Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus ( consul 32 BC ) Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus ( died 31 BC ) was a general and politician of ancient Rome in the 1st century BC . Life . Ahenobarbus was captured with his father , Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus , at Corfinium in 49 BC , and was present at the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC , but did not take any further part in the war . He did not however return to Italy until 46 BC , when he was pardoned by Julius Caesar . He probably played no part in Caesar ' s assassination , although some writers claim that he was one of the conspirators . He followed Brutus into Macedonia after Caesar ' s death , and was condemned by the " Lex Pedia " in 43 BC as one of the murderers . In 42 BC he commanded a fleet of fifty ships in the Ionian sea , and gained considerable success against the Second Triumvirate , completely defeating Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus on the day of the first battle of Philippi , as the latter attempted to sail out of Brundisium . He was saluted Imperator in consequence , and a record of this victory is preserved in the annexed coin , which represents a trophy placed upon the prow of a vessel . The head on the other side of the coin has a beard , in reference to the reputed origin of the Ahenobarbus family . After the battle of Philippi in 42 BC , Ahenobarbus conducted the war independently of Sextus Pompeius , and with a fleet of seventy ships and two legions plundered the coasts of the Ionian sea . In 40 BC , through the mediation of Gaius Asinius Pollio , Ahenobarbus became reconciled to Mark Antony , which greatly offended Octavianus . In the peace concluded with Sextus Pompeius in 39 BC , Antony provided for the safety of Ahenobarbus , and obtained for him the promise of the consulship for 32 BC . Ahenobarbus accompanied Antony on his ill - fated invasion of Parthia in 36 BC ; after one particularly devastating defeat , Antony was too despondent to boost the morale of his troops so he gave that duty to Ahenobarbus . Antony placed him in command of Bithynia , which he governed until 35 BC or perhaps after . In 35 BC he supported Gaius Furnius , governor of Asia against Sextus Pompeius . He became consul , according to agreement , in 32 BC , in which year the open rupture took place between Antony and Augustus . With Gaius Sosius , Ahenobarbus fled from Rome to Antony at Ephesus , where he found Cleopatra with him , and endeavored , in vain , to obtain her removal from the army . Many of the soldiers , disgusted with the conduct of Antony , offered the command to him ; but he preferred to desert the party altogether , and defected to Augustus shortly before the battle of Actium in 31 BC . Even though he was suffering from a fever , he took a small boat to Augustus ' s side . Even though Antony was greatly upset , he still sent him all his gear , his friends and his attendants . He was not , however , present at the battle itself , as he died a few days after joining Augustus . Plutarch suggests that his death was due to " the shame of his disloyalty and treachery being exposed . " Suetonius says that he was the best of his family . Family . Ahenobarbus ' s father Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus had been Consul in 54 BC . His mother was Porcia Catones , sister of Cato the Younger and half - sister of the two Servilias ; Servilia Caepionis Major ( Caesar ' s mistress ) and Servilia Caepionis Minor ( second wife of Lucullus ) . His wife was Aemilia Lepida and their son and only child Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus was married to Antonia Major , daughter of Mark Antony by Octavia . They became parents to a younger Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus , and grandparents of the Roman Emperor Nero . Character in Shakespeare . The character of Domitius Enobarbus in the play Antony and Cleopatra is loosely based on this man . He is Antony ' s friend who deserts Antony for Caesar ( Act3 scene 13 ) , is stricken with remorse , ( Act 4 scene 6 ) , and dies ( Act 4 scene 10 ) .