![]() On September 2, 31 B.C., their fleets clashed at Actium in Greece. Enemies of Octavian rallied to Antony’s side, but Octavian’s brilliant military commanders gained early successes against his forces. Many in Rome, spurred on by Octavian, interpreted the spectacle as a sign that Antony intended to deliver the Roman Empire into alien hands.Īfter several more years of tension and propaganda attacks, Octavian declared war against Cleopatra, and therefore Antony, in 31 B.C. To celebrate the victory, he staged a triumphal procession through the streets of Alexandria, in which he and Cleopatra sat on golden thrones, and Caesarion and their children were given imposing royal titles. further reduced his prestige, but in 34 B.C. According to Octavian’s propagandists, the lovers were then married, which violated the Roman law restricting Romans from marrying foreigners.Īntony’s disastrous military campaign against Parthia in 36 B.C. In their time apart, Cleopatra had borne him twins, a son and a daughter. In 37 B.C., Antony separated from Octavia and traveled east, arranging for Cleopatra to join him in Syria. The triumvirate, however, continued to deteriorate. In 40 B.C., Antony returned to Rome and married Octavian’s sister Octavia in an effort to mend his strained alliance with Octavian. Successful in her efforts, Antony returned with her to Alexandria, where they spent the winter in debauchery. arrived in Tarsus on a magnificent river barge, dressed as Venus, the Roman god of love. Antony took up the administration of the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire, and he summoned Cleopatra to Tarsus, in Asia Minor, to answer charges that she had aided his enemies.Ĭleopatra sought to seduce Antony, as she had Caesar before him, and in 41 B.C. with the formation of the second triumvirate, made up of Octavian, Caesar’s great-nephew and chosen heir Mark Antony, a powerful general and Lepidus, a Roman statesman. With Julius Caesar’s murder, Rome again fell into civil war, which was temporarily resolved in 43 B.C. Soon after, Ptolemy XIV died, likely poisoned by Cleopatra, and the queen made her son co-ruler with her as Ptolemy XV Caesar. After Caesar was assassinated in March 44 B.C., she returned to Egypt. Under the auspices of negotiating a treaty with Rome, Cleopatra lived discretely in a villa that Caesar owned outside the capital. ![]() Upon Caesar’s triumphant return to Rome, Cleopatra and Caesarion joined him there. In June 47 B.C., Cleopatra bore a son, whom she claimed was Caesar’s and named Caesarion, meaning “little Caesar.” Julius and Cleopatra spent several amorous weeks together, and then Caesar departed for Asia Minor, where he declared “Veni, vidi, vici” (I came, I saw, I conquered), after putting down a rebellion. In 47 B.C., Ptolemy XIII was killed after a defeat against Caesar’s forces, and Cleopatra was made dual ruler with another brother, Ptolemy XIV. Cleopatra, beautiful and alluring, captivated the powerful Roman leader, and he agreed to intercede in the Egyptian civil war on her behalf. She traveled to the royal palace in Alexandria and was allegedly carried to Caesar rolled in a rug, which was offered as a gift. Caesar arrived in Alexandria soon after and, finding his enemy dead, decided to restore order in Egypt.ĭuring the preceding century, Rome had exercised increasing control over the rich Egyptian kingdom, and Cleopatra sought to advance her political aims by winning the favor of Caesar. Pompey the Great, defeated by Julius Caesar in Greece, fled to Egypt seeking solace but was immediately murdered by agents of Ptolemy XIII. ![]() Just as Cleopatra was preparing to attack her brother with a large Arab army, the Roman civil war spilled into Egypt. Rome, the greatest power in the Western world, was also beset by civil war at the time.
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