The Greek faction was humbled and Egypt had gained two new tributaries with no bloodshed at all. In earlier centuries, it would have been merely a stepping stone to further conquest, but Cleopatra was not the warrior type. She knew Egypt had very little to gain from mindless conquest, even separate from the fact that Rome now dominated the known world and pickings were slim indeed.
In fact, until the Civil War, Judea had been a Roman client state, and Egypt moving in had not been ignored. Messages arrived from both the Republic and the Dictatorship, ostensibly congratulating the Pharaoh for securing the Levant, but with a unsaid threat to go no further.
Egypt's position in the Roman Civil War was complex. She was officially allied to the Roman state, but both factions claimed to represent it. When Caesar left Alexandria, he had placed a legion there to ensure Egypt would be a client kingdom, but as the war dragged on those men were steadily pulled away. In the fall of 709, they left completely to assault the Republican-held Cyrenaica.
Though Egypt still tended to favor the Dictatorship (especially with gifts of gold), she refused to get involved militarily. neither faction could spare the forces to conquer Egypt without leaving themselves open to the other, and likewise, neither wanted to antagonize Egypt into siding with their enemy. Of course, if Egypt began to gobble up more of the former Roman client states, the two factions might unite against the 'foreign aggressor'.
So the Pharaoh waited and watched as Roman forces swarmed over the Sea like ants.
Of course, other states had different ideas.
In the spring of 711 AUC, stability had returned to the Egyptian government. The Greeks had largely given up thoughts of overthrowing Cleopatra, either from acceptance, political loyalty, or just the sheer fact that they'd have to ask Rome to do it for them, and neither Roman faction would be likely to leave them in charge afterwards.
Which made the Sinai revolt oddly-timed.
No single cause has ever been identified for the revolt - no Roman money was found in the camps, no records in the Greek aristocrats' libraries, not even any declaration of what they hoped to achieve. The best guess has been that a band of desert raiders from the wildlands south of Petra rode into Sinai for plunder. The populace, distant from the center of Egyptian power, rose up in a militia to fight them. Then, a few lesser noble Greeks who still resented Cleopatra's rule heard scattered reports and assumed the populace was rising up against
her, so they threw together some volunteers and mercenaries and rode out to join the revolt.
In any event, the sorry mess was quickly put down.
Throughout this, the Pharaoh remained strangely quiet and distant, causing some to spread rumors about her health.
The truth was much happier.
In a sop to the Greek faction, and in part to ensure continuity of government, Cleopatra continued the scheme set up centuries earlier and named her son Ptolemy. He was not the daughter she hoped for, but at least the succession was secured. The young lad was embraced by the whole government as the heir to the throne of Egypt, and when he was presented to the crowds (dressed as Horus, naturally), they roared their acclaim.
The boy was fortunate, for the next year all of Egypt was peaceful and stable while other powers continued to war. Egypt continued to build up her army and navy, of course, but overall, things were good.
Even Cleopatra's next reform caused barely a ripple. Once the doors of bureaucracy had been thrown open to women, little fuss could be made about the (as-yet nonexistent) daughters of the divine Pharaoh assuming her throne.
That April brought foreboding news, however.
Caesar was dead.
The known world after the death of Caesar on April 14, 713 AUC.
