The famous Queen Cleopatra of Egypt is identified by the regnal number VII.
Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator was the last active ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt. She came to the throne in 51 BC and ruled until her death in 30 BC, initially sharing power with her younger brother Ptolemy XIII and later with Ptolemy XIV.
The number VII does not mean she was the seventh Egyptian queen named Cleopatra in all of history. It belongs to the Ptolemaic dynasty, a Hellenistic royal house founded by Ptolemy I Soter after the death of Alexander the Great. Several earlier women in that dynasty also bore the name Cleopatra.
Cleopatra’s full royal name included the epithet Thea Philopator, meaning “the goddess who loves her father.” After her defeat and death in 30 BC, Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire. Her regnal number distinguishes her from earlier Ptolemaic Cleopatras, including Cleopatra I Syra and Cleopatra III.