Cleopatra VII, the last active ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt, died in Alexandria after the defeat of her forces and those of Mark Antony by Octavian. Egypt was subsequently annexed by Rome. Her death ended nearly three centuries of Macedonian Greek rule founded after Alexander the Great's conquests.

Cleopatra became one of literature's most enduring figures, appearing in works by Plutarch, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Dryden and Cavafy. Poets and dramatists have used her final days to explore empire, erotic power, political performance and tragic self-determination.