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Beyond the podcast: The world of Cleopatra
How much do you know about the life and cultural afterlife of Cleopatra? To accompany my four-part HistoryExtra podcast series on the ancient Egyptian pharaoh with author and broadcaster Dr Islam Issa, I've compiled a list of essential reading, listening and viewing to help you get to know one of the ancient world’s most formidable figures
- Matt Elton
Published: May 19, 2026 at 3:00 PM
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In the first century BC, a figure emerged on to the world stage who would prove to be a source of fascination for thousands of years: Cleopatra. Her rise to the throne was far from straightforward, with bloody family politics and the complexities of regional politics studding her path to power. Yet, despite her skill at navigating this and more, the Cleopatra of the popular imagination is often reduced to a bewitching beauty who used her feminine wiles to enthral any male leader who came into her orbit.
To help paint a fuller picture, this four-part HistoryExtra podcast series sees Dr Islam Issa – professor of public humanities at Birmingham City University – chronicle the real life and times of this towering figure of the ancient world. From her family background to her tragic final moments, we separate the myth from the reality, explore the ways in which Cleopatra is portrayed in non-western sources, and examine just why her story has proven so enduring.
Below, I’ve curated my picks of the best reading, listening and viewing from the HistoryExtra archives to help you make sense of Cleopatra’s life and world – including analysis skills as a leader to a look at her place in the pantheon of powerful female rulers.
Showing 1 to 10 of 10 results
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The seven Cleopatras who shaped the ancient world. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.
Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones talks to Matt Elton about the seven queens who shared the name Cleopatra, and how they were able to shape the ancient world in their image
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Ptolemy XII: Cleopatra's father from hell. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.
The tragic fate of Cleopatra has long overshadowed her predecessor, Ptolemy XII. But, as Diana T Nikolova explains, it’s impossible to understand the daughter’s downfall without exploring the father’s hapless reign.
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On the steps of a sacred temple, Cleopatra's feud with her sister came to a blood-soaked end
Cleopatra persuaded Mark Antony to order the execution of her sister Arsinoe IV on the steps of one of antiquity’s greatest temples, breaking the sacred law of sanctuary and leaving behind a mystery that still unsettles historians today
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The face of Cleopatra: what did she look like, and was she really so beautiful?
She was described by the Roman historian Cassius Dio as "a woman of surpassing beauty", and is portrayed by Hollywood as a glamorous seductress. But was Cleopatra really the famous beauty she is often depicted as? In this feature, first published in 2016, Professor Kevin Butcher investigates…
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Cleopatra, Julius Caesar and Mark Antony: how the last pharaoh's love affairs shaped Ancient Egypt's fate
Cleopatra's relationships with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony had fundamental consequences for both Egypt and Rome...
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Actium, 31 BC: the beginning of the end for Mark Antony and Cleopatra
Military historian Julian Humphrys explains what happened at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, and why this naval clash off the Greek coast presaged both the end of the Roman Republic and the deaths of one history’s most famous couples
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When and how did Queen Cleopatra die and who killed her?
Cleopatra, last of the Egyptian pharaohs, tried (and failed) to use her charm to save Ancient Egypt from the incursions of Rome. How did she and her lover Mark Antony meet their ends?
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MembershipvideoEpisode 2Cleopatra’s rise and fall. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.
Cleopatra is remembered as a romantic figure, but she was one of the most formidable leaders of the ancient world. In episode two of her HistoryExtra Academy series on royal women, historian Kate Williams considers a life of power, risk and survival
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Cleopatra's daughter: the tragic inheritance to triumphant reign of Cleopatra Selene
Jane Draycott reveals how Cleopatra Selene, daughter of Mark Antony and Cleopatra, turned a tragic inheritance into a triumphant reign...
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Ancient EgyptaudioGreat Reputations: Cleopatra. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.
In the latest in our series charting the contested reputations of key historical figures, Joyce Tyldesley and Catharine Edwards discuss the life and legacy of Egyptian queen Cleopatra
See more Beyond the podcast: The world of Cleopatra
Authors
Matt EltonPodcast editor
Matt Elton is the podcast editor at HistoryExtra
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