article for June 1, 2019
Article of the day for June 1, 2019 is Cleopatra . Cleopatra (69–30 BC) was the last active ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, though nominally survived as pharaoh by her son Caesarion. As a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, she was a descendant of its founder Ptolemy I Soter, a Macedonian Greek general and companion of Alexander the Great. After the death of Cleopatra, Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire, marking the end of the Hellenistic period that had lasted since the reign of Alexander (336–323 BC). While her native language was Koine Greek, she was the first Ptolemaic ruler to learn the Egyptian language. Cleopatra's legacy survives in numerous works of art. She has been a pop culture icon of Egyptomania since the Victorian era, appearing in burlesque satire, Hollywood films such as Cleopatra (1963), and commercial brands.
