The death of Cleopatra, the last ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt, occurred in
30 BC in Alexandria, when she was 39 years old. According to Greek and
Roman historians, she poisoned herself using either an ointment or a
sharp implement such as a hairpin. Modern scholars debate the validity
of these accounts, and of ancient reports involving snakebites as the
cause of death. Cleopatra's death effectively ended the final war of the
Roman Republic between triumvirs Octavian (Augustus) and Mark Antony, in
which she aligned herself with Antony, father to three of her children.
Her suicide circumvented the humiliation of being paraded as a prisoner
in a Roman triumph celebrating the military victories of Octavian, who
in 27 BC became Rome's first emperor. Cleopatra's death marked the end
of the Hellenistic period and Ptolemaic rule of Egypt, as well as the
beginning of Roman Egypt. The death has been depicted in various works
of art throughout history. (This article is part of a featured topic:
Cleopatra.).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/Cleopatra>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1861:
Militia forces led by Nguyễn Trung Trực, an anti-colonial
leader in southern Vietnam, sank the French lorcha L'Esperance.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nguy%E1%BB%85n_Trung_Tr%E1%BB%B1c>
1936:
Edward VIII, desiring to marry the American socialite Wallis
Simpson against widespread British opposition, signed the instrument of
abdication to renounce the throne in favour of his brother George VI.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdication_of_Edward_VIII>
1983:
Raúl Alfonsín became the first democratically elected
president of Argentina to take office after more than seven years of
military dictatorship.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ra%C3%BAl_Alfons%C3%ADn>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
gylany:
(sociology) A social system based on equality of women and men.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gylany>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Let it never be said by future generations that indifference,
cynicism or selfishness made us fail to live up to the ideals of
humanism which the Nobel Peace Prize encapsulates. Let the strivings of
us all, prove Martin Luther King Jr. to have been correct, when he said
that humanity can no longer be tragically bound to the starless midnight
of racism and war. Let the efforts of us all, prove that he was not a
mere dreamer when he spoke of the beauty of genuine brotherhood and
peace being more precious than diamonds or silver or gold. Let a new
age dawn!
--Nelson Mandela
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela>