The Donations of Alexandria (autumn 34 BC) was a political act by Cleopatra VII and

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman people, Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the Crisis of the Roman Republic, transformation of the Roman Republic ...

in which they distributed lands held by

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and

Parthia Parthia ( ''Parθava''; ''Parθaw''; ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Medes during the 7th century BC, was incorporated into the subsequent Achaemeni ...

among Cleopatra's children and gave them many titles, especially for Caesarion, the son of

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

. This was the second of two such donations; a similar donation ceremony had taken place two years earlier at

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

in 36 BC, at which time the donations enjoyed Octavian's full approval of the Antonine strategy of dominating the East by exploiting Cleopatra's unique royal Ptolemaic lineage in the donated territories. Ultimately, the Donations (of 34 BC) caused a fatal rupture in Antonine relations with Rome and were one of the causes of the final war of the Roman Republic.

Background

The donations followed the failure of Antony's military campaign in

. Antony tried to play up his military success against

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

and downplay his defeat by Parthia by staging a festival imitating a Roman triumph to celebrate his victory over the Armenian leader Artavasdes, who was led through the city of Alexandria in captivity. Antony then held a public banquet at which he dressed up as the god

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ...

.Prudence J. Jones, ''Cleopatra: The Last Pharaoh'', Haus Publishing, 2006, pp. 89–91 The captured Armenian royal family were brought before Cleopatra VII to prostrate themselves, but they refused to do so, incurring her wrath.

Donations

For the finale of the festivities, the whole city was summoned to the gymnasium of Alexandria, where Antony and Cleopatra, dressed as

Osiris Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wikt:wsjr, wsjr'') was the ancient Egyptian deities, god of fertility, agriculture, the Ancient Egyptian religion#Afterlife, afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was ...

and

Isis Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

Aphrodite Aphrodite (, ) is an Greek mythology, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, procreation, and as her syncretism, syncretised Roman counterpart , desire, Sexual intercourse, sex, fertility, prosperity, and ...

, sat on golden thrones. Caesarion was depicted as

Horus Horus (), also known as Heru, Har, Her, or Hor () in Egyptian language, Ancient Egyptian, is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities who served many functions, most notably as the god of kingship, healing, protection, the sun, and t ...

, son of Isis. The children were similarly in the attire of their new kingdoms. Antony confirmed Cleopatra as queen of Egypt, Cyprus, Libya and central Syria. Dio 49.41, 50.3;

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

, Life of Antony, pp. 54, 58 The Donations themselves included: * Alexander Helios was named king of

Media Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...

and

; *his twin Cleopatra Selene II got Cyrenaica and

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

; *the young Ptolemy Philadelphus was awarded

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

Phoenicia Phoenicians were an Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syria, Syrian ...

and Cilicia; *Cleopatra was proclaimed Queen of Kings and Queen of Egypt, to rule with Caesarion (Ptolemy XV Caesar, son of

) * Caesarion was proclaimed the son of the deified Julius Caesar ( son of god),

King of Kings King of Kings, ''Mepet mepe''; , group="n" was a ruling title employed primarily by monarchs based in the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. Commonly associated with History of Iran, Iran (historically known as name of Iran, Persia ...

and King of Egypt; Caesarion was declared the legitimate heir of

, despite the fact that Caesar himself had adopted Octavian (later known as Augustus) in his will and left him most of his fortune.

Consequences

Antony sent an announcement of the donations to Rome, hoping that the Senate would approve them, but they refused. Octavian's political position was threatened by the recognition of Caesarion as the legitimate heir to Caesar's name. Octavian's base of power was his connection to Caesar through

adoption Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, fro ...

, which gave him much-needed popularity and the loyalty of the legions. Octavian stepped up his personal attacks on Mark Antony and Cleopatra, and the Second Triumvirate expired on the last day of 33 BC, not to be renewed. Thus began the last war of the Roman Republic, with Octavian's victory ushering in the Imperial era.

References

External links

Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'', Book 49

Plutarch, ''Life of Antony'', Chapter 54
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donations Of Alexandria 34 BC 1st century BC in Egypt 1st century BC in the Roman Republic Cleopatra Ptolemaic Alexandria Foreign relations of ancient Rome Caesarion Mark Antony Second Triumvirate

Background

Donations

Consequences

See also

References

External links