serviceyears branch death_date allegiance birth_date term_end death_place term_start rank image name caption predecessor birth_place alongside office successor religion article_title
54 -- 30 bc roman army 1 august 30 bc -lrb- aged 53 -rrb- 25px & nbsp ; roman republic 14 january 83 bc 31 december 44 bc 7 january 49 bc december 33 bc 31 december 34 bc 31 alexandria , ptolemaic egypt 27 january 44 bc 1 january 49 bc november 43 bc 1 january 34 bc 1 proconsul m antonius modified.png marcus antonius bust of mark antony in vatican city lucius cornificius and sextus pompeius julius caesar rome , roman republic octavian caesar and marcus aemilius lepidus lucius scribonius libo julius triumvir republic consul of the roman republic people 's tribune of of the roman republic the roman republic consul of the roman octavian vibius pansa caetronianus and lucius volcatius tullus aulus hirtius and gaius roman paganism mark antony

mark antony

marcus antonius -lrb- latin : ; january 14 , august 1 , 30 bc -rrb- , 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 empire .
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 philopater , 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 .
defeated , 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 , he 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 .
