Cleopatra

About Cleopatra

Cleopatra VII Philopator, the last active ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, was a commanding politician whose reign profoundly shaped the late Roman Republic. Her historical significance, earning her the #6 rank in MIT’s Pantheon project, stems from her political alliances, particularly with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, which directly influenced the geopolitical landscape of the Mediterranean world before Egypt was annexed by Rome in -30.

Despite this monumental historical importance, Cleopatra attracts significant, though perhaps disproportionate, modern internet attention. She logged 20.2 million annualized Wikipedia views in 2025, resulting in an Attention Gap factor of +14x, meaning her online attention is 14 times greater than might be expected based on her HPI rank. This places her in a category of overattention, contrasting sharply with other titans of history; for instance, Gautama Buddha, ranked #2 in importance, received only 411,000 views in the same period.

However, this high level of current interest is showing signs of erosion, as evidenced by the -59.9% year-over-year drop in views and a steep -32% decline in momentum between Q1 and Q3 of 2025, suggesting a potential fading of contemporary digital fascination with the celebrated queen.