Julius Caesar in Egypt: Cleopatra and the War in Alexandria

In 48 BC the armies of Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great fought a decisive battle at Pharsalus in Greece. Pompey was comprehensively defeated and fled to the last power in the Mediterranean world that was independent of Rome, Ptolemaic Egypt. Caesar pursued Pompey and was presented with his severed head, which the Egyptians hoped would make Caesar leave them in peace.

Instead, Caesar – as if he did not have enough to do already – plunged gleefully into the world of Egyptian palace politics,...