I. 2nd Triumvirate
a. A year after Caesar’s
murder, the Senate selected
Octavian, Lepidus and Marc
Antony to lead the republic
in the Second Triumvirate.
i. Octavian was Caesar’s
teenage grandnephew.
ii. Caesar’s sister was
Octavian’s Grandmother
b. Caesar’s will stipulated
that Octavian would become
his adopted son.
c. Marc Antony and
Lepedus were generals in
Caesar’s army.
i. Octavian wanted
complete control of
Rome.
ii. When Lepidus retired,
Octavian’s only rival was
Marc Antony.
II. Antonious
d. Marc Antony led the
Roman army in Egypt,
where he met and fell in love
with Cleopatra.
i. Antony and Cleopatra
hoped to oust Octavian
and rule together, but
Octavian used the
relationship between
Antony and the
unpopular Cleopatra to
his advantage.
1. He told the Roman
people that Cleopatra
had cast a spell on
Antony.
2. Octavian argued
that Antony was
willing to give away
the Roman world to a
foreign woman.
3. The Roman people
supported Octavian
when he declared war
on Antony and
Cleopatra.
III. War
e. Octavian’s forces defeated
Antony and Cleopatra’s
ships in the Battle of Actium
on the Mediterranean Sea in
31BC.
i. Antony and Cleopatra
managed to escape the
encounter and returned to
Egypt, but when
Octavian’s army
approached, Marc
Antony committed
suicide.
ii. When Cleopatra learned
of Antony’s death, she
realized she would soon
no longer be Queen.
1. According to
legend, Cleopatra
wrapped an asp
around her arm.
a. The asp was a
venomous snake
that was the
symbol for the
Egyptian royalty.
b. To commit
suicide by being
bitten by a snake
was to ensure
immortality.
2. The asp’s bite
ended Cleopatra’s life.
IV. Aftermath
f. Within a month Octavian
was named Pharoah, and
Egypt became his personal
possession.
i. Though administered in
similarity to a province,
the personal rule of Egypt
and the title of Pharaoh
would become a
permanent right of
ascension of each Roman
Emperor.
g. While Octavian was now
the clear and unequivocal
force in the Roman world,
there was still some minor
unfinished business to take
care.
h. Though executions of
Antony's supporters were
limited, likely to bring 20
years of war to a final
closure, an unfortunate few
still had to pay with their
lives.
i. Among those executed
was Caesarion,
1. Cleopatra's oldest
son by Caesar, as it
was a necessity to
avoid any potential
hereditary claims or
conflict of interest.
ii. Cleopatra's other
children by Antony were
too young to be of much
concern, would
eventually march in
Octavian's triumph and
were allowed to live.
1. Antony's oldest son
by his wife Fulvia was
killed, but his younger
son by Fulvia was
taken in by his stepmother Octavia and he
was seemingly
favored by Octavian's
entire family.
2. Years later,
however, he would be
executed in 2 BC for
his scandalous affair
with Julia, the
daughter of the man
who would then be
Augustus.