Cleopatra herself was, first and foremost, a Ptolemy. The very best of ancient Greek and Egyptian cultures lay at her feet. She received her education from the best scholars in Egypt. Servants fulfilled her smallest whim. She lacked for nothing, and there was little she could have wanted that would not have been granted her. But life during that period, as Ptolemy XII knew, was not perfect. Beneath the outward glamour and elegance, Egypt and the Ptolemy line were in grave danger. a self-indulgent king, Ptolemy XII watched as the Egyptians became increasingly restless and dissatisfied with his leadership. Moreover, the kingdom had been split when his brother became king of Cyprus, and when the Egyptians discovered that Ptolemy XI, his father, had left a will that ceded Egypt to Rome, Ptolemy XII found himself on unstable ground indeed.