would have us believe so, but modern scholars researching Cleopatra consider it unlikely that Cleopatra would have killed herself.
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