Antony’s disastrous military campaign against Parthia in 36 B.C. The victory won at Actium off the coast of Greece by Julius Caesar’s adopted son, Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (better known as Octavian, and soon to become Augustus) marked a decisive end to the long period of savage civil wars that had plagued Republican Rome from the middle years of the first century BCE. Ancient History Encyclopedia Foundation is a non-profit organization. Although they had suffered a decisive defeat, it was nearly a year before Octavian reached Alexandria and again defeated Antony. "use strict";(function(){var insertion=document.getElementById("citation-access-date");var date=new Date().toLocaleDateString(undefined,{month:"long",day:"numeric",year:"numeric"});insertion.parentElement.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(date),insertion)})(); FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. Augustus, Bronze Head from Euboeaby Mark Cartwright (CC BY-NC-SA). And this war, our birthright, our legacy. ATMs went on to revolutionize the banking industry, eliminating the need to visit a bank to conduct basic ...read more. Realizing she could not hold Alexandria against Octavian, she suggested they leave for Spain, where they could lay hold of the silver mines and raise a new army. Rather than fall under Octavian’s domination, Cleopatra committed suicide, possibly by means of an asp, a poisonous Egyptian serpent and symbol of divine royalty. They were later raised by Antony’s first wife, Octavia. Octavian turned the tide of public opinion against Antony through Cleopatra without directly charging Antony with any crime or misdeeds at all. The Ancient History Encyclopedia logo is a registered EU trademark. Antony decided to enlarge Rome’s territory and prestige in the east by subduing Parthia – which he chose because of Crassus’ earlier defeat. The Battle of Actium was a military engagement that occurred between United Nations Space Command and Covenant forces during May 2545 on the colony world Actium. Related Content In 40 B.C., Antony returned to Rome and married Octavian’s sister Octavia in an effort to mend his increasingly strained relationship with Octavian. He sent word back to Canidius Crassus to withdraw the land forces, pulling back into Asia, and await further orders there. An eye-witness of what took place might have compared it to walled towns or else islands, many in number and close together, being besieged by the sea. Octavian’s plan worked better than he could have imagined since all war proceedings were directed at Cleopatra and, indirectly, it was suggested that this was done to save Antony from her clutches. Octavian understood that an actual son of Caesar could later exercise claim to rule. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. The History of the Ancient World: From the Earliest Accounts to the... Augustus: The Life of Rome's First Emperor, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. Caesar reinstated Cleopatra VII as queen after she appealed to him for help in person and Ptolemy XIII was killed in 47 BCE. Julius Caesar, Marcus Licinius Crassus (l. c. 115-53 BCE), and Pompey the Great (l. c. 106-48 BCE) formed the First Triumvirate (60-53 BCE) which essentially divided Rome’s territories between them. His fleet was made up of light-weight, maneuverable Liburnian vessels, usually used for patrols or commerce, equipped with rams on the prow and catapults for deploying a device known as the harpax, a wooden harpoon encased in iron with one hook at one end and a rope at the other attached to a windlass which was shot into an enemy ship and then the rope cranked tightly, drawing the opponent’s ship closer to be boarded. THE ACTIUM PROJECT. Agrippa moved along the coast and took Leucas, cutting off all supplies to Antony’s forces from Egypt and again seizing ships and crews. From Athens, Antony and Cleopatra’s forces moved north and were at Actium on the Ionian Sea by August 32 BCE. He was informed that Antony had placed his will in the care of the Vestal Virgins and appeared at the temple of Vesta demanding it. Web. The two quickly became lovers and Antony remained in the east. Some Rights Reserved (2009-2020) under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license unless otherwise noted. Antony again failed in an attempt to conquer Armenia and lost further support in Rome by repudiating his wife Octavia, marrying Cleopatra, and declaring Caesarion “King of Kings”. Before he died, another messenger arrived, saying Cleopatra still lived. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. The battle of Actium became an important part of the imperial propaganda. Agrippa… Born in 1890, he ...read more, On September 2, 1944, future President George Herbert Walker Bush is serving as a torpedo bomber pilot in the Pacific theater of World War II when his squadron is attacked by Japanese anti-aircraft guns. The Battle of Actium (2 September 31 BCE, fought in the Ionian Sea off Actium, Greece) was the decisive engagement of the civil war fought between Octavian Caesar (l. 63-14 CE, later known as Augustus, r. 27 BCE - 14 CE) and the forces of Mark Antony (l. 83-30 BCE) and Cleopatra VII of Egypt (l. c. 69-30 BCE). Agrippa surprised Antony and Cleopatra by appearing in early 31 BCE, while their armies were still in winter quarters, and seizing Methone, cutting off supplies and seizing ships and men. Many in Rome, spurred on by Octavian, interpreted the spectacle as a sign that Antony intended to deliver the Roman Empire into alien hands. https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-was-the-battle-of-actium.html Antony and Cleopatra were now between Octavian on land and Agrippa at sea and had to act or starve. Fuller describes Antony’s forces: The army consisted of nineteen legions, in all from 60,000 to 63,000 men, excluding the light-armed, which probably numbered 10,000 men, as well as perhaps 12,000 horse; and the fleet totaled eight squadrons, each of sixty ships, including one squadron of Cleopatra’s, led by her flagship Antonia. This move was strongly opposed by Octavian who then exiled Lepidus from the Second Triumvirate, sending him back to Africa where he had been governing. Cleopatra's Deathby Reginald Arthur (Public Domain). Scholar J.F.C. Antony’s support of Sextus led to his blockading the town of Brundisium and Octavian marched to relieve it but, instead of fighting Antony, he made peace which included Antony marrying Octavian’s sister Octavia. Agrippa’s ships rammed the larger quinqueremes repeatedly, sinking or at least neutralizing them, while Antony’s ships basically turned into static floating fortresses hurling stones and firing arrows but unable to stop the attacks of the smaller vessels whose rams tore through their oars and pierced their hulls.