Duane W. Roller

was probably in the city at the time, perhaps even a witness to the events.
Cicero, also there, pointedly asked, “Just where did that diadem come
from?” 23 Th e answer seems obvious, but the public disapproved, and
Caesar’s death six weeks later meant that the plans, whatever they were,
were never fulfi lled. It is no surprise that Cicero abhorred her.
Th e diplomatic needs that brought Cleopatra to Rome in 46 b.c.
would not have taken long, and there was every reason for the queen to
return to her kingdom promptly. 24 Suetonius reported that she left Rome
while Caesar was still alive, 25 presumably before Caesar departed for
Spain late in the year on an expedition to eliminate lingering Pompeian
support there. On this campaign, as was his custom, he would have a
personal relationship with royalty, in this case Eunoë Maura, the queen
of Mauretania.
Th us Cleopatra was back in Alexandria by the end of 46 b.c. Th e year
45 b.c. is a total blank in her biography, as she devoted herself to consolidating
her kingdom with the tools that Caesar had given her. In early 44
b.c., however, she made another journey to Rome. Caesar himself had
returned from Spain the previous year, eliminating all his opposition.
Th ere is no explicit evidence as to why the queen made a second trip to
the city, but it probably was to assert her needs within the new Roman
order that had been established, as Caesar was actively engaged in his
reform program. She may even have been afraid that the annexation of
Egypt—a topic festering in Rome for 20 years—was on the agenda. Th e
fact that her journey by necessity would have been in midwinter demonstrates
how important the trip was to her. She came without her brother
Ptolemy XIV, who was rapidly fading as a person of importance.
Whatever was the reason that Cleopatra was in Rome in early 44 b.c.,
her relationship with Caesar was a contributing factor in the conspiracy
of M. Brutus and L. Cassius Longinus that led to his assassination on the
Ides of March. Cicero’s comments in the weeks following indicate how
distasteful her presence had become. 26 But the queen did not immediately
leave the city aft er Caesar’s death—another indication that it was the
Roman government, not merely the dictator, that brought her to Rome—
perhaps because she saw an opportunity to put forward Caesarion as his
heir, though these hopes failed when it became apparent that Caesar’s will
off ered no recognition and may even have denied parentage. She departed
Rome in mid-April, at the same time that her future nemesis, Caesar’s
grandnephew Octavian, arrived in Italy on his way to the city, having
been named his primary heir. Within a few weeks rumors developed that
74 Cleopatra