What we’re about
Tired of boring your friends with the historical analysis of every movie you see or article you read? Well not everyone thinks history is cool...but we do! The idea for this group is to discuss one topic in history every month or two (e.g. the world in 1914, Canadian history, 18th-century Britain, the American frontier, the 1950s). In preparation, you'll be given a list of books you can read (or skim) and movies and videos you can watch to give you background. We can also get together to see history-related movies, including documentaries. Will be cool to learn some new stuff based on the suggestions of different people in the group and just enjoy talking about history and how it relates to our lives/current events/etc.
Upcoming events
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A ROYAL AFFAIR
·OnlineOnlineEnglish-born Queen Caroline Matilda (Alicia Vikander), married to Denmark's mentally unstable King Christian VII (Mikkel Boe Folsgaard), is drawn to the court physician (Mads Mikkelsen).
This 18th-century costume drama was directed by Nikolaj Arcel, from a Rasmus Heisterberg script based on Bodil Steensen-Leth's Princess of the Blood. (It was also unofficially based on Per Olov Enquist's The Visit of the Royal Physician.)
A watch party for historical movies on Friday nights.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/67103203127 attendees
Cleopatra
·OnlineOnlineAfter Alexander the Great's death in 323 B.C., his generals divided his huge empire into smaller kingdoms. Ptolemy the Savior took over Egypt, where he reigned for the next four decades, establishing the Ptolemaic Dynasty. Egypt became the richest and most durable kingdom in the Hellenistic world, combining Greek and Middle Eastern cultures. Its last ruler was Queen Cleopatra VII, who had to contend with the rising power of Rome to the west. (Her name means "Her Father's Glory.")
Our knowledge of Cleopatra, born around 70, is somewhat limited. The evidence suggests she wasn't so beautiful--she was gap-toothed! But she seems to have been unusually intelligent, learning several languages. After her father Ptolemy XII died in 51 B.C. she shared the throne with her brother Ptolemy XIII, but they ended up contending for power in a civil war. Julius Caesar arrived in Alexandria in 48 in pursuit of his defeated rival Pompey, then made an alliance with her which defeated her brother's forces in the Battle of the Nile the following year. The two of them had a son named Caesarion.
Cleopatra returned to Rome with Caesar in 46, remaining there until his assassination. Then she supported the triumvirate of Marc Antony, Octavian/Augustus and Lepidus in their victorious war against Caesar's assassins. She met Antony in 41 and they eventually had three children. Antony took over the Greek-speaking eastern part of the Roman sphere, relying on her financial and military support. In 34 Antony granted much of his land to Cleopatra's children in the Donations of Alexandria.
Back in Rome, Augustus' propagandists seized on this act to accuse Antony of treason. He forced Antony's supporters to flee Rome and declared war on Cleopatra. Antony was defeated in the naval Battle of Actium in 31, then killed himself. Cleopatra seems to have followed suit, to avoid being publicly displayed as a prisoner in Augustus' Roman triumph. Augustus also executed Caesarion. Cleopatra was the last Pharaoh: Egypt would now be a Roman province.
For background reading you can try Joyce Tyldesley's Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt.
A monthly online discussion on a historical subject.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/67103203129 attendees
Past events
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