4. Cleopatra VII, consort of Julius Caesar and the last true Pharaoh of Egypt, was responsible for the murders of her sister and at least one brother
Cleopatra VII Philopator, of the Ptolemaic dynasty, reigned as the last active ruler of the Kingdom of Egypt from 51 BCE until her death in 30 BCE. Fleeing into exile with her father, Ptolemy XII, in 58 BCE, the pair returned with Roman military support three years later to reclaim the throne. Succeeding her father and co-ruling with her younger brother, Ptolemy XIII, the siblings rapidly descended into open conflict against one another. Receiving the backing of Julius Caesar, Cleopatra naturally triumphed. Exiling her covetous sister, Arsinoe IV, who had sided with her brother, to Greece. On Cleopatra’s order, Arsinoe was executed on the steps of the Temple of Artemis in 41 BCE.
Selecting another younger brother, Ptolemy XIV, to serve as her co-ruler, Cleopatra continued her reign over Egypt as it increasingly fell under Roman influence. Although, as traditional, marrying her brother, Cleopatra served as the consort of Caesar and granted her brother little genuine authority. After producing a son via her relationship with the Roman dictator: Ptolemy XV, more commonly known as Caesarion, in 47 BCE, Cleopatra began planning to remove her brother. After the assassination of Caesar in 44 BCE, fearing her own removal, Cleopatra attempted to ensure the survival of her son by murdering Ptolemy XIV with poison and proclaiming Caesarion as her co-ruler.