Cleopatra, the last queen of Egypt and her tragic end

On August 10th, 30 BC, at the age of 39, Cleopatra’s life came to a dramatic end. It has been 2,055 years since that fateful day, marking the final chapter for the Queen of world history.

Cleopatra was found in a stone chamber, lying on a gilded bed in her finest royal attire and crown. At her feet lay her most trusted maid, Iras, dead. Her other maid, Charmian, passed away shortly after, having witnessed her queen's final breath.

For 21 years, Cleopatra had ruled Egypt. She came to power at 18, forced into a partnership and marriage with her younger brother, Ptolemy XIII. This alliance quickly crumbled, leading to a bitter civil war.

While Egypt was in chaos, the Roman ruler Julius Caesar arrived. Cleopatra famously had herself smuggled in to meet him and, captivated by her intelligence and beauty, Caesar became her ally. With his help, she defeated and killed her brother in battle.

Cleopatra reclaimed her throne, ruling first with another brother, Ptolemy XIV, and later with her son by Caesar, Caesarion.

After Caesar's assassination, Cleopatra returned to Egypt. There, she met Mark Antony, one of Rome's new leaders, who fell for her just as Caesar had. Their love affair led to three children.

Enraged by their union, Octavian, another of Rome's leaders, declared war. In the inevitable battle, Cleopatra and Antony were utterly defeated.

The couple fled and, in a desperate act, Cleopatra sent a false message that she was dead. Believing her, Antony took his own life, only to learn the truth as he lay dying. He was brought to her chamber, where he died in her arms.

Octavian captured her, but she refused to be paraded as a Roman captive. While imprisoned in her own chamber, she chose to die by using the venom of a cobra. When Octavian's soldiers arrived to take her, they found her and her two loyal maids dead.

In a final act of revenge, Octavian ordered the death of her son, Caesarion. With Cleopatra's death, Egypt’s independent kingdom was absorbed into the Roman Empire.

Ultimately, she did not die as a captive. Wearing her crown and royal jewels, she chose her own end, ensuring her legacy as a queen who defied her Roman captors until the very last moment.

Who is the greatest queen of India?

There were many great Indian Queens.

Rani Lakshmi Bai

Rani Tarabai Bhonsle

Rani Chennamma

Rani Nike Devi

Razia Sultan,

Padmini,

Nur Jehan

Rani Mangamma

Velu Nachiyar

Rudrama Devi

But none can match the chola empress Kundavai.

Kundavai Pirattiyar or Kundavai Nachiyar or simply Kundavai was famous for her beauty, intelligence, and diplomatic strategies. Further, she was considered different from all other women.

She didn’t rule the chola empire directly but ruled the vast empire through her younger brother Arulmozhi ( aka Rajaraja )& his son Arasendra ( aka Rajendra )

She was born in 945 AD and died in 1030. We have a 1024 inscription in a Jain temple named after her in Thirumalai, near Tiruvannamalai

An inscription dating back to 1024 CE is present mentioning the name Kunthavai Jinalaya temple. This inscription mentions the list of conquests done by Rajendra Chola I and the offerings made by him to Kunthavai Jinalaya temple.

The bedridden king Sundaran Chola assigned Kundavai to manage the administration while her brothers were away guarding the north and south borders

Most of the chola bronze statues were modelled on her physical beauty.Sembian madevi was another

A powerful novel in which she was one the main characters was penned by the Tamil writer Kalki

Manirathnam the Kollywood director successfully portrayed her beauty through the Tamil actress Trisha but failed miserably to bring out her intelligence and diplomatic strategies on the screen.

She is believed to have built many Jain temples but at least two Jain temples have inscriptions that records to have been built by her, one at Rajarajeswaram later known as Darasuram and the other at Tirumalai.

The inscriptions here suggest vessels and ornaments made of gold, silver and pearl and presented to the temples of Kundavai-Vinnagar-Alvar, Iravikulamanikka-Iswara and Kundavai Jinalaya, built by the princess Parantakan Kundavai Pirattiyar, daughter of Ponmaligaittunjiyadevar(Parantaka Sundara Chola)

The usual practice of cholas was to marry their daughters to Kannada, Telugu and Kerala Kings and marry their sons in Kannada, Telugu, south east Asia and also in the chola vassal Kingdoms.

But Kundavai broke this norm, and with an intention to stay back in chola country permanently , married a vassal prince Vallavarayan Vandyadevan who fought many successful wars in srilanka under Arulmozhi and Arasendran .

She was saddened by many sorrowful events in her life. She lost her parents at a young age. Her elder brother Adithya Karikalan was assassinated by the enemies at a very young age.

Finally her younger brother Arulmozhi Devan died before her.

But nothing deterred her in relishing her dreams of a vast chola empire.

She encouraged Arulmozhi to expand the chola empire in all directions.

After his death, she encouraged Arasendran whom she nurtured from his young age, to continue the conquests and go beyond the oceans too.

This chola empire is the largest overseas empire from India. It’s also one of the largest Asian empires. It is larger than the Guptas, Rashtrakutas, the present India, Kushans, Guriads and Ghaznavids.

After her death the chola empire did not expand. It remained the same for the next forty years.

She also encouraged her brother and nephew to construct Massive Siva temples in Tanjore and Gangai konda Cholapuram.

Kundavai is indeed a great queen of India.

TARABAI - THE MARATHA QUEEN WHO FOUGHT THE MUGHAL EMPIRE

Tarabai was the daughter in law of chatrapati shivaji maharaj. Wife of rajaram, the younger brother of sambhaji maharaj.

After shivaji maharaj died, his oldest son sambhaji maharaj took over the maratha empire and fought the Mughals for years strengthening themselves and weakening the Mughals. When sambhaji maharaj bravely died 1689 while fighting aurangzeb. His younger brother took over the empire. Sambhaji maharaj’s wife and son were captured.

When even rajaram died and maratha empire didn't have any male heir while fighting the dominant Mughal Empire. Rajarams wife TARABAI took over maratha empire and bravely fought for years. Not only she weakened the Mughal Empire, she regained the lost territories of Marathas . She bravely fought battles after battles.

Under her leadership, Marathas carried out guieralla warfare harrassing the Mughal army. By 1707 aurangzeb died and under tarabai’s leadership maratha empire became the dominant power in India.

Tarabai remains one of the greatest female rulers in Indian history. Her leadership helped keep the Maratha Empire alive during its most challenging times. She is remembered as a warrior queen who defied the odds and ensured the survival of her people.

Between 1702 and 1705, the Marathas launched aggressive campaigns that weakened the Mughal hold in the Deccan. Aurangzeb, who had personally led the campaign, faced severe setbacks

Tarabai proved that even in a male-dominated society, a woman could lead an empire in wartime. She not only kept the Marathas united but also led them to victories that ensured their survival.

Tarabai didn't just defend Maratha territory—she expanded it. Under her leadership:The Marathas attacked Mughal strongholds in Gujarat, Malwa, and Central India.They continued pressing into the Mughal territories, forcing the emperor to shift focus from offense to defense.

Tarabai is the unsung queen of our history, without her the maratha empire would have fallen in hands of Mughal Empire. She rised like a ray of hope for every maratha, every hindu in crucial times.