The volcanic disaster caused the royal court of Cleopatra to collapse

The large volcanic eruption caused social unrest, contributing to the collapse of the Egyptian dynasty ruled by Queen Cleopatra.

An international research group found a historical example that shows that nature has the ability to control people's destiny. Volcanoes are partly responsible for the collapse of the Ptolemaic Kingdom, Egypt , led by Queen Cleopatra. The results are published in Nature Communications on October 17.

Egypt occurred a volcanic eruption in 44 BC.(Artwork: Indococirles).

Scientists base on historical records of volcanic eruptions in the past. Then they collated this information with a document about the instability of Egyptian society and the history of the Nile river water, according to Popular Mechanics.

They discovered Egypt occurring a huge volcanic eruption in 44 BC . The eruption affected the monsoon formation in Africa . In addition, it releases large amounts of sulfur dioxide gas (SO ₂ ) into the stratosphere, creating aerosol particles that block sunlight. This causes the water evaporation from the ocean to decrease and thereby reduce rainfall.

According to Guardian, reduced rainfall led to famine, plague and social unrest. This was the cause of weakening Cleopatra's power for a decade before she failed in the battle with the Roman army in 30 BC.

"The ancient Egyptians depended almost entirely on the Nile flooding in the summer for agricultural cultivation. After the volcanic eruption, the Nile flood fell for many years leading to social unrest, causing causing bad economic and political consequences, " said Joseph Manning, lead author of the study at Yale University, USA.