Two Cleopatras for the price of one. This Wednesday was released on Netflix the documentary series "Queen Cleopatra", in which the mythical pharaoh is played by Adele James, a black British actress. On the same day, archaeologist and former Egyptian Minister of Antiquities Zahi Hawass, who maintains that the sovereign was not black, counterattacked and proposed his own documentary to "discover the real Cleopatra", available on the YouTube channel of director Curtis Ryan Woodside.
But what did Cleopatra really look like? The association for the Fight against Disinformation in History, History of Art and Archaeology (ALDHHAA) has examined the issue and decided in a publication: "No credible source currently allows us to hypothesize that the Egyptian sovereign could have had black skin. "
The association declares itself "against the manipulation of historical facts (at the expense of scientific consensus)," reads its website. She specifies to intervene in the debate since Netflix offers a documentary on the Queen of Egypt, and not a fiction: "In such a documentary, it is necessary to preserve historicity, that is to say a reality in relation to existing sources. "
An unknown mother
According to the association, the choice of a black actress to play the role of Cleopatra is based on "unstable foundations". To fully understand, we must trace the legacy of Cleopatra. His father is known, it is Ptolemy XII. The pharaoh therefore belongs to the Lagidian dynasty, descended from the Macedonian general Ptolemy.
On the other hand, doubts about the identity of his mother persist. Macedonian or Egyptian? It could be Cleopatra-Tryphany, sister or cousin of Ptolemy and mother of Berenice, the sister of Cleopatra. This is the "most likely" hypothesis, according to ALDHHAA, since "the lagids practice strict endogamy, that is, they marry women of Macedonian descent often from their families."
This is also maintained by Zahi Hawass in his counter-documentary: "Was Cleopatra black? First of all, I have nothing at all against blacks but I expose facts: look at the Macedonian queens, none were black. »
Second hypothesis: Cleopatra and her sister Arsinoe IV would have the same mother, an Egyptian wife. Remains found in 1926 in Ephesus are loaned to Arsinoe by Hilke Thür, an Austrian archaeologist. "Based solely on photos of the skull, the Austrian archaeologist deduces that it is close to an African type," says ALDHHAA, which sees this as an "outdated method" and "more than doubtful".
According to the association, representing Cleopatra as a black woman "feeds some Afrocentrist positions and their opponents, which is useless and a great pity as the history of Africa is rich and does not need a black Cleopatra to shine. "
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The director of the documentary series, Tina Gharavi, admits in an article published in the American magazine Variety, last April, that it is a "political act". Elizabeth Taylor, Monica Bellucci, Theda Bara... these white actresses also do not look like the Queen of Egypt, according to her.
"Cleopatra was eight generations away from her Ptolemaic ancestors, making the possibility that she was white somewhat unlikely," she said. "So, was Cleopatra black? We don't know for sure, but we can be sure she wasn't white like Elizabeth Taylor. »
Just FYI, this kind of behaviour won't be tolerated on my account. You will be blocked without hesitation!!!
If you don't like the casting don't watch the show. Or do & engage in (expert) opinion different to yours. Either way, I'M GASSED and will continue to be! 🕺🏽🕺🏽🕺🏽 pic.twitter.com/zhJjaUkxyc
— Adele James (@Adele_JJames) April 13, 2023
Tina Gharavi especially castigates the racism of the film industry: "We need to discuss our colorism and the internalized white supremacy into which Hollywood has indoctrinated us." Actress Adele James, for her part, denounced the racist comments of Internet users of which she was the subject. "If you don't like the cast, don't watch the show," she tweeted.
In particular, the documentary sparked strong reactions in Egypt. A petition denouncing the "historical falsification" of the program and calling for its removal has gathered more than 40,000 signatures, with MP Saboura al-Sayyed even calling for the streaming platform to be banned in the country.
