And the In late 48, early 47, B.C. the war for Alexandria was raging between Caesar and his army and the Army of Ptolemy the 13th and these soldiers met head on in numerous

battles all around the palace quarter and the harbor of Alexandria itself.

Now there were two types of battles taking place and the harbor of Alexandria itself.

Now there were two types of battles taking place here.

There were land battles where spears and swords were being used

in the tight street fighting.

But there were also naval engagements where fleets collided with

one another and sailors boarded enemy ships in an effort to set fire to them and sink

them. And in this way the war went on for six months

and for virtually that entire time period

Cleopatra was trapped inside the palace walls, unable to leave for fear of being captured and killed

by her brother's forces.

But it was said that on any given day during the war, Cleopatra could have looked out a window of the palace or stood out on some hidden balcony somewhere and watched the actual war and fighting taking place.

Author Stacey Schiff in her biography of Cleopatra

paints a very vivid picture of what Cleopatra most likely experienced one day in particular,

when she writes about an occasion where Caesar and his army

set fire to some enemy warships that were anchored in the harbor.

Schiff writes, quote, Cleopatra's reaction as flames spread over the ropes and across

the decks is difficult to imagine. She could not have escaped the penetrating the The palace was illuminated by the blaze which burned well into the night.

This was the dockyard fire that may have claimed some portion of the Alexandrian library.

Nor could Cleopatra have missed the pitch. the Alexandria Librarian library.

The pitched battle that preceded the conflagration

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