The Battle of Actium (2 September 31 BC) was the decisive battle of the civil war between the Roman leaders Octavian Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, fought at sea off the coast of Greece. The Roman-Egyptian fleet of Mark Antony and Cleopatra, consisting of 340 ships (including 22,000 troops) attempted to land in Greece, only to find themselves facing a fleet of 250 galleys and 19,000 infantry commanded by Octavian and his admiral, Agrippa. Octavian's fleet managed to outflank Antony's fleet, and Antony's flagship caught fire, causing Cleopatra to fear him dead. She proceeded to lead a retreat, and the entire invasion fleet melted away, giving up their advantage and ending the battle. Actium was a decisive victory for Octavian, who proceeded to invade Egypt and defeat Antony and Cleopatra there.
Background[]
After the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC, Caesar's wife Cleopatra and their son Caesarion decided to return to their home of Alexandria, Egypt, fearing for their lives. Cleopatra tasked Caesar's second-in-command Mark Antony with ensuring that Caesarion became his heir, and Antony vowed to present the case before the Roman Senate. However, the Senate instead chose Octavian as Caesar's heir, and the Senate decided to divide Caesar's empire into three parts: Marcus Aemilius Lepidus ruled over North Africa, Octavian ruled over Spain, Gaul, and Italy, and Mark Antony ruled over the rest of the empire (including the Balkans and the Levant). Antony and Octavian came to become fierce rivals, fighting each other at the Battle of Mutina in 43 BC when the Senate sent Octavian to crush Antony's revolt against the ruling Liberatores.
The battle ended in a draw, and Antony and Octavian eventually decided to join forces to crush the Liberatores at the Battle of Philippi a year later. Afterwards, their Second Triumvirate collapsed, with Octavian expelling Lepidus from the triumvirate. This left Octavian in control of two-thirds of the empire, including the capital of Rome, while Antony ruled over the eastern third. Antony reconnected with Cleopatra when he attempted to seek her help in supplying his legions for a campaign against Parthia, and the two would evolve from rivals into uneasy lovers. Cleopatra, in a bid to save her Ptolemaic Empire, decided to ally with Antony as a power struggle between Antony and Octavian loomed closer; she intended to take over all of Antony's part of the empire in exchange for giving Antony the other two-thirds of Rome, which she saw as a fair deal. Antony reluctantly decided to agree, hoping to become the new Caesar.
In 33 BC, the Triumvirate ended, and Antony wrote to the Senate, refusing reappointment. A year later, a third of the Senate and both consuls allied with Antony, and Antony was appointed Consul in 31 BC. Octavian later discovered Antony's will, which stated that he wanted to be buried in his "beloved Alexandria" in Egypt, and he accused Antony of betraying Rome for Egypt. Even Antony's faction of politics was convinced to abandon the drunken and arrogant Antony, and Octavian gained unanimous approval from the Senate to declare war on Antony. The war started when Octavian, having just declared war on Egypt, exited the Roman Senate with a javelin, which he threw at the Egyptian envoy, Sosigenes of Alexandria, killing him in public view. In 31 BC, Antony and Cleopatra decided to invade Greece by sea, and they raised an army of 22,000 troops and a fleet of 340 ships. On 2 September 31 BC, the fleet faced off against Octavian and Agrippa's fleet of 250 galleys and 19,000 infantry on the Ionian Sea at Actium, a promontory of western Greece that was located near the city of Nicopolis.
Battle[]
Rather than fight on land as suggested by some of his generals, Antony decided to fight Octavian's fleet at sea, with Cleopatra and some other admirals watching the battle from her large flagship. Antony gave the order to charge at Octavian's center, hoping to slay Octavian and win the battle. His ships advanced on the ship bearing Octavian's standard, and their advance towards the center left their flanks open to attack from Octavian's ships. Admiral Euphranor correctly predicted that, even if Antony killed Octavian, he would be completely surrounded by the Roman fleet. During the boarding of Octavian's flagship, Antony discovered that the man wearing Octavian's armor was a decoy, and that he had been fooled into unwisely charging into battle. Both ships caught fire, and Cleopatra was led to believe that Antony was likely dead after discovering the situation aboard Antony's ship. Cleopatra ordered a retreat to Egypt after hearing that the winds were fair, and her flagship led the way. The other Egyptian ships began to retreat, while Antony and his ships remained surrounded and embattled. Rather than listen to Ramos' pleas to stay with his surrounded men to fight off the enemy, Antony jumped off of his ship and onto a smaller rowboat, fleeing the battle. The rest of the Roman-Egyptian fleet was destroyed, and Antony and Cleopatra were dealt a decisive defeat. Antony would not forgive Cleopatra for what he saw as a betrayal, not talking to her or anyone else for months. The two lovers would be forced to retreat to Egypt, and Octavian would invade Egypt with 20 legions to hunt down Antony's 2 remaining (and deserting) legions.
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