Egyptian Cleopatra

Egyptian Cleopatra

Would Jesus Have Been Crucified Under Cleopatra and Antony?

The Historically Important Battle of Actium

Historians talk about how the Battle of Tours kept Islam out of Europe. Charles Martel, Charlemagne's grandfather stopped the "unstoppable" Moslems in Southern France in October of 732. Historians talk about the importance of the Battle of Britain and how English stubborness and Nazi fatigue kept Hitler from invading Britain in 1942. And historians talk about how Robert E. Lee's series of ill-fated decisions at the Battle of Gettysburg put a seal on the Northern victory in the Civil War.

History Is Full of Key Battle Moments that Changed or Guaranteed Historical Outcomes -

There are momentous moments like these that populate the chronicle of history. The Defeat of the Spanish Armada by the smaller more mobile English Navy and some fortunate winds and storms, in 1588, is probably the most marked ending of empire and beginning of empire in the whole of history. For hundreds of years, thinkers and writers have thought about what the world would have been had the Spanish Armada landed on England and defeated the young and emerging country. There are some battles that IF THEY HAD GONE THE OTHER WAY, would have changed everything. A good example is the Moslems leaving Spain in 1492. In that same year Spain began its quest for empire and the exploration of the New World. If that had not happened, imagine all the Spanish speaking peoples of the world being Islamic instead of Roman Catholic.

Since this is Memorial Day, one cannot omit the numerous battles that saved the world from domination by the Axis Powers during WWII. The historic battles of D-Day and then the Battle of the Bulge. And, in the Pacific, the Battle of Midway, in which the American Navy completely dealt a stunning body blow to the Japanese Navy, and then the island hopping campaigns of Guadalcanal, Tarawa, and others and the blood bath at Okinawa, which was an effort to clear land so bombers could have a place to refuel on their way to Japan. Many have asked -
"What would the world be like now if Germany and Japan had won?"

And you might never have heard of it, but some people have thought about what the world would be like if Antony and Cleopatra had won The Battle of Actium in 31 BC, and whether John the Baptist would have been beheaded --- whether Jesus would have been crucified --- whether the Temple would have been destroyed and Jerusalem utterly destroyed --- and how that would have affected the world.

The Battle of Actium -

The Battle of Actium was fought by Cleopatra and Mark Antony and their Roman and Egyptian armies against the Roman armies of Octavian, who would become the Emporer Augustus. Yes everyone remembers Elizabeth Taylor playing Cleopatra and Richard Burton as Mark Antony. They were helplessly in love as the story goes, but they had real plans. This battle was barely covered in the movie, and now it is dismissed as being the one where the two lovers LOST to the superior Romans. But remember these were Romans against Romans and the forces were relatively evenly matched. It was no certain outcome for Octavian.

Naval Battle of Actium (31 BCE): the decisive battle in the last of the civil wars of the Roman Republic. Octavian defeated Marc Antony and founded the monarchy.

After the violent death of Julius Caesar in 44 BCE, civil war broke out between on the one hand the assassins, republicans like Brutus and Cassius, and on the other hand the Caesarians, led by Marc Antony and Octavian. Marc Antony, one of the best generals of his age and beloved like a god by his men, overcame the last republicans in 42 at Phillipi and started to reorganize the eastern half of the Roman empire. Meanwhile, Octavian accepted the west. Without getting into the relationship details that led up to the moment of battle, it was the plan of Antony to rule the East. Cleopatra, as a member of the Ptolemaic royalty, (Ptolemy was the General of Alexandria who established Hellenic control of Egypt. The Seleucids and the Ptolemies (both Greek rulers) struggled with each other over the area of the Holy Land).

The Romans had moved into the Holy Land by 64 BC, so the Battle of Actium was going to decide some issues. It was the idea of Antony and Cleopatra that the "Eastern Roman Empire" would be heavily influenced by Ptolemaic (Greek) and Egyptian culture and philosophy. They wanted to create a new and different Roman Empire of the East, co-ruled by Cleopatra.

Two Permissive Cultures In Contrast to the Romans -

The Egyptians were famous for thousands of years for allowing their slaves (subordinate populations) and foreign tribes a great deal of lattitude. The "culture sharing" Greeks were also this way. From ancient times they absorbed Eastern and Western ideas as they stood in their rocky world at the Door of Europe and Asia. When Alexander died, his four generals divided up the kingdoms and ruled them and Hellenized their worlds. Now none of these kingdoms were benign, but nobody was anything like the implacable merciless Romans. The plans of Antony and Cleopatra would have been to be a DELIBERATE CONTRAST to the Romans in the West. IF THEY HAD WON, it was their plan to allow local economies freedom, local religions to be left alone, unless they caused real problems. When you think of Moses and the Pharoah, realize that the Children of Israel were in Egypt for 400 years. That is quite a long time to live peacefully in a foreign country.

Imagine that Antony and Cleopatra WIN the Battle of Actium instead of LOSING it. This "eastern plan" would have been reinforced by Cleopatra's love/marriage and alliance with Antony. Instead of Cleopatra and Antony dying at the bite of an Asp and self emolation, like actually did happen, they would have ruled in splendid glory, envisioning a great new group of economies (at that time Egypt was the breadbasket of the Roman Empire and would have had great economic leverage). They envisioned a world ruled from Alexandria - the entire eastern Roman world would be vastly different from old western Rome.

A BIG WHAT IF -

This idea has been written about and contemplated by others, and it is worth real consideration. If this Eastern Empire had been establlished by Antony and Cleopatra in 31 BC, there would have been an immediate loosening of the tight Roman grip on the Holy Land. The Romans had only been in that area for twenty years. With the exit of those "western" Roman troops from the region, there would have been greater freedom and autonomy granted to Judea. If the Jews were granted more freedom and control, the talk of a Messiah and an inevitable revolt might have been reduced to more theoretical theological models. Yes they would be devout and committed to their doctrines, but they might not have been so virulently angry at their rulers. Harsh rule creates harsh revolutionary opposition. Merciful rule has a softening effect. Without a constant battle with the harsh Roman rulers, the "need" for a Messiah might have been reduced to a religious concept instead of an actual revolutionary Jewish Holy Man who would throw off foreign rulership. It was the fear of this and the anticipation of this that created the potential for conflict in the Holy Land at the time. Without this dynamic, Jesus might have been a prophet or teacher, but he probably would not have been crucified. He probably would have been allowed to preach his thoughts and talk about the "Kingdom of Heaven". He might have fought with the Jewish establishment, but the political dynamics of an emerging rebel would not have been there, and Jesus and John the Baptist might have been preachers who would not have been killed.

The need for a corrupt Herodian (Edomite) rulership might not have been so great, and if they were in power, they would not have been able to "triangulate" with the merciless Roman rulership and the Jewish Priests. Thus, John the Baptist, who probably would still have been noisy and "in your face", telling people in power to repent, would probablly not have had his head cut off by the Herodian family. It would have been too "over the top" politically.

If there were no dead John the Baptist, no crucified Jesus, and no destroyed Jersusalem. (the booty from the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem was used to finance the Coliseum), the Eastern Roman rulers in Alexandria would have seen no reason to destroy this ancient and beautiful city, because the Jews would not have been revolting.

No Beheaded John the Baptist? No Crucified Christ? No destroyed Temple? No desolated Jerusalem? -

If the Battle of Actium had been won by Antony and Cleopatra, there probably would have not been a Christianity, or if there were one, it would not be based upon a crucified and resurrected dead prophet. Without Christianity the entire world would have developed and evolved religions which might be much different. Western Rome might have fallen much earlier and an entire eastern, liberal, syncretistic philosophy might have developed in the Eastern Mediterranean, based upon Greek, Egyptian, Persian, and Asian ideas. One can go wild coming up with imaginative possible scenarious, but you can't say the world would have evolved in the same way. This theory might be bothersome for some, but it is intriguing to think about as we look down the road to what our current world is going to become. On this Memorial Day, it might be profitable to realize that the dying and death of soldiers not only guaranteed America's freedoms, but those efforts literally do have a continuing impact on the world and world history. When we say "thank you for your service", we can start to feel and know the greater depths of the effects of that service. For more articles on a variety of subjects see Astrologypair.net/.

About the Author

Egyptian Cleopatra
Was Cleopatra married to Caesar under Egyptian and Roman law?

Why wasnt she married to Caesar under Roman law?

Well, they weren't married under Roman law, because the Romans did not approve. Cleopatra was seen as inferior.

Cleo's father ptolemy, was losing power and beginning to pay tribute to the Roman Empire. The Romans wished to annex Eygpt because Eygpt was a center of trade and commerce for the middle east.

Meanwhile, Caesar was coming to power, and he secured power with the defeat of Pompey. Pompey was also a guardian of Cleopatra.

Ptolemy dies, and Cleopatra takes the throne over her brother. Naturally Caesar's initial interest in Cleopatra was for the gain of the Roman Empire. Eventually Caesar and cleopatra fell in love.

Here's the twisted part; when caesar was killed, his top general Mark Antony, and his nephew Octavian began battling over his throne.

Seeing Mark Antony as a favorite (he was after all, a big-shot of the Roman military, and Octavian had zero military experience) she fell in love with Antony.

Antony was eventually defeated, and she took her own life.

Seductress of Egypt Cleopatra