Cleopatra had many setbacks and she managed to overcome most of them, even if they were caused by her own selfishness. The last setback was the killer though, as it culminated
… in her suicide. Her first setback, that we know of, was her being booted off the throne by her brother, then the death of Julius Caesar, who was her protector. The failure to dethrone Herod was another, the defeat at Actium and the refusal of her neighbors to come to her aid against Rome certainly counted as setbacks, big time. (MORE)