Cleopatra VII

- The Berlin Cleopatra, a bust of Cleopatra VII in the Altes Museum

In the news: Egyptian Scholars Slam Netflix for ‘Blackwashing’ Cleopatra in Upcoming Docuseries

“African Queens: Queen Cleopatra” is coming under fire for casting a Black biracial actress as the titular Greek-Egyptian ruler.

The docuseries, which premieres May 10, has been slammed for allegedly “blackwashing” the heritage of Queen Cleopatra VII. Egyptian scholars claim that Cleopatra, who was born in Egyptian city Alexandria in 69 BCE, was born of European descent and not Black. Scholars have confirmed that Cleopatra was Macedonian-Greek on her father Ptolemy XII’s side but her mother’s ethnic origin is unknown. Actress Adele James portrays Cleopatra in the series ...

I thought I'd comment on this because I remember Cleopatra from college history classes. She was of Greek/Macedonian descent. As we will recall, Alexander the Great, King of Macedonia (and student of Aristotle), conquered Egypt ...

Alexander advanced on Egypt in later 332 BC, where he was regarded as a liberator ... During his stay in Egypt, he founded Alexandria, which would become the prosperous capital of the Ptolemaic Kingdom after his death. Control of Egypt passed to Ptolemy I (son of Lagos), the founder of the Ptolemaic Dynasty (305-30 BC) after the death of Alexander.

Cleopatra was of this Ptolemaic dynasty ...

Ptolemy, one of the seven somatophylakes (bodyguard companions), a general and possible half-brother of Alexander the Great, was appointed satrap of Egypt after Alexander's death in 323 BC. In 305 BC, he declared himself Pharaoh Ptolemy I, later known as Sōter "Saviour". The Egyptians soon accepted the Ptolemies as the successors to the pharaohs of independent Egypt. Ptolemy's family ruled Egypt until the Roman conquest of 30 BC.

Cleopatra was a real historical person, not a fictional character. Fiction can take liberties with and make guesses about history. But I think it's good to know the facts (such as they can be ascertained) on which fiction is based.