Upon the death of her father, Cleopatra was raised

in a conspicuous position. By that time, the throne

was passed down to her in her earlier years.
Cleopatra and her older brother Ptolemy XIII were
given the power to lead Egypt and because she’s
older than her brother, she becomes the dominant
ruler. During her position, she was forced to leave
Egypt due to Ptolemy’s advisers. Cleopatra with
Caesar’s support regained her position on the
throne.
With the help of Julius Caesar, Cleopatra attained
her position as Queen of Egypt. Julius Caesar was
a wise political leader and general. He aimed to be
the most successful conqueror of the world. He had
conducted the most brilliant and successful
campaigns in all the 3 quarters of the world. He
strengthened his army by conquering various
tribes which were a threat to Rome. He had faced
defeat in a war against Pompey and his troops but
in another war, he commanded his army with such
excellence which leads to Pompey’s defeat. The
money and power he gained were put to good use.
He didn’t use the money he earned and the land he
occupied for his personal gain but for his people
too.
Unfortunately, a small portion of Egypt was
affected greatly by the war against Mithridates.
The great mass of people knew nothing about the
conflict but from vague and distant rumors.
Buildings, palaces, and bridges were damaged, but
Cleopatra repaired and rebuilt them all. After the
war, the injuries which had been done to the
palaces and other public edifices of Alexandria by
the fire, and by the military operations of the
siege, were repaired. The bridges were built. The
canals which had been broken down were opened
again. The seawater was shut off from the palace
cisterns; the rubbish of demolished houses was
removed; the barricades were cleared from the
streets; and the injuries that the palaces had
suffered, either from the violence of the military
engines or the rough occupation of the Roman
soldiery, were repaired. In words, the city was
speedily restored to its former beauty and order.
Even the 500,000 Alexandrian manuscripts in the
library, which have been burned and cannot be
restored, Cleopatra made an effort to retrieve
them. She repaired the ruined buildings that
preserves their historic sites.
The renovation process was tough, with all the
tough grind it required; Cleopatra gained respect
from the metropolis.
Cleopatra was a phenomenal leader because she dealt with the
Romans all by herself when the known world of theirs had
been conquered by the Romans. She did all that she could in
order to restore what was lost and damaged. She made use of
her great intelligence and beauty. She was highly educated, an
excellent administrator, and a great diplomat. She ran her
country almost seamlessly and made Egypt prosperous again
with Egypt’s riches supplied by the Nile. As a leader, she was
patriotic (at least to her dynasty) and improved her kingdom’s
international relations to a great extent. Cleopatra's powerful
performance turned the country of Egypt into a prosperous
one.
The quality of Cleopatra's leadership makes her a good and
wise Queen. A leader should take a lead, has courage, clear
vision with ambition for success. A wise leader has foresight
that uses reason, experience, and careful observation. They
allow for non- rational and subjective elements when making
decisions and have an orientation beyond self-interest toward
the Common Good. Having qualities that are intellectual,
influential, confident, and brave will make you a good and
wise leader that takes power to lead an empire. Intellect, a
Queen should be knowledgeable and well informed about her
surroundings. She should be able to understand what it will
take for her country to be successful and what’s good for
people, for her to make good decisions and plans. Getting the
people to listen to you and convince them is a must, therefore,
a Queen should be influential. Additional qualities that a
Queen should have is confidence and braveness. If a Queen is
confident, especially with her decisions, it will make the
people she rules trust her. She must also be brave to overcome
the challenges she would face as she rules. Leaders became
great not because of their power but of their own superiors and
knowledge to empower others.
During her time as a Queen, she did not want to change
her relationship with her brother and with the
government, as she wanted to keep her power. At that
time, Cleopatra began to grow selfish, heartless and
designing because of her luxury and splendor life that
was beyond the limits she attained. That is why before
the time arrived, she caused the death of her two
siblings, Ptolemy XIV and Arsinoe. She poisoned her
brother, made her sister assassinated, and continued to
reign alone. With her action, Cleopatra might saw them
as rivals. She feared someone will take her throne and
her possessiveness caused the death of her brother. If she
hadn’t ordered them to be killed, her position as the
Queen will be been threatened and her ways of the ruling
will be been affected. We do not think what she did to
her siblings was fair at all but I do think that she did it
for the betterment of Egypt.
From Cleopatra's actions, we can state that fairness and
justice to Cleopatra do not exist as she sees fairness and
justice as torment. She ordered/commanded her slaves
or workers to build those magnificent structures, but the
people under them suffered. She did not think of their
sufferings. In change, she kept them alive and worked for
her.
At that time she also puts an end to her brothers' lives,
she thinks that killings her relatives are okay. For her,
their deaths are justified because she should be the one
in power and control over Egypt. However, if she did not
kill them, she wouldn’t be Queen and Egypt would not be
as prosperous as it is.
Some do agree with her actions because it leads to
the betterment of Egypt. She was the one who
built up their economy, and she knew how to use
her knowledge and resources well. She embraced
Egyptian culture, and the country was prosperous
during her rule. She was also the first woman to
influence Rome’s politics. Moreover, she led the
Battle of Actium.

The others do not agree with Cleopatra's actions

because if you want the best for your nation,
you're willing to step down from your position just
to give your nation the best support and a ruler. I
also don’t want to dirty my hand by killing my
relatives because of fear and possessiveness. As
she grew, she started to become selfish, heartless
and designing. She killed her brother just to escape
her arrangement with Caesar. Cleopatra was just
spending her early years of reign with all of her
luxury and splendor. She commanded those barges
and other infrastructures without feeling any
sympathy for her slaves or workers. With all of
these, she did not even struggle with her reigning
years because she did not interfere with any
conscientious scruples as she lived her life with
indulgence.
The following are local female political icons that we can
compare with Cleopatra:
• (first) The 5th pharaoh of Egypt, Hatshepsut, is one of the
greatest female political icons closely compares with
Cleopatra. Under her reign, temples were built, trade
relations with other countries were established and she
brought wealth to Egypt.
• (second) The former Philippine President, Gloria Macapagal-
Arroyo, not all of our presidents were good in their terms.
Arroyo was accused of presidential election rigging
allegations. Similar to Cleopatra, all that she wanted was
wealth and power from her position as a Queen.
Political leaders’ decision has a huge influence on people. First of
all, they are the ones in power and in control of the people
therefore, their decisions and rules must be obeyed. Even if it is
bad or good for them, they have no choice but to obey because it
is what their ruler has decided. If a political leader did something
wrong, it would change how people perceive him/her as a leader.
They would lose trust in the government and run protests that
would support or be against him/her. This is why leaders should
be more thoughtful of their people because their way of life is in
the hands of the leader. Leaders should be good and effective
listeners to help in creating better decisions that influence both
the government and its people. Members of the community do
have fruitful knowledge about certain topics that we wouldn't
know, it can be the best way to end certain problems. Creating
decision that involves the knowledge of people will help the
nation to have a better economy since both do understand each
other's perspectives.
Remember that every action has an equal or opposite reaction,
leaders should be aware of how their laws can affect the
community positively or negatively. Let's make a better
community with a fair and upright ruling.