The trailer for a documentary about Queen Cleopatra, which will air on Netflix next month, has sparked criticism and controversy across Egyptian platforms for showing the queen who ruled Egypt and is of Greek descent with dark skin, which was considered a falsification of history.

The advertisement was widely attacked by the Egyptian public, because the appearance of Queen Cleopatra in the series corresponds to what is promoted by the "Afrocentrism" movement, which is a black fanatic, as it claims that the Egyptian civilization is of African origin.

From Executive Producer @jadapsmith comes a new docuseries exploring the lives of iconic African queens.

QUEEN CLEOPATRA follows the story of Cleopatra, one of the world’s most famous and misunderstood woman.

QUEEN CLEOPATRA is available to stream May 10 only on Netflix pic.twitter.com/0oDUSi8Add

— Strong Black Lead (@strongblacklead) April 12, 2023

Activists accused the network of trying to falsify the history of ancient Egypt and falsify fixed historical data, and described what the network did as an attempt to steal Egypt's history, civilization and lineage to other civilizations.

Netflix tries indirectly to play on history and falsify it and says that Cleopatra, the Egyptian queen, was African-skinned to help the African American movement who want to say that the ancient Egyptian civilization is an African civilization with dark skin. .. pic.twitter.com/4eNSOZPrZy

— Bakiza Hanim (@AmlOkeil) April 12, 2023

Egyptian blogger and content creator Amal Aqeel commented, "Netflix is indirectly trying to play on history and visit it and claim that Cleopatra, the Egyptian queen, was brunette, to confirm the narratives that the ancient Egyptian civilization is an African civilization."

Tweeters on Egyptian platforms also ridiculed Netflix's decision to portray the queen in this way, despite its departure from the form known to Egyptians, as well as to the Greeks from whom Cleopatra descends.

The attack on the expected work of Netflix came not only from the Egyptians but also from the Greeks, as Queen Cleopatra is part of their civilization, with historical scholar Paul Antonopoulos writing, "It is funny in the announcement that they say that Cleopatra was a misunderstood woman, but they continued and contributed to this misunderstanding by insinuating that she was black rather than the Greek queen of Egypt."

Another hilarious point by @strongblacklead is that they say Cleopatra was a "misunderstood woman." So they go ahead and contribute to this misunderstanding by alluding that she was Black instead of the Greek Queen of Egypt.

— Paul Antonopoulos 🇬🇷🇨🇾 (@oulosP) April 13, 2023

A large number of Africans criticized what the global platform did, as history cannot be presented in such an "inaccurate" way, describing what happened as a terrible downfall for the platform.

Although it is commonly believed that Cleopatra is of Egyptian descent, the reality is that she belonged to the Macedonian family of Ptolemy, a descendant of one of Alexander the Great's generals, Ptolemy I.

The series of theft of our history continues under the auspices of the Pan-African or Afrocentric movement, and we do not feel how dangerous it is!
Our history is being stolen before us and attributed to others very simply!
Millions of documentary series about the kings and queens of Egypt and starring African people of black skin to support follows. pic.twitter.com/bS4k4F21SO

— Ahmad Youness (@Ahmad_Youness) April 12, 2023

Origins and skills

This means not only that she was of Greek descent, but that she also spoke Greek and was familiar with the customs of the Greeks.

The Ptolemy dynasty ruled Egypt for 300 years, after Ptolemy I ascended the throne following the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC.

In addition to Greek, Cleopatra spoke the languages of Egypt's neighboring nations, and was the only descendant of Ptolemy who was interested in learning the language of the ancient Egyptians, wearing traditional clothes and participating in Egyptian ceremonies, which earned her popularity among the public regardless of her foreign origins.

A terrible fall from Netflix Cleopatra is not African nor is it an icon
Cleopatra is the last queen in the series of rulers of the Ptolemaic dynasty, which traces its origins to Greece and in her quest for the throne she killed all her brothers and to maintain her throne she became the mistress of Julius Caesar and after his death she chose to be the mistress of Mark Anthony ... https://t.co/eucOn3t32R

— The last kushite (@JabooMujtaba) April 13, 2023

Exaggeration and defense

On the other hand, some felt that the criticism contained a degree of exaggeration, as the features of the heroine do not stray far from many Egyptian women and have nothing to do with falsifying history.

Queen Cleopatra's documentary "Queen Cleopatra" will be released on May 10 on Netflix for movies and series, and is produced by Jada Smith, wife of international artist Will Smith.

Netflix said that this documentary comes as part of a series of documentaries exploring the lives of prominent and creative African queens, starting with the film "Cleopatra", as "the first season will be dedicated to the most famous and powerful woman in the world."

The network pointed out that Cleopatra "was misunderstood, as her fame as a bold, beautiful and romantic queen overshadowed her true metal of extreme intelligence," according to the British website "BBC".

The trailer for the recent documentary includes that "Cleopatra's heritage has been the subject of much academic controversy, followed by an assertion by one of the documentary's commentators that Cleopatra was dark-skinned, contrary to common practice."