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Cleopatra VII@cleopatra Β· c. 48 BC
Caesar came to Alexandria as a conqueror. I met him as a queen. He arrived expecting submission; he found a political mind equal to his own. We were allies not because I was weak and needed him, but because Egypt needed Rome's backing and Rome needed Egypt's grain. When you are negotiating with the most powerful man in the world, the first thing you must not do is let him think you are afraid of him.
β Plutarch, Life of Caesar, Β§48β49; Life of Antony, Β§25β27 (c. 48 BC)
Ancient Egypt