The Last Queens of Egypt

by Sally-Ann Ashton

The last of the Ptolemaic monarchs who ruled Egypt for 300 years, Cleopatra is the most famous of the Ptolemaic queens. But what of her predecessors? The Last Queens of Egypt examines the roles played by the Ptolemaic royal women and explores their part in religion, politics and court intrigue. Explaining their propensity for incest, murder and power, Sally Ann Ashton shows the extent of the power they enjoyed, the price they paid, and how they shaped Cleopatra's reign.

Genres: Egypt

200 pages, Hardcover

First published June 12, 2003

Reviews

[Jaga · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love those divas

[Devon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Expectations were high for a introspective look into the lives of the last Ptolemaic queens, but this is a book that really seems to go nowhere. Every other page is a reference to a statue or bust of a queen, which interrupts the narrative flow and makes it difficult for novices to really understand this period of Egyptian history.

[Joan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is not what I'd expected. Only half of a chapter contained short biographies of the different Cleopatra's in the Ptolemy dynasty. A large part of the book is dedicated to descriptions and interpretations of remaining statues of the different Cleopatra's, mainly the first ones and the last. In my opinion it's not really about the Cleopatra's in the title, but more about the world in which they lived.