Actium
Andrew Dudik
Background
The Roman Empire dominated Europe, Northern Africa and the Middle East for nearly 400 years. Notice the use of words: The Roman Empire. For the 500 years prior to the Battle of Actium, Rome was a republic. However, after Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon with his armies, what was once a republic of elected officials soon became a dictatorship of the man who held and the arms. However, with the assassination of Julius Ceasar a power vacuum was created. Into this vacuum stepped the men of the Second Triumvirate, Gaius Octavian, Marc Antony and Marcus Lepidus. Together, these three men consolidated political power between themselves for nearly ten years before Lepidus was expelled from the alliance. This left Octavian and Marc Antony as the true holders of roman power. As the story goes, Octavian and Marc Antony hated each other and their uneasy alliance was doomed to fail.
Turning Point
Marc Antony slowly began to make political and personal moves away from Octavian during the Second Triumvirate’s second five year term. Amid much political fighting between Octavian and Antony, Antony moved to Alexandria, divorced Octavian’s sister, and lived openly with Cleopatra VII of Egypt, becoming her lover. Octavian used Antony’s newfound relationship to make his move for absolute political power. Through the publication of Marc Antony’s illegally obtained will and his proximity to the senate in Rome, Octavian had the Senate declare war on Marc Antony’s lover and ally, Cleopatra VIII of Egypt. In a calculated move, Octavian forced Antony to come to the aid of his lover and ally and therefore prosecute a war against Rome. The battle lines were drawn between the forces of Octavian and the combined forces of Cleopatra VIII and Marc Antony, the struggle for control of the Mediterranean, Rome and the future of the western world would be decided in one climactic battle.
As the two Generals, Octavian and Antony, collected allies and troops, Antony was worked into a defensive position at Actium in Greece, where his Navy became hemmed in by that of Octavius. By the summer of 31 BC, Cleopatra exerted her influence over Antony, as his lover and supplier of his fleet, and demanded that a large portion of the fleet be brought back to Alexandria. As Antony attempted to free his fleet from the trap, Octavian and his Admirals moved onto the offensive. During the course of the battle, Octavian and Cleopatra fled the fighting with much of the Egyptian Fleet. As the fighting continued on the water, the other ships in the fleet began to try and flee with Egyptians. In the flight, Antony escaped with Cleopatra, but in doing so he abandoned his entire fighting force at Actium. By the morning, many of his legions had deserted. Antony would try in vain to recover from the loss of virtually his entire Roman fighting force at Actium, but ultimately the loss was far too great from which to recover. Soon after the battle, Octavian would chase Marc Antony and Cleopatra back to Egypt, where after a string of small battles, the lovers would both commit suicide.
Effect
After Actium, the Roman Empire became fully established under the new dictator and emperor Augustus Ceasar (Octavian). The old republic was finished. Under a new series of powerful dictators, the borders of the empire would be extends from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Persian Gulf. The Hellenistic and Ptolemaic cultures met their downfall with the assimilation of Egypt into the Roman Empire as well, clearing the way for Roman cultural hegemony throughout much of the civilized world. Today, we can still see this cultural hegemony in the latin influenced languages of French, Spanish, Italian and English and in our legal systems, government administration and even religion, with the emperor's giving their endorsement to Christianity. Actium made it all possible by consolidating the power of Rome into the hand of an Emperor.
Bibliography
Andrew Dudik
Background
The Roman Empire dominated Europe, Northern Africa and the Middle East for nearly 400 years. Notice the use of words: The Roman Empire. For the 500 years prior to the Battle of Actium, Rome was a republic. However, after Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon with his armies, what was once a republic of elected officials soon became a dictatorship of the man who held and the arms. However, with the assassination of Julius Ceasar a power vacuum was created. Into this vacuum stepped the men of the Second Triumvirate, Gaius Octavian, Marc Antony and Marcus Lepidus. Together, these three men consolidated political power between themselves for nearly ten years before Lepidus was expelled from the alliance. This left Octavian and Marc Antony as the true holders of roman power. As the story goes, Octavian and Marc Antony hated each other and their uneasy alliance was doomed to fail.
Turning Point
Marc Antony slowly began to make political and personal moves away from Octavian during the Second Triumvirate’s second five year term. Amid much political fighting between Octavian and Antony, Antony moved to Alexandria, divorced Octavian’s sister, and lived openly with Cleopatra VII of Egypt, becoming her lover. Octavian used Antony’s newfound relationship to make his move for absolute political power. Through the publication of Marc Antony’s illegally obtained will and his proximity to the senate in Rome, Octavian had the Senate declare war on Marc Antony’s lover and ally, Cleopatra VIII of Egypt. In a calculated move, Octavian forced Antony to come to the aid of his lover and ally and therefore prosecute a war against Rome. The battle lines were drawn between the forces of Octavian and the combined forces of Cleopatra VIII and Marc Antony, the struggle for control of the Mediterranean, Rome and the future of the western world would be decided in one climactic battle.
As the two Generals, Octavian and Antony, collected allies and troops, Antony was worked into a defensive position at Actium in Greece, where his Navy became hemmed in by that of Octavius. By the summer of 31 BC, Cleopatra exerted her influence over Antony, as his lover and supplier of his fleet, and demanded that a large portion of the fleet be brought back to Alexandria. As Antony attempted to free his fleet from the trap, Octavian and his Admirals moved onto the offensive. During the course of the battle, Octavian and Cleopatra fled the fighting with much of the Egyptian Fleet. As the fighting continued on the water, the other ships in the fleet began to try and flee with Egyptians. In the flight, Antony escaped with Cleopatra, but in doing so he abandoned his entire fighting force at Actium. By the morning, many of his legions had deserted. Antony would try in vain to recover from the loss of virtually his entire Roman fighting force at Actium, but ultimately the loss was far too great from which to recover. Soon after the battle, Octavian would chase Marc Antony and Cleopatra back to Egypt, where after a string of small battles, the lovers would both commit suicide.
Effect
After Actium, the Roman Empire became fully established under the new dictator and emperor Augustus Ceasar (Octavian). The old republic was finished. Under a new series of powerful dictators, the borders of the empire would be extends from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Persian Gulf. The Hellenistic and Ptolemaic cultures met their downfall with the assimilation of Egypt into the Roman Empire as well, clearing the way for Roman cultural hegemony throughout much of the civilized world. Today, we can still see this cultural hegemony in the latin influenced languages of French, Spanish, Italian and English and in our legal systems, government administration and even religion, with the emperor's giving their endorsement to Christianity. Actium made it all possible by consolidating the power of Rome into the hand of an Emperor.
Bibliography