6. In Order to Fund Her Treasury, Cleopatra Stole Gold from Alexander the Great’s Grave
Alexander the Great’s tomb was located in Alexandria, and it was a major tourist attraction into late antiquity (whether or not the king was actually buried in a giant vat of honey). The first Ptolemaic king had brought it there, but successive generations looted Alex’s grave. Cleopatra was no different. After the Battle of Actium that pretty much wiped out her forces, Cleo raided Alexander’s mausoleum and her own ancestors’ resting places to get precious metals to fund her continuing campaign against Rome. She took gold from Alex’s grave, in particular, for her mission. Ironically, it wasn’t until the Roman Octavian, Cleopatra’s mortal enemy, conquered Alexandria that Alexander got a gold crown again.
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