Originally Posted by Wigferth Ironwall
There were also plenty of black Romans at the time, hence the cognomon "Niger."
Jesus would have been Semetic, we know he was Semetic because he was a Jew decended from the line of David. Regardless of his religious status he was historically a fairly aristratic Isrealite of the tribe of Judah and a man with a claim to the Jewish throne. Which would be why the appellation "King of the Jews" was nailed over his head when he was crucified.
As to Cleopatra, well she was almost certainly the same colour as modern Egyptians, i.e. olive.
This is all rather like saying Septimus Severus was Black, or that Hannibal was Black, it doesn't wash.