Final War of the Roman Republic
| Final War of the Roman Republic | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Roman Republic (supporters of Octavian) | Roman supporters of Mark Antony Ptolemaic Egypt |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Octavian Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa |
Mark Antony † Cleopatra VII † |
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| Strength | |||||||||
| 198,000 Roman legionaries 260 Roman warships |
193,000 mixed Roman and Egyptian soldiers 300 Roman and Egyptian warships |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown | Unknown All of Antony’s Roman troops either changed loyalty to Octavian or were taken hostage with most of Antony’s fleet destroyed in battle. |
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Decisive victory for Octavian
The Final War of the Roman Republic, also known as Antony's Civil War or The War between Antony and Octavian, was the last of the Roman civil wars of the republic, fought between Cleopatra (assisted by Mark Antony) and Octavian. After the Roman Senate declared war on the Egyptian queen Cleopatra, Antony, her lover and ally, betrayed the Roman government and joined the war on Cleopatra’s side. After the decisive victory for Octavian at the Battle of Actium, Cleopatra and Antony withdrew to Alexandria, where Octavian besieged the city until both Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide.
Following the end of the war, Octavian brought peace to the Roman state that had been plagued by a century of civil wars. Octavian became the most powerful man in the Roman world and the Senate bestowed upon him the name of Augustus in 27 BC. Octavian, now Augustus, would be the first Roman Emperor and would transform the oligarchic/democratic Republic into the Roman Empire.
The last Republican Civil War would mark the beginning of the Pax Romana, which remains the longest period of peace and stability that Europe has seen in recorded history.
The Caesarians Octavian (Caesar's principal, though not sole, heir), Mark Antony, and Marcus Lepidus under the Second Triumvirate had stepped in to fill the power vacuum caused by Julius Caesar's assassination. After the Triumvirate had defeated Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus at the Battle of Philippi (42 BC) and Lepidus was expelled from the Triumvirate (36 BC), Octavian and Antony were left as the two most powerful men in the Roman world. Octavian took control of the west, including Hispania, Gaul, Italia, and Africa. Antony received control of the east, including Graecia, Asia, Syria and Aegyptus.
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