The Roman Pharaohs were a group of Egyptian rulers who ruled during the Roman Empire’s period of occupation in Egypt. They were famous for their strong leadership and their efforts to maintain Egypt’s independence from Roman rule.

However, a number of Egyptian rulers were able to maintain their independence and rule as pharaohs.  Using their control over the Egyptian military to resist Roman control.

One of the most famous of these Roman Pharaohs was Cleopatra, who ruled Egypt in the late 1st century BCE. She is famous for her role in the Roman-Egyptian War and her alliance with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony.

Another notable Roman Pharaoh was Ptolemy XIII, who ruled Egypt in the early 1st century BCE. He was a part of a power struggle with his sister, Cleopatra. Which ended in his death and her ascension to the throne.

History

Cleopatra VII had affairs with Roman dictator Julius Caesar and Roman general Mark Antony, but it was not until after her 30 BC suicide (after Mark Antony’s defeat against Octavian, who became Emperor Augustus) that Egypt became a province of the Roman Republic. Although Octavian made a point of not taking the Pharaonic crown when he conquered Egypt, which would have been difficult to justify to the wider empire considering the vast amount of Propaganda which he had spread about the “exotic” behavior of Cleopatra and Antony, the native population of Egypt regarded him as the pharaoh succeeding Cleopatra and Caesarion. Depictions of Octavian, now called Augustus, in traditional pharaonic garbs (wearing different crowns and the traditional kilt)