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Cleopatra VII

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Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (in Greek, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ; January 69 BC – 30 BC) was a Hellenistic co-ruler of Egypt with her father (Ptolemy XII Auletes) and later with her brothers/husbands Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV. She later became the supreme ruler of Egypt, as Pharaoh, consummated a liaison with Gaius Julius Caesar that solidified her grip on the throne, and, after Caesar's assassination, aligned with Mark Antony, with whom she produced twins. In all, Cleopatra had four children, one by Caesar (Caesarion) and three by Antony (Cleopatra Selene II, Alexander Helios, and Ptolemy Philadelphus). Her unions with her brothers produced no children. It is possible that they were never consummated; in any case, they were not close. Her reign marks the end of the Hellenistic Era and the beginning of the Roman Era in the eastern Mediterranean. She was the last Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt (her son by Julius Caesar, Caesarion, ruled in name only before Augustus had him executed).

Though she bore the ancient Egyptian title Pharaoh, her primary language was Greek; for several centuries preceding her rule, Egyptian kings had been of Greek (i.e. Hellenistic) origin rather than Egyptian origin. The establishment of a Greek-speaking aristocracy in Egypt had come with Alexander the Great nearly 300 years before. When Cleopatra was born, the Great Pyramid was nearly 2,500 years old. The Ptolemaic dynasty had maintained their Greek heritage at the expense of Egyptian religion - while the populace of Egypt used the popular Egyptian script Demotic, Hieroglyphics, which had primarily been used by priests, was falling into disuse. Cleopatra followed the Egyptian belief system in the land's many gods and goddesses. Her patron goddess was Isis, and thus during her reign, it was believed that she was the re-incarnation and embodiment of the goddess of wisdom.

After Antony's rival and Caesar's legal heir, Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian (who later became the first Roman Emperor, Augustus), brought the might of Rome against Egypt, it is said that Cleopatra took her own life on 12 August[citation needed] 30 BC, allegedly by means of an asp. Her legacy survives in the form of numerous dramatizations of her story, including William Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, Bernard Shaw's Caesar & Cleopatra, several films and the recent HBO/BBC series Rome.

Her mother was Cleopatra V of Egypt—who co-ruled Egypt with another daughter, Berenice IV, for a year before her death—yet Cleopatra, borne of the union with Ptolemy XII Auletes, was a direct descendant of Alexander the Great's general, Ptolemy I Soter, son of Arsinoe and Lacus, both of Macedon. A Greek by descent, language and culture, Cleopatra is reputed to have been the first member of her family in their 300-year reign in Egypt to have learned the Egyptian language.

Cleopatra is one of the few ancient historical figures who remains, to this day, popular in modern culture. Tales of legendary beauty and an unrivaled strength of will have made her an idolized character of various forms of media. These claims are largely unsubstantiated, as the traditional concepts of beauty have been subject to reappraisals throughout the ages. It is reasonably certain, however, that Cleopatra possessed significant political influence.

Centralization of power and corruption led to uprising in and loss of Cyprus and of Cyrenaica, making Ptolemy's reign one of the most calamitous of the dynasty. When Ptolemy made a journey to Rome with Cleopatra, Tryphaena seized the Crown of Egypt. Shortly after arrangements for Roman assistance in Egypt, Ptolemy's followers assassinated Tryphaena and killed her guard. Berenice's guards in turn killed those followers.

In 58 BC Cleopatra's older sister, Berenice IV seized power from her father. With the assistance of the Roman governor of Syria, Aulus Gabinius, Ptolemy XII overturned his eldest daughter in 55 BC and had her executed. Cleopatra's other older sister Tryphaena took over shortly after that. She was killed as well, which left Cleopatra with her husband and younger brother, Ptolemy XIII, joint heirs to the throne.

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Accession to the throne

Ptolemy XII died in March 51 BC, making the 17-year-old Cleopatra and her brother, the 12-year-old Ptolemy XIII joint monarchs. The first three years of their reign were difficult, due to economic difficulties, famine, deficient floods of the Nile, and political conflicts. Although Cleopatra was married to her young brother, she quickly showed indications that she had no intentions of sharing power with him.

In August 51 BC, relations between the sovereigns completely broke down. Cleopatra dropped Ptolemy's name from official documents and her face appeared alone on coins, which went against Ptolemaic tradition of female rulers being subordinate to male co-rulers. This resulted in a cabal of courtiers, led by the eunuch Pothinus, removing Cleopatra from power and making Ptolemy sole ruler in circa 48 BC (or possibly earlier, as a decree exists from 51 BC with Ptolemy's name alone). She tried to raise a rebellion around Pelusium, but she was soon forced to flee Egypt with her only surviving sister, Arsinoë.<ref>Modèle:Cite book</ref>

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Cleopatra and Julius Caesar

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Assassination of Pompey

While Cleopatra was in exile, Pompey became embroiled in the Roman civil war. In the autumn of 48 BC, Pompey fled from the forces of Julius Caesar to Alexandria, seeking sanctuary. Ptolemy, only fifteen years old at that time, had set up a throne for himself on the harbour from where he watched as on September 28 48 BC Pompey was murdered by one of his former officers, now in Ptolemaic service. He was beheaded in front of his wife and children, who were on the ship he had just disembarked from. Ptolemy is thought to have ordered the death as a way of pleasing Julius Caesar and thus become an ally of Rome, to which Egypt was in debt. This was a catastrophic miscalculation on Ptolemy's part. When Caesar arrived in Egypt two days later, Ptolemy presented him with Pompey's severed head. Caesar was enraged. This was probably due to the fact that, although he was Caesar's political enemy, Pompey was a Consul of Rome and the widower of Caesar's only legitimate daughter, Julia (who died in childbirth with their son). Caesar seized the Egyptian capital and imposed himself as arbiter between the rival claims of Ptolemy and Cleopatra.

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Caesar and Caesarion

Image:Cleopatra Bust.jpg
Bust of Cleopatra

Eager to take advantage of Julius Caesar's anger with Ptolemy, Queen Cleopatra returned to the palace rolled into a Persian carpet and had it presented to Caesar by her servants: when it was unrolled, Cleopatra tumbled out. It is believed that Caesar was charmed by the gesture, and she became his mistress. Nine months after their first meeting, Cleopatra gave birth to their baby. It was at this point that Caesar abandoned his plans to annex Egypt, instead backing Cleopatra's claim to the throne. After a short civil war, Ptolemy XIII was drowned in the Nile and Caesar restored Cleopatra to her throne, with another younger brother Ptolemy XIV as new co-ruler.

Despite the almost thirty year age difference, Cleopatra and Caesar became lovers during his stay in Egypt between 48 BC and 47 BC. They met when they were 21 (Cleopatra) and 50 (Caesar). On 23 June 47 BC Cleopatra gave birth to a child, Ptolemy Caesar (nicknamed "Caesarion" which means "little Caesar"). Cleopatra claimed Caesar was the father and wished him to name the boy his heir, but Caesar refused, choosing his grand-nephew Octavian instead. Caesarion was the intended inheritor of Egypt and Rome, uniting the East and the West.

Cleopatra and Caesarion visited Rome between 47 BC and 44 BC and were probably present when Caesar was assassinated on 15 March, 44 BC. Before or just after the assassination she returned to Egypt. When Ptolemy XIV died due to deteriorating health, Cleopatra made Caesarion her co-regent and successor. To safeguard herself and Caesarion she also had her sister Arsinoe killed, a common practice of the times.

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Cleopatra and Mark Antony

In 42 BC, Mark Antony, one of the triumvirs who ruled Rome in the power vacuum following Caesar's death, summoned Cleopatra to meet him in Tarsus to answer questions about her loyalty. Cleopatra arrived in great state, and so charmed Antony that he chose to spend the winter of 41 BC–40 BC with her in Alexandria. On 25 December 40 BC she gave birth to two children Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene II.

Four years later in 37 BC, Antony visited Alexandria again en route to make war with the Parthians. He renewed his relationship with Cleopatra, and from this point on Alexandria would be his home. He married Cleopatra according to the Egyptian rite (a letter quoted in Suetonius suggests this), although he was at the time married to Octavia Minor, sister of his fellow triumvir Octavian. He and Cleopatra had four more children, including Ptolemy Philadelphus.

At the Donations of Alexandria in late 34 BC, following Antony's conquest of Armenia, Cleopatra and Caesarion were crowned co-rulers of Egypt and Cyprus; Alexander Helios was crowned ruler of Armenia, Media, and Parthia; Cleopatra Selene II was crowned ruler of Cyrenaica and Libya; and Ptolemy Philadelphus was crowned ruler of Phoenicia, Syria, and Cilicia. Cleopatra also took the title of Queen of Kings.

Image:AntonyAndCleopatraCoin.jpg
Coin of Anthony and Cleopatra.

Antony's behavior was considered outrageous by the Romans, and Octavian convinced the Senate to levy war against Egypt. In 31 BC Antony's forces faced the Romans in a naval action off the coast of Actium. Cleopatra was present with a fleet of her own. Popular legend tells us that when she saw that Antony's poorly equipped and manned ships were losing to the Romans' superior vessels, she took flight and that Antony abandoned the battle to follow her, but no contemporary evidence states this was the case.

Following the Battle of Actium, Octavian invaded Egypt. As he approached Alexandria, Antony's armies deserted to Octavian on August 12 30 BC.

There are a number of unverifiable but very famous stories about Cleopatra, of which one of the best known is that, at one of the lavish dinners she shared with Antony, she playfully bet him that she could spend ten million sesterces on a dinner. He accepted the bet. The next night, she had a conventional, unspectacular meal served; he was ridiculing this, when she ordered the second course — only a cup of strong vinegar. She then removed one of her priceless pearl earrings, dropped it into the vinegar, allowed it to dissolve, and drank the mixture. The earliest report of this story comes from Pliny the Elder and dates to about 100 years after the banquet described would have happened. The calcium carbonate in pearls does dissolve in vinegar, but slowly unless the pearl is first crushed.<ref>Modèle:Cite journal</ref>

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Death

Image:The Death of Cleopatra arthur.jpg
a fictionalized depiction by Reginald Arthur (circa 1914)

The ancient sources, particularly the Roman ones, are in general agreement that Cleopatra poisoned herself by inducing an asp to bite her.

The oldest source is Strabo, who was alive at the time of the event, and might even have been in Alexandria. He says that there are two stories: that she applied a toxic ointment, or that she was bitten by an asp.<ref> «  » </ref> Several Roman poets, writing within ten years of the event, all mention bites by two asps,<ref> «  » </ref><ref> «  » </ref><ref> «  » </ref> as does Florus, a historian, some 150 years later.<ref> «  » </ref> Velleius, sixty years after the event, also refers to an asp.<ref> «  » </ref>

Plutarch, writing about 130 years after the event, is the main source of the story that has come down to us with all its detail of Cleopatra being found dead, her handmaiden Iras dying at her feet, and another handmaiden, Charmion, adjusting her crown before she herself falls.<ref> «  » </ref> He then goes on to tell us that some say an asp was concealed in a basket of figs that was brought to her by a rustic, and finding it after eating a few figs, she holds out her arm for it to bite. Others say that it was hidden in a vase, and that she poked it with a spindle until it got angry enough to bite her on the arm. Finally, he eventually writes, in Octavian's triumphal march back in Rome, an effigy of Cleopatra that has an asp clinging to it is part of the parade.<ref> «  » See also «  » </ref>

Suetonius, writing about the same time as Plutarch, also says Cleopatra died from an asp bite.<ref> «  » </ref>

It was Shakespeare who gave us the final part of the image that has come down to us, Cleopatra clutching the snake to her breast.<ref> «  » </ref> Before him, it was generally agreed that she was bitten on the arm. <ref> «  » </ref><ref> «  » </ref><ref> «  » </ref>


Plutarch also tells us of the death of Antony. When his armies desert him and join with Octavian, he cries out that Cleopatra has betrayed him. She, fearing his wrath, locks herself in her monument with only her two handmaidens and sends messengers to Antony that she is dead. Believing them, Antony stabs himself in the belly with his sword, and lies on his couch to die. Instead, the blood flow stops, and he begs any and all to finish him off.

Another messenger comes from Cleopatra with instructions to bear him to her, and he, rejoicing that Cleopatra is still alive, consents. She won't open the door, but tosses ropes out of a window. After Antony is securely trussed up, she and her handmaidens haul him up into the monument. This nearly finishes him off. After dragging him in through the window, they lay him on a couch. Cleopatra tears off her clothes and covers him with them. She raves and cries, beats her breasts and engages in self-mutilation. Antony tells her to calm down, asks for a glass of wine, and dies upon finishing it.<ref> «  » </ref>

Cleopatra's son by Caesar, Caesarion, was proclaimed pharaoh by the Egyptians, but Octavian had already won. Caesarion was captured and executed, his fate reportedly sealed by Octavian's famous phrase: "Two Caesars are one too many." This ended not just the Hellenistic line of Egyptian pharaohs, but the line of all Egyptian pharaohs. The three children of Cleopatra and Antony were spared and taken back to Rome where they were taken care of by Antony's wife, Octavia Minor, who was also Octavian's sister.

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Cleopatra in art, film, TV, and literature

Cleopatra's story has fascinated scores of writers and artists through the centuries. While she was a powerful political figure in her own right, it is likely that much of her appeal lay in her legend as a great seductress who was able to ally herself with two of the most powerful men (Julius Caesar and Mark Antony) of her time.

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Literature: Drama

Among the more famous works on her:

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Literature: Other

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Films

The earliest Cleopatra-related motion picture was Antony and Cleopatra (1908) with Florence Lawrence as Cleopatra. The earliest film on Cleopatra as the main subject was Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, starring Helen Gardner (1912).

Other films and TV movies inspired by the Queen of the Nile include:

Cleopatra (1917) 
Based on Émile Moreau's play Cléopatre, Sardou's play Cléopatre, and Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra. Starred Theda Bara (Cleopatra), Fritz Leiber (Caesar), Thurston Hall (Antony); directed by J. Gordon Edwards.
Cleopatra (1934) 
Oscar-winning Cecil B. DeMille epic. Starred Claudette Colbert (Cleopatra), Warren William (Caesar), Henry Wilcoxon (Antony).
Caesar and Cleopatra (1945) 
Oscar-nominated version of George Bernard Shaw's play of the same name. Starred Vivien Leigh (Cleopatra), Claude Rains (Caesar), Stewart Granger, Flora Robson; Leigh also played Cleopatra opposite then-husband's Laurence Olivier's Caesar in a later London stage version.
Serpent of the Nile (1953) 
Starred Rhonda Fleming (Cleopatra), Raymond Burr (Mark Antony), Michael Fox (Octavian).
Cléo de 5 à 7 (1961) 
French New Wave Feminist film by Agnes Varda about a contemporary beautiful Parisian, symbolizing Cleopatra, in the last 2 hours of her death.
Cleopatra (1963) 
Oscar-winning blockbuster most (in)famously remembered for the off-screen affair between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton and the at-the-time massive $44 million cost — today just under $270 million —, making it the second most expensive film ever made (after [[War and Peace (1968 film)|War and Peace (196Image:Cool.gif]]). Starred Elizabeth Taylor (Cleopatra), Rex Harrison (Caesar), Richard Burton (Antony).
Totò e Cleopatra (1963) 
An Italian comedy movie about Cleopatra and Mark Antony, who was played by the Italian actor Totò.
Carry On Cleo (1964) 
A parody of the American 1963 film, with Amanda Barrie as Cleopatra, Sid James as Mark Antony, and Kenneth Williams as Caesar.
Kureopatora (Cleopatra: Queen of Sex) (1970) 
A Japanese animated film by Osamu Tezuka. When released in the United States, the film was promoted as being X-rated in an attempt to cash in on the success of Fritz the Cat. In actuality, Cleopatra had not been submitted to the MPAA, and it is considered to be highly unlikely that it would have received an X rating if it had been submitted. The English subtitled version is said to be lost, but a clip from the dubbed version is available on YouTube.
The Notorious Cleopatra (1970) 
A grossly inaccurate sexploitation film by Harry Novak. In this version Cleopatra is stabbed to death in her tub by Mark Anthony.
Antony & Cleopatra (1974) 
Television production performed by London's Royal Shakespeare Company, shown in the US in 1975 to great critical acclaim. Starred Janet Suzman (Cleopatra), Richard Johnson (Antony), and Patrick Stewart (Enobarbus).
Miss Cleopatra (1990) 
A Pakistani movie in Punjabi starring the Babra Sharif.
Cleopatra (1999) 
Based on the book Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George, it is less faithful to history than the earlier versions. Starred Leonor Varela (Cleopatra), Timothy Dalton (Caesar), Billy Zane (Antony).
Mission Cleopatra (2000) 
French film based on the comic book Astérix et Cléopatre by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo. Starred Monica Bellucci (Cleopatra), Alain Chabat (Caesar), Christian Clavier, Gerard Depardieu.
Scooby-Doo! in Where's My Mummy? (2005) 
Scooby-Doo and the gang investigate the curse of Cleopatra.
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Television

[[Image:Rome-Cleopatra+Snake-ep22 03.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Cleopatra (Lyndsey Marshal) and the snake from HBO's Rome]]

  • (1983): The Cleopatras, a BBC drama series featuring the ruling dynasty of Cleopatras. Cleopatra VII was played by Michelle Newell.
  • (1993): An Animaniacs short featuring Rita and Runt also portrayed as sly, seductive Cleopatra dominating over a cowardly Mark Antony. The cartoon also pointed out the use of animal sacrifices in Ancient Egypt.
  • (1993–1995) in Legends of the Hidden Temple, one of the artifacts was the Snake Bracelet of Cleopatra.
  • (1998): Histeria! frequently featured Cleopatra, usually portrayed by a tanned World's Oldest Woman or, if she were being portrayed as attractive, Pepper Mills.
  • (2002–2003): Clone High, Cleopatra was featured on Clone High as one of the main characters. In the show, Cleopatra is portrayed as beautiful and popular.
  • (2005/2007): A version of Cleopatra appears in the HBO/BBC series Rome, portrayed by Lyndsey Marshal. She is introduced (along with brother Ptolemy XIII) in the Season 1 episode Caesarion, which begins with Pompey's assassination and ends with the birth of Caesarion. Cleopatra also appears in four episodes in Season 2, in which she makes an enemy of Atia of the Julii (Polly Walker) and later allies with Mark Antony (James Purefoy). The series finale features Antony and Cleopatra's deaths, and Octavia taking in the twins (Ptolemy Philadelphus is not acknowledged in the series). Rome also invents a subplot in which Caesarion is eventually revealed to actually be Cleopatra's son with lowly Roman soldier Titus Pullo, who saves the boy from execution by telling Octavian that he murdered Caesarion.
  • Cleopatra was featured twice in Xena: Warrior Princess. She was played by Gina Torres in her first appearance then by Josephine Davison in her second.
  • Lebanese actor and singer Carole Samaha takes the role of Cleopatra in a TV serie " women in history " aired on the " Lebanese broadcasting corporation "
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Opera

  • Kleopatra by Slovenian composer Danilo Švara
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Ballet

  • One More Gaudy Night (1961) by American choreographer Martha Graham
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Video games

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Ancient art—triumph painting, sculpture

The most famous painting of Cleopatra is one that almost certainly no longer exists now. Because the queen died in Egypt well before Augustus' triumph could be put on in Rome, in which she would have walked in chains, Augustus commissioned a large painting of her, which was carried in his triumphal procession, and which may have represented her being poisoned by an asp. The sources for the story are Plut. Ant. 86 and App. Civ. II.102, although the latter may well refer to a statue, and Cass. Dio LI.21.3 reports that the "image" was of gold, and thus not a painting at all. A painting purported to be this work was engraved in the early 19th century: it was said to be in a private collection near Sorrento. Since then, this painting is said to have formed part of a collection in Cortona, but there no longer appears to be any trace of it; its quiet disappearance is almost certainly due to its being a fake. For comprehensive details on the entire question, see the external links at the end of this article.

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Paintings, Renaissance onwards

Cleopatra and her death have inspired hundreds of paintings from the Renaissance to our own time, none of them of any historical value of course, and most misleadingly depict her as a young woman at the time of her death; the subject appealing in particular to French academic painters.

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The suicide

  • Cleopatra, painted by Artemesia Gentileschi,1621-22, of the artist's Genovese period. Pictures the queen in the act of committing suicide. Oil on Canvas. Hangs in the Amedeo Morandorri, Milan.
  • The Death of Cleopatra, painted by Guido Cagnacci, painted in 1658. Oil on canvas. Hanging in the Vienna Kunsthistorisches Museum.
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Other

  • The Banquet of Cleopatra (1743–5). Oil on Canvas, 248.2 x 357.8cm. Painted by Giambattista Tiepolo (1696–1770), which hangs in the National Gallery of Victoria, Australia, depicting the banquet in which Cleopatra dissolves her pearl earring in a glass of vinegar.
  • Cleopatra and Caesar (Cléopâtre et César) (1866). Oil on canvas. Painted by Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824–1904). The original painting has been lost, and only copies remain. The work depicts Cleopatra standing before a seated Caesar, painted in the Orientalist style.
  • Omnium a CD and stage performance made for Teatro ZinZanni with Lyrics and Music by Martha Davis of The Motels and Teatro ZinZanni's Maestro Norm Durkee. It is part musical and sung narrative based on the life and romances of Cleopatra with Caesar and Mark Anthony.
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References

  • Hegesippus, Historiae i.29-32
  • Macrobius, Saturnalia iii.17.14-18
  • Lucan, Bellum civile ix.909-911, x
  • Suetonius, De vita Caesarum Iul i.35.52, ii.17
  • Pliny, Naturalis historia vii.2.14, ix.58.119-121, xxi.9.12
  • Orosius, Historiae adversus paganos vi.16.1-2, 19.4-18
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Footnotes

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External links

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Wikimedia Commons propose des documents multimédia libres sur Cleopatra VII of Egypt.

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General

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Paintings of Cleopatra

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