323 BC Ptolemy rules in Egypt
In the carve up of Alexander the Great's empire, Ptolemy wins Egypt and founds the Ptolemaic dynasty – with himself as the pharaoh Ptolemy I

69 BC Cleopatra is born
Cleopatra, destined to become the last ruling pharaoh as Cleopatra VII, is born in Egypt – the daughter of Ptolemy XII

51 BC Cleopatra becomes joint ruler of Egypt
Ptolemy XII dies, leaving Egypt to his young son, now Ptolemy XIII, and to his older daughter Cleopatra

51 BC Cleopatra rules
In the Ptolemaic tradition, Cleopatra marries her brother Ptolemy XIII and at the age of eighteen is joint ruler of Egypt

48 BC Caesar defeats Pompey
Julius Caesar defeats his rival Pompey at Pharsalus, in Greece, and makes himself master of the Roman world

48 BC Caesar given Pompey's severed head
Caesar, reaching Egypt, is not pleased when sent by Ptolemy XIII the gift of Pompey's severed head, already embalmed

48 BC Civil war between Cleopatra and her brother
Civil war breaks out in Egypt between Ptolemy XIII and his sister Cleopatra, each scheming to become sole ruler

48 BC Pompey murdered in Egypt
Pompey, seeking in Egypt refuge from Caesar, is first welcomed and then murdered by the faction of Ptolemy XIII

48 BC Caesar dallies with Cleopatra
Julius Caesar, now fifty-two, meets the 21-year-old Cleopatra in Alexandria and they become lovers

47 BC Cleopatra says her child is Caesar's
Cleopatra gives birth to a son and calls him Ptolemy XV Caesar (later known by the nickname Caesarion)

47 BC Caesar helps Cleopatra win civil war
The combined forces of Caesar and Cleopatra defeat Ptolemy XIII in a battle fought in the Nile delta

47 BC Cleopatra's brother is drowned
Ptolemy XIII is either killed or accidentally drowns while attempting to escape across the Nile

47 BC Cleopatra marries another brother
Cleopatra acquires a new co-ruler and husband in the form of another young brother, now Ptolemy XIV

47 BC Caesar returns to Italy by land
Julius Caesar leaves Alexandria to travel with his army by the land route back to Italy, through Turkey

47 BC Veni, vidi, vici
Julius Caesar concludes a campaign in Asia Minor so speedily that he declares, succinctly, Veni, vidi, vici ('I came, I saw, I conquered')

46 BC Cleopatra takes Caesarion to Rome
Cleopatra travels to Rome with Caesarion, whom Caesar now officially recognizes as his son

44 BC Shock on Ides of March
On March 15, the Ides of March, Julius Caesar is stabbed to death during a meeting of the senate

44 BC Octavian is Caesar's heir
Octavian, an 18-year-old student in Apollonia, hears that he has been named by his uncle, Julius Caesar, as his successor and heir

44 BC Cleopatra returns to Egypt
Soon after the assassination of Caesar, Cleopatra and Caesarion return to Egypt

44 BC Cleopatra's 3-year-old son rules with her
Cleopatra appoints Caesarion, now aged three, her co-ruler and heir

44 BC Another brother of Cleopatra's dies
Cleopatra's brother and co-ruler, Ptolemy XIV, dies – probably at her command

43 BC Octavian, Mark Antony, Lepidus form trio
Octavian, Mark Antony and Lepidus meet in Bologna and form an alliance known as the second triumvirate

42 BC Octavian wins at Philippi
Octavian and Mark Antony defeat the armies of Brutus and Cassius at Philippi, after which Brutus and Cassius commit suicide

42 BC After Philippi, Mark Antony stays in the east
After their victory at Philippi, Octavian returns to Rome and Mark Antony remains in the east to control the extremities of the empire

41 BC Mark Antony summons Cleopatra to Turkey
Mark Antony summons Cleopatra to visit him in Tarsus, to answer rumours that she has been disloyal to the empire

41 BC Cleopatra in golden barge
Keeping her appointment with Mark Antony in Tarsus, Cleopatra arrives in a golden barge, dressed as the goddess of love – and he proves susceptible

41 BC Cleopatra's sister is executed
Cleopatra persuades Mark Antony to execute her sister Arsinoe, thus removing her last potential rival in the Egyptian royal family

41 BC Mark Antony stays with Cleopatra in Egypt
Mark Antony spends the winter with Cleopatra in Alexandria

40 BC Cleopatra gives birth to twins
Cleopatra gives birth to twins and calls them Alexander and Cleopatra

37 BC Antony and Cleopatra marry
Antony and Cleopatra, accompanied by their three-year-old twins, marry in Antioch

36 BC Cleopatra gives birth to another of Mark Antony's children
Cleopatra gives birth to another son of Mark Antony's and calls him Ptolemy Philadelphus

34 BC Donations of Alexandria
In a spectacular cerermony known as the Donations of Alexandria, Mark Antony distributes the eastern Roman territories between Cleopatra, her eldest son (Caesarion) and his own three children

31 BC Octavian wins at Actium
Octavian defeats the forces of Antony and Cleopatra (both are at sea with their fleets) in a battle off the Greek coast at Actium

30 BC Octavian imprisons Cleopatra in her palace
Octavian arrives in Egypt with an army, and holds Cleopatra a prisoner in her palace in Alexandria

30 BC Mark Antony commits suicide
Hearing that Cleopatra is dead (false news, as it turns out), Mark Antony commits suicide in Alexandria

30 BC Asp in Cleopatra's bosom
Cleopatra commits suicide, applying a poisonous asp to her breast,

30 BC Caesarion is executed by Octavian
The Egyptians declare Caesarion to be their pharaoh, but it is not long before he is executed by Octavian - bringing to an end the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt

30 BC Octavian annexes Egypt
Octavian annexes Egypt as a Roman territory and takes back to Rome the vast treasures of the Egyptian pharaohs

30 BC Rome controls Mediterranean
With the annexation of Egypt, the entire Mediterranean falls under Roman control

29 BC Egyptian hoard reaches Rome
When Octavian's Egyptian hoard reaches Rome, the standard rate of interest falls from 12% to 4%

27 BC Octavian becomes Augustus Caesar
Octavian is given the life-long title of Augustus by the senate in Rome, becoming in effect the first Roman emperor