In the upheaval that followed Caesar's murder, two new leaders stepped to the forefront. One was Mark Antony (c. 82-30 B. C.), who had fought by Caesar's side in number of military campaigns and served with him as co-consul. The other was Caesar's grand-nephew Octavian (ahk-TAY-vee-uhn; 63 B. C.-A. D. 14), whom Caesar had adopted as son and heir just a year before his assassination. When Mark Antony tried to seize power, the senate threw its weight behind Octavian, whom they judged (wrongly, as it turned out) to be a mild-mannered figure uninterested in power.
Eventually, Octavian and Mark Antony formed their own uneasy alliance, with Lepidus (LEH-pi-duhs; died c. 13 B. C.) in the balancing role that Crassus had held. This Second Triumvirate quickly dealt with Brutus, Cassius, and the other conspirators. Then they turned to killing personal foes, among them Cicero, whom Antony judged an enemy. With so much blood flowing, it was not long before they turned on each other. Octavian removed Lepidus from power in 36 b. c., setting the stage for a showdown with Antony.
Mark Antony had meanwhile taken up with Cleopatra, for whom he had left his wife—Octavian's sister. By 34 b. c., Antony had moved to Alexandria. When Octavian read before the senate what he claimed was Antony's will—in which Antony promised to leave Cleopatra all of Rome's eastern possessions—the senate removed Antony from power. Rome declared war on Antony and Cleopatra, whose forces it met in a naval battle at Actium (AK-tee-uhm) in 31 b. c. Actium was in Greece, not Egypt, an indication that the two lovers hoped to build a Mediterranean empire; instead, their forces were destroyed. They fled to Egypt, where they committed suicide.
World History
