Mark Antony (14 January 83 BC-1 August 30 BC), originally known as Marcus Antonius was a Triumvir of the Roman Republic alongside Marcus Aemilius Lepidus from 43 to 33 BC. He ruled the Balkans and Asia Minor (with his capital at Athens) while Octavian ruled Italy and Lepidus ruled Spain and North Africa, but his heart was in Egypt, where his lover Cleopatra ruled. Antony and Cleopatra killed themselves after they were defeated at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC and after Octavian invaded Egypt.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Antony in battle armor.
Marcus Antonius was the son of Marcus Antonius Creticus and Julia Antonia, and was born in Rome on 14 January 83 BC. His father was executed in 63 BC during the Catiline Conspiracy against Pompey the Great and the Roman Republic, and he had to flee to Greece to avoid his debts. In 57 BC, he joined in the Roman Army and aided Pompey in defeating Alexander of Judea's revolt against Hyrcanus II of Judea in 56 BC after winning battles at Alexandrium and Machaerus. The following year, he took part in an intervention in Egypt against Berenice IV of Egypt, who had overthrown her father Ptolemy XII of Egypt. During this time, he met Princess Cleopatra, then a 14-year-old. Mark Antony found a desire for her, one that would later lead him to betray Rome.
Antonius later fought under Julius Caesar's army during their campaigns in Gaul. After the Battle of Alesia, he was promoted to Legate by Caesar, and became one of his top generals. He commanded the left wing of his army at the 48 BC Battle of Pharsalus, but his reaction to a revolt in Rome in 46 BC led to the city falling into anarchy and Caesar leaving him as a private citizen while he appointed Marcus Aemilius Lepidus to the post of Consul. When Caesar was stabbed to death by 60 men in 44 BC, Antonius fled in the disguise of a slave, fearing that he might be next in the bloodbath.
Triumvir[]
Mark Antony on a horse
After the death of Caesar, his adoptive son Octavian formed a Second Triumvirate of himself, Octavian, and Antonius. The lands were divided equally: Lepidus gained the western portions of the Roman Republic (present-day Spain and North Africa), Octavian ruled the middle portion (France, Germany, and Italy), and Antony ruled the eastern possessions (the Balkans and Asia Minor). In 42 BC, within two years of the death of Caesar, Antonius aided Octavian in defeating his killers Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus in the Battle of Philippi, where they were completely destroyed. However, in the aftermath of the war, Octavian did not trust Antonius, saying that his "heart lay with Egypt" - Antony was now in a public affair with Empress Cleopatra.
Downfall[]
Antony dying in Cleopatra's arms
He assisted in the fight against Sextus Pompeius, the son of the deceased Pompey, but he could not trust Octavian with the control over much of the empire and the capital city of Rome. In 31 BC, Octavian fought Antonius in a civil war and defeated him at the Battle of Actium, with his and Cleopatra's fleet of Roman and Egyptian ships being defeated. The Antonian forces retreated to Alexandria, and Antonius and Cleopatra took shelter in the city. When Octavian besieged the city, Antonius stabbed himself as Cleopatra had a poisonous snake kill her.
Gallery[]
