In 41 BCE, when Mark Antony summoned Cleopatra VII, she didn’t arrive as a subject or a supplicant—she arrived as a queen. Sailing up the Cydnus River on a perfumed barge, dressed in gold and surrounded by attendants, she commanded every gaze before she even stepped ashore. Antony was captivated instantly. And the world would soon understand why. What began as a political meeting became a partnership the ancient world never forgot. Cleopatra and Antony became lovers and allies, bound not only by desire but by ambition. In their years together, they had three children—Alexander Helios, Cleopatra Selene II, and Ptolemy Philadelphus—symbols of the future they hoped to build between…