How long did Cleopatra VII rule Egypt?

Cleopatra became joint ruler with her younger brother Ptolemy XII, to whom she was married, in 51 BC. Their father's will made Rome the guardian of Egypt, for by this time the dynasty of the Ptolemys had become weak. The chief ministers, Pothinus and Achillas, planned to get rid of Cleopatra so that they could rule through Ptolemy XII, and they finally succeeded in expelling her to Syria. There she raised an army and set out for Egypt. Julius Caesar arrived in Alexandria, and Cleopatra petitioned him to intervene on her behalf. He ordered that Cleopatra be restored to the throne. Ptolemy and his advisers rebelled against Caesar's forces, and Ptolemy XII drowned while trying to escape. After his death Cleopatra married another younger brother, Ptolemy XIII. Julius Caesar and Cleopatra seem to have had an affair while he was in Egypt, and she eventually bore a son whom she named Caesarian. Caesar left for Rome and Cleopatra followed him there. While she was staying in Rome Caesar was ...  more