According to the traditions of the Macedonian rulers, Cleopatra governed Egypt and other territories such as Cyprus as an absolute monarch, holding supreme authority in the kingdom and also serving as the head of the religious establishment.

Cleopatra personally oversaw religious festivals dedicated to both Egyptian and Greek pagan gods, and she supervised the construction of numerous temples devoted to these deities — including a temple for the Jews in Egypt. She also commissioned the construction of the Caesareum, a monumental temple dedicated to the worship of Julius Caesar, her patron and lover.

Cleopatra took an active role in the administration of her kingdom and worked to address economic crises, such as famine, by ordering the distribution of food from the royal grain stores to the hungry during the drought that struck early in her reign.

Although the economic system she sought to implement was highly idealistic, her government attempted to regulate prices, customs duties, and state monopolies on certain goods, as well as to control foreign currency exchange rates.

She also enacted strict laws requiring farmers and peasants to remain in their villages during planting and harvest seasons.

As the kingdom began facing serious financial problems, Cleopatra was forced to devalue the currency, including silver and bronze coins, though gold coins minted by some of her Ptolemaic predecessors were not affected by this devaluation.