Queens of Ancient Egypt

Over three thousand years ago, the Egyptian queen Tiye became a goddess on Earth. She also inspired a religious revolution that threw Egypt into turmoil. Tiye may have blazed a trail for the world’s leading religions – and the belief that there is only one true god.

Cleopatra II, namesake of the great Cleopatra VII, had an even more shocking reign. Hers is a dramatic tale of incest, murder, rape and mutilation. Cleopatra II wielded great power and would do anything to keep it. She saw her dynasty torn apart by hatred—but she also saved it from destruction.

Cleopatra Selene, daughter of Cleopatra the Great and Mark Antony, saw her dynasty collapse amid her parents’ defeat and suicide. Taken to Rome as a prisoner, all looked lost for Selene. But she rose from the embers to marry the African king Juba II and become one of the continent’s greatest queens.