Anthony

**Marcus Antonius** (Latin: M·ANTONIVS·M·F·M·N;[note 1] January 14, 83 BC – August 1, 30 BC), commonly known in English as **Mark** or **Marc Antony**, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from an oligarchy into the autocratic Roman Em

pire.

Antony was a supporter of Julius Caesar, and served as one of his generals during the conquest of Gaul and the Civil War. Antony was appointed administrator of Italy while Caesar eliminated political opponents in Greece, North Africa, and Spain. After Caesar's death in 44 BC, Antony joined forces with Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, another of Caesar's generals, and Octavian, Caesar's nephew and adopted son, forming a three-man dictatorship known to historians as the Second Triumvirate. The Triumvirs defeated Caesar's murderers, the Liberatores, at the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC, and divided the government of the Republic between themselves. Antony was assigned Rome's eastern provinces, including the client kingdom of Egypt, then ruled by Cleopatra VII Philopator, and was given the command in Rome's war against Parthia.

Relations among the Triumvirs were strained as the various members sought greater political power. Civil war between Antony and Octavian was averted in 40 BC, when Antony married Octavian's sister, Octavia. Despite this marriage, Antony carried on a love affair with Cleopatra, who bore him three children, further straining Antony's relations with Octavian. Lepidus was expelled from the association in 36 BC, and in 33 BC disagreements between Antony and Octavian caused a split between the remaining Triumvirs. Their ongoing hostility erupted into civil war in 31 BC, as the Roman Senate, at Octavian's direction, declared war on Cleopatra and proclaimed Antony a traitor. Later that year, Antony was defeated by Octavian's forces at the Battle of Actium. Antony and Cleopatra fled to Egypt, where they committed suicide.

With Antony dead, Octavian was the undisputed master of the Roman world. In 27 BC, Octavian was granted the title of *Augustus,* marking the final stage in the transformation of the Roman Republic into an empire, with himself as the first Roman emperor.

## Contents

[hide]

* 1Early life
* 2Early career
	+ 2.1Military service
	+ 2.2Service under Caesar
		- 2.2.1Gallic Wars
		- 2.2.2Civil War
		- 2.2.3Governor of Italy
	+ 2.3Assassination of Caesar
		- 2.3.1The Ides of March
		- 2.3.2Leader of the Caesarian Party
		- 2.3.3First Conflict with Octavian
	+ 2.4The Second Triumvirate
		- 2.4.1Forming the Alliance
		- 2.4.2War against the Liberators
* 3Master of the Roman East
	+ 3.1Division of the Republic
	+ 3.2Activities in the East
	+ 3.3Fulvia's Civil War
	+ 3.4Antony's Parthian War
		- 3.4.1Roman–Parthian relations
		- 3.4.2Parthian Invasion
		- 3.4.3Conflict with Sextus
		- 3.4.4Reconquest of Judea
		- 3.4.5Parthian Campaign
		- 3.4.6Armenian Campaign
	+ 3.5Antony and Cleopatra
	+ 3.6Death
* 4Aftermath and legacy
* 5Marriages and issue
* 6Descendants
* 7Artistic portrayals
	+ 7.1Novels
	+ 7.2Poetry
* 8See also
* 9Notes
* 10References
	+ 10.1Primary sources
	+ 10.2Secondary sources
* 11External links

## Early life[edit]

A member of the plebeian Antonia gens, Antony was born in Rome on January 14, 83 BC.[1][2] His father and namesake was Marcus Antonius Creticus, son of the noted orator by the same name who had been murdered during the Marian Terror of the winter of 87–86 BC.[3] His mother was Julia Antonia, a distant cousin of Julius Caesar. Antony was an infant at the time of Lucius Cornelius Sulla's march on Rome in 82 BC.[4] [note 2]

Antony's brother Lucius, on a coin issued at Ephesus during his consulship in 41 BC

According to the Roman orator Marcus Tullius Cicero, Antony's father was incompetent and corrupt, and was only given power because he was incapable of using or abusing it effectively.[5] In 74 BC he was given military command to defeat the pirates of the Mediterranean, but he died in Crete in 71 BC without making any significant progress.[3][5][6] The elder Antony's death left Antony and his brothers, Lucius and Gaius, in the care of their mother, Julia, who later married Publius Cornelius Lentulus Sura, an eminent member of the old Patrician nobility.[7] Lentulus, despite exploiting his political success for financial gain, was constantly in debt due to the extravagance of his lifestyle. He was a major figure in the Second Catilinarian Conspiracy and was summarily executed on the orders of the Consul Cicero in 63 BC for his involvement.[7] His death resulted in a feud between the Antonia and the famous orator.

Antony's early life was characterized by a lack of proper parental guidance. According to the historian Plutarch, he spent his teenage years wandering through Rome with his brothers and friends gambling, drinking, and becoming involved in scandalous love affairs.[6] Antony's contemporary and enemy, Cicero, claimed he had a homosexual relationship with Gaius Scribonius Curio.[8] There is little reliable information on his political activity as a young man, although it is known that he was an associate of Publius Clodius Pulcher and his street gang.[9] He may also have been involved in the Lupercal cult as he was referred to as a priest of this order later in life.[10] By age twenty, Antony had amassed an enormous debt. Hoping to escape his creditors, Antony fled to Greece in 58 BC, where he studied philosophy and rhetoric at Athens.

## Early career[edit]

### Military service[edit]

In 57 BC, Antony joined the military staff of Aulus Gabinius, the Proconsul of Syria, as chief of the cavalry.[11] This appointment marks the beginning of his military career.[12]As Consul the previous year alongside Antony's mentor Publius Clodius Pulcher, Gabinius had exiled Cicero.

Hyrcanus II, the Roman-supported Hasmonean High Priest of Judea, fled Jerusalem to Gabinius to seek protection against his rival and son-in-law Alexander. Years earlier in 63 BC, the Roman general Pompey had captured him and his father, King Aristobulus II, during his war against the remnant of the Seleucid Empire. Pompey had deposed Aristobulus and installed Hyrcanus as Rome’s client ruler over Judea.[13] Antony achieved his first military distinctions after securing important victories at Alexandrium and Machaerus.[14] With the rebellion defeated by 56 BC, Gabinius restored Hyrcanus to his position as High Priest in Judea.

Bust of Pharaoh Ptolemy XII Auletes.

The following year, in 55 BC, Gabinius intervened in the political affairs of Ptolemaic Egypt. Pharaoh Ptolemy XII Auletes had been deposed in a rebellion led by his daughter Berenice IV in 58 BC, forcing him to seek asylum in Rome. During Pompey’s conquests years earlier, Ptolemy had received the support of Pompey, who named him an ally of Rome.[15] Gabinius’ invasion sought to restore Ptolemy to his throne. This was done against the orders of the Senate but with the approval of Pompey, then Rome’s leading politician, and only after the deposed king provided a 10,000 talent bribe. The Greek historian Plutarch records it was Antony who convinced Gabinius to finally act.[14]After defeating the frontier forces of the Egyptian kingdom, Gabinius's army proceeded to attack the palace guards but they surrendered before a battle commenced.[16] With Ptolemy XII restored as Rome’s client king, Gabinius garrisoned two thousand Roman soldiers, later known as the *Gabiniani*, in Alexandria to ensure Ptolemy’s authority. In return for its support, Rome exercised considerable power over the kingdom’s affairs, particularly control of the kingdom’s revenues and crop yields.[17]

During the campaign in Egypt, Antony first met Cleopatra, the 14-year-old daughter of Ptolemy XII. Roman historian Appian of Alexandria later recorded Antony's desire for the Egyptian princess began at this meeting.[18]

While Antony was serving Gabinius in the East, the domestic political situation had changed in Rome. In 60 BC, a secret agreement (known as the "First Triumvirate") was entered into between three men to control the Republic: Marcus Licinius Crassus, Gnaeus Pompey Magnus, and Gaius Julius Caesar. Crassus, Rome's wealthiest man, had defeated the slave rebellion of Spartacus in 70 BC; Pompey conquered much of the Eastern Mediterranean in the 60's BC; Caesar was Rome's Pontifex Maximus and a former general in Spain. In 59 BC, Caesar, with funding from Crassus, was elected Consul to pursue legislation favorable to Crassus and Pompey's interests. In return, Caesar was assigned the governorship of Illyricum, Cisalpine Gaul, and Transalpine Gaul for five years beginning in 58 BC. Caesar used his governorship as a launching point for his conquest of free Gaul. In 55 BC, Crassus and Pompey served as Consuls while Caesar's command was extended for another five years. Rome was effectively under the absolute power of these three men.[19][20] The Triumvirate used the demagogue Publius Clodius Pulcher, Antony's patron, to exile their political rivals, notably Cicero[21] and Cato the Younger.

During his early military service, Antony married his cousin Antonia Hybrida Minor, the daughter of Gaius Antonius Hybrida. Sometime between 54 and 47 BC, the union produced a single daughter, Antonia Prima. It is unclear if this was Antony's first marriage.[note 3]

### Service under Caesar[edit]

#### Gallic Wars[edit]

See also: Gallic Wars

The ancient Mediterranean in 50 BC at the end of Caesar's Gallic Wars, with the territory of Rome in yellow.

Antony's association with Publius Clodius Pulcher allowed him to achieve greater prominence. Clodius, through the influence of his benefactor Marcus Licinius Crassus, had developed a positive political relationship with Julius Caesar. Clodius secured Antony a position on Caesar's military staff in 54 BC, joining his conquest of Gaul. Serving under Caesar, Antony demonstrated excellent military leadership. Despite a temporary alienation later in life, Antony and Caesar developed friendly relations which would continue until Caesar's assassination in 44 BC. Caesar's influence secured greater political advancement for Antony. After a year of service in Gaul, Caesar dispatched Antony to Rome to formally begin his political career, receiving election as Quaestor for 52 BC as a member of the Populares faction. Assigned to assist Caesar, Antony returned to Gaul and commanded Caesar's cavalry during his victory at the Battle of Alesia against the Gallic High King Vercingetorix. Following his year in office, Antony was promoted by Caesar to the rank of Legate and assigned command of two legions (approximately 7,500 total soldiers).[22]

During this time, the alliance between Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus had effectively ended. Caesar's daughter Julia, who had married Pompey to secure the alliance, died in 54 BC while Crassus was killed at the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BC. Without the stability they provided, the divide between Caesar and Pompey grew ever larger.[23] Caesar's glory in conquering Gaul had served to further strain his alliance with Pompey,[24] who, having grown jealous of his former ally, had drifted away from Caesar's democratic Populares party towards the oligarchic Optimates faction led by Cato. The supporters of Caesar, led by Clodius, and the supporters of Pompey, led by Titus Annius Milo, routinely clashed. In 52 BC, Milo succeeded in assassinating Clodius, resulting in widespread riots and the burning of the Senate meeting house, the Curia Hostilia, by Clodius' street gang. Anarchy resulted, causing the Senate to look to Pompey. Fearing the persecutions of Lucius Cornelius Sulla only thirty-years earlier, they avoided granting Pompey the dictatorship by instead naming him sole Consul for the year, giving him extraordinary but limited powers. Pompey ordered armed soldiers into the city to restore order and to eliminate the remnants of Clodius' gang.[25]

Antony remained on Caesar's military staff until 50 BC, helping mopping-up actions across Gaul to secure Caesar's conquest. With the war over, Antony was sent back to Rome to act as Caesar's protector against Pompey and the other Optimates. With the support of Caesar, who as Pontifex Maximus was head of the Roman religion, Antony was appointed the College of Augurs, an important priestly office responsible for interpreting the will of the Roman gods by studying the flight of birds. All public actions required favorable auspices, granting the college considerable influence. Antony was then elected as one of the ten People's Tribunes for 49 BC. In this position, Antony could protect Caesar from his political enemies by vetoing any actions unfavorable to his patron.

#### Civil War[edit]

See also: Caesar's Civil War

Cato the Younger, a member of the Optimates faction, was one of the chief architects of the decree which provoked Caesar into civil war.

The feud between Caesar and Pompey erupted into open confrontation by early 49 BC. The Consuls for the year, Gaius Claudius Marcellus Maior and Lucius Cornelius Lentulus Crus, were firm Optimates opposed to Caesar.[26] Pompey, though remaining in Rome, was then serving as the governor of Spain and commanded several legions. Upon assuming office in January, Antony immediately summoned a meeting of the Senate to resolve the conflict: he proposed both Caesar and Pompey lay down their commands and return to the status of mere private citizens.[27] His proposal was well received by most of the senators but the Consuls and Cato vehemently opposed it. Antony then made a new proposal: Caesar would retain only two of his eight legions and the governorship of Illyrium if he was allowed to stand for the Consulship *in absentia*. This arrangement ensured his immunity from suit would continue: he had needed the Consulship to protect himself from prosecution by Pompey. Though Pompey found the concession satisfactory, Cato and Lentulus refused to back down, with Lentulus even expelling Antony from the Senate meeting by force. Antony fled Rome, fearing for his life, and returned to Caesar's camp on the banks of the Rubicon River, the southern limit of Caesar's lawful command.

Within days of Antony's expulsion, on 7 January 49 BC, the Senate reconvened. Under the leadership of Cato and with the tacit support of Pompey, the Senate passed the “final decree” (*senatus consultum ultimum*) stripping Caesar of his command and ordering him to return to Rome and stand trial for war crimes. The Senate further declared Caesar a traitor and a public enemy if he did not immediately disband his army.[28] With all hopes of finding a peaceful solution gone after Antony's expulsion, Caesar used Antony as a pretext for marching on Rome. As Tribune, Antony's person was sacrosanct and therefore it was unlawful to harm him or refuse to recognize his veto. Three days later, on 10 January, Caesar crossed the Rubicon River, starting a civil war.[29] During the southern march, Caesar placed Antony as his second in command.

Caesar's rapid advance surprised Pompey, who, along with the other chief members of the Optimates, fled Italy for Greece. After entering Rome, instead of pursuing Pompey, Caesar marched to Spain to defeat Pompeian-loyalists there. Meanwhile, Antony, with the rank of Propraetor despite never having served as Praetor, was installed as governor of Italy and commander of the army, stationed there while Marcus Lepidus, one of Caesar's staff officers, ran the provisional administration of Rome itself.[30][31] Though Antony was well liked by his soldiers, most other citizens despised him for his lack of interest in the hardships they faced from the civil war.[32]

By the end of the year 49 BC, Caesar, already the ruler of Gaul, had captured Italy, Spain, Sicily, and Sardinia out of Optimates control. In early 48 BC, he prepared to sail with seven legions to Greece to face Pompey. Caesar had entrusted the defense of Illyricum to Gaius Antonius, Antony's younger brother, and Publius Cornelius Dolabella. Pompey's forces, however, defeated them and assumed control of the Adriatic Sea along with it. Additionally, the two legions they commanded defected to Pompey. Without their fleet, Caesar lacked the necessary transport ships to cross into Greece with his seven legions. Instead, he sailed with only two and placed Antony in command of the remaining five at Brundisium with instructions to join him as soon as he was able. In early 48 BC, Lucius Scribonius Libo was given command of Pompey's fleet, comprising some fifty galleys.[33][34] Moving off to Brundisium, he blockaded Antony. Antony, however, managed to trick Libo into pursuing some decoy ships, causing Libo’s squadron to be trapped and attacked. Most of Libo’s fleet managed to escape, but several of his troops were trapped and captured.[33][35] With Libo gone, Antony joined Caesar in Greece by March 48 BC.

The Battle of Pharsalus: the decisive battle of Caesar's Civil War. Antony commanded the left wing of Caesar's army.

During the Greek campaign, Plutarch records Antony was Caesar's top general and second to only him in reputation.[36] Antony joined Caesar at the western Balkan Peninsula and besieged Pompey's larger army at Dyrrhachium. With food sources running low, Caesar, in July, ordered a nocturnal assault on Pompey's camp, but Pompey's larger forces pushed back the assault. Though an indecisive result, the victory was a tactical win for Pompey. Pompey, however, did not order a counter-assault on Caesar's camp, allowing Caesar to retreat unhindered. Caesar would later remark the civil war would have ended that day if Pompey had only attacked him.[37] Caesar managed to retreat to Thessaly, with Pompey in pursuit.

Assuming a defensive position at the plain of Pharsalus, Caesar's army prepared for pitched battle with Pompey's, which outnumbered his own two to one. At the Battle of Pharsalus on 9 August 48 BC, Caesar commanded the right wing opposite Pompey while Antony commanded the left, indicating Antony's status as Caesar's top general.[36] The resulting battle was a decisive victory for Caesar. Though the civil war had not ended at Pharsulus, the battle marked the pinnacle of Caesar's power and effectively ended the Republic.[38]The battle gave Caesar a much needed boost in legitimacy, as prior to the battle much of the Roman world outside Italy supported Pompey and the Optimates as the legitimate government of Rome. After Pompey's defeat, most of the Senate defected to Caesar, including many of the soldiers who had fought under Pompey. Pompey himself fled to Ptolemaic Egypt, but Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator feared retribution from Caesar and had Pompey assassinated upon his arrival.

#### Governor of Italy[edit]

Instead of immediately pursuing Pompey and the remaining Optimates, Caesar returned to Rome and was appointed Dictator with Antony as his Master of the Horse and second in command.[39] Caesar presided over his own election to a second Consulship for 47 BC and then, after eleven days in office, resigned this dictatorship.[40] Caesar then sailed to Egypt, where he deposed Ptolemy XIII in favor of his sister Cleopatra in 47 BC. The young Cleopatra became Caesar's mistress and bore him a son, Caesarion. Caesar's actions further strengthened Roman control over the already Roman-dominated kingdom.[41]

While Caesar was away in Egypt, Antony remained in Rome to govern Italy and restore order.[42] Without Caesar to guide him, however, Antony quickly faced political difficulties and proved himself unpopular. The chief cause of his political challenges concerned debt forgiveness. One of the Tribunes for 47 BC, Publius Cornelius Dolabella, a former general under Pompey, proposed a law which would have canceled all outstanding debts. Antony opposed the law for political and personal reasons: he believed Caesar would not support such massive relief and suspected Dolabella had seduced his wife Antonia Hybrida Minor. When Dolabella sought to enact the law by force and seized the Roman Forum, Antony responded by unleashing his soldiers upon the assembled mass.[43] The resulting instability, especially among Caesar's veterans who would have benefited from the law, forced Caesar to return to Italy by October 47 BC.[42]

Antony's handling of the affair with Dolabella caused a cooling of his relationship with Caesar. Antony's violent reaction had caused Rome to fall into a state of anarchy. Caesar sought to mend relations with the populist leader; he was elected to a third term as Consul for 46 BC, but proposed the Senate should transfer the consulship to Dolabella. When Antony protested, Caesar was forced to withdraw the motion out of shame. Later, Caesar sought to exercise his prerogatives as Dictator and directly proclaim Dolabella as Consul instead.[44] Antony again protested and, in his capacity as an Augur, declared the omens were unfavorable and Caesar again backed down.[45] Seeing the expediency of removing Dolabella from Rome, Caesar ultimately pardoned him for his role in the riots and took him as one of his generals in his campaigns against the remaining Optimates resistance.[36] Antony, however, was stripped of all official positions and received no appointments for the year 46 BC or 45 BC. Instead of Antony, Caesar appointed Marcus Aemilius Lepidus to be his Consular colleague for 46 BC. While Caesar campaigned in North Africa, Antony remained in Rome as a mere private citizen. After returning victorious from North Africa, Caesar was appointed Dictator for ten years and brought Cleopatra and their son to Rome. Antony again remained in Rome while Caesar, in 45 BC, sailed to Spain to defeat the final opposition to his rule. When Caesar returned in late 45 BC, the civil war was over.

During this time Antony married his third wife, Fulvia. Following the scandal with Dolabella, Antony had divorced his second wife and quickly married Fulvia. Fulvia had previously been married to both Publius Clodius Pulcher and Gaius Scribonius Curio, having been a widow since Curio's assassination in 52 BC. Though Antony and Fulvia were formally married in 47 BC, Cicero suggests the two had been in a relationship since at least 58 BC.[46][47] The union produced two children: Marcus Antonius Antyllus (born 47) and Iullus Antonius (born 45)

### Assassination of Caesar[edit]

Main article: Assassination of Julius Caesar

#### The Ides of March[edit]

Whatever conflicts existed between himself and Caesar, Antony remained faithful to Caesar, ensuring their estrangement did not last long. Antony reunited with Caesar at Narbo in 45 BC with full reconciliation coming in 44 BC when Antony was elected Consul alongside Caesar. Caesar planned a new invasion of Parthia and desired to leave Antony in Italy to govern Rome in his name. The reconciliation came soon after Antony rejected an offer by Gaius Trebonius, one of Caesar's generals, to join a conspiracy to assassinate Caesar.[48][49]

Soon after assuming office together, the Lupercalia festival was held on 15 February 44 BC. The festival was held in honor of Lupa, the she-wolf who suckled the infant orphans Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome.[50] The political atmosphere of Rome at the time of the festival was deeply divided. Caesar had enacted a number of constitutional reforms which centralized effectively all political powers within his own hands. He was granted further honors, including a form of semi-official cult, with Antony as his high priest.[51] Additionally, the day before the festival, Caesar had been named Dictator for Life, effectively granting unlimited power. Caesar's political rivals feared these reforms were his attempts at transforming the Republic into an open monarchy. During the festival's activities, Antony publicly offered Caesar a diadem, which Caesar refused. The event presented a powerful message: a diadem was a symbol of a king. By refusing it, Caesar demonstrated he had no intention of making himself King of Rome. Antony's motive for such actions is not clear and it is unknown if he acted with Caesar's prior approval or on his own.[52]

The "Death of Julius Caesar", as depicted by Vincenzo Camuccini. Caesar was assassinated on the Ides of March (15 March) 44 BC.

A group of Senators resolved to kill Caesar to prevent him from seizing the throne. Chief among them were Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus. Although Cassius was "the moving spirit" in the plot, winning over the chief assassins to the cause of tyrannicide, Brutus, with his family's history of deposing Rome's kings, became their leader.[53] Cicero, though not personally involved in the conspiracy, later claimed Antony's actions sealed Caesar's fate as such an obvious display of Caesar's preeminence motivated them to act.[54] Originally, the conspirators had planned to eliminate not only Caesar but also many of his supporters, including Antony, but Brutus rejected the proposal, limiting the conspiracy to Caesar alone.[55] With Caesar preparing to depart for Parthia in late March, the conspirators prepared to act when Caesar appeared for the Senate meeting on the Ides of March (15 March).

Antony, having learned of the plot the night before, went to stop Caesar from attending the meeting. However, a group of senators intercepted Caesar just as he was passing the Theater of Pompey, where the Senate was temporarily meeting, and directed him towards the meeting before Antony could reach him.[56] According to the Greek historian Plutarch, as Caesar arrived at the Senate, Lucius Tillius Cimber presented him with a petition to recall his exiled brother.[57]The other conspirators crowded round to offer their support. Within moments, the entire group, including Brutus, was striking out at the dictator. Caesar attempted to get away, but, blinded by blood, he tripped and fell; the men continued stabbing him as he lay defenseless on the lower steps of the portico. According to Roman historian Eutropius, around 60 or more men participated in the assassination. Caesar was stabbed 23 times and died from the blood loss attributable to multiple stab wounds.[58][59]