Cleopatra VII, the last ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, died in Alexandria in August 30 BC, aged 39. The popular story says she let an asp bite her, but Roman-era writers Strabo, Plutarch and Cassius Dio reported poison, either in an ointment or introduced with a hairpin. Modern scholars doubt that the snakebite account is reliable and debate whether she was murdered, with some suggesting Octavian forced her to choose her own death. Her death followed the defeat at Actium in 31 BC, after which Octavian invaded Egypt. It ended the Hellenistic period and made Egypt a Roman province. Her tomb has never been found, but Octavian allowed her to be buried beside Mark Antony, who had killed himself, and Caesarion was killed while her three children were taken to Rome.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.