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Antony returned to Cleopatra and fathered a son, Ptolemy Philadelphus. The Senate pushed for conciliation between the triumvirs, pressing the recently widowed Antony to marry Octavian’s sister Octavia Minor in 40 B.C. The queen gave birth to twins, Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene, but Antony was forced to return to Rome to deal with the aftermath of his wife and brother-in-law’s failed rebellion against Octavian. Antony began an affair with the Egyptian queen Cleopatra, who had been Caesar’s lover in the last years of his life. Within a year, Antony defeated Caesar’s assassins Brutus and Cassius in the Battle of Phillipi, eliminating the two remaining leaders of the Republican cause in a battle that established his reputation as a general.

Antony was driven back at Mutina and Forum Gallorum, but had proved a formidable enough leader that Octavian preferred to ally with him.Īlong with their lesser rival Lepidus, Octavian and Antony formed the Second Triumvirate, splitting Rome’s provinces between them: Octavian would rule the West, Antony the East and Lepidus Africa. Antony was reluctant to hand his old friend’s legacy to an 18-year-old, and quickly became a rival to the future emperor. In his will Caesar had bequeathed his wealth and title to his posthumously adopted son Octavian. He took charge of Caesar’s will and papers and gave a stirring eulogy for the fallen leader. Antony fled Rome dressed as a slave but soon returned to protect his friend’s legacy from the senators who had conspired against him. When Caesar assumed his fifth and final consulship in 44 B.C., Antony was his co-consul.Īs the Ides of March approached, Antony heard rumors of a plot against Caesar but was unable to warn him in time. A year later, Antony’s violent expulsion from the Senate by anti-Caesar factions gave Caesar’s legion a rallying point as they crossed the Rubicon River, igniting the Republican Civil War. he was in Greece, supporting Caesar’s left wing at the Battle of Pharsalus. Did you know? Although Mark Antony died fighting Octavian's efforts to become Rome's sole dynastic monarch, three of the first five Roman emperors-Caligula, Claudius and Nero-were Antony’s direct descendants.ĭuring Caesar’s first yearlong dictatorship, Antony was his second-in-command.