The Battle of Actium

Octavian’s victory over Mark Antony in the battle of Actium is labeled as the most important battle of Antony’s civil war. It directly led to Octavian’s final conquest over Rome and is labeled as the defining moment of the birth of the Roman Empire. Despite fairly evenly matched forces, an overwhelming lack of leadership on Mark Antony’s part and many brilliant tactical moves made by Octavian and his Admirals allowed this battle to be an extremely decisive victory in Octavian’s favor. This paper will analyze the tactical and leadership based decisions made by both sides.

In 44 BCE, Gaius Caesar was assassinated, leaving a power vacuüm for the leadership of the Roman Republic. A ruling body known as the second triumvirate was established between the potential rulers of Rome: Gaius Octavian, Mark Antony and Marcus Lepidus. In 36 BC, Octavian convinced the Senate to exile Lepidus. Shortly thereafter, tensions between Mark Antony and Octavian built. These tensions centered on Antony abandoning Octavian’s sister for Cleopatra, the Queen of Egypt and Antony’s lover.

In 34 BCE Antony donated the territories of Armenia, Syria and Cyrenaica to the Egyptian empire in the “Donations of Alexandria”. This donation represented a large fraction of Rome’s Eastern territory and was all land Antony was charged with protecting. Shortly thereafter Octavian convinced the republic to declare war on Egypt and Mark Antony.

Build up to the Battle

The next few years saw minor conflicts between the two bodies, during which both commanders built their navies. Octavian sent his admiral, Marcus Agrippa, to summon Roman fleets across the Mediterranean. These fleets were mostly composed of Triremes, the standard naval vessel of the time, and were equipped ...

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...hip failures on the part of Mark Antony. These decisions allowed an outnumbered and outclassed fleet to win an extremely decisive victory. It is truly a lesson in the power of good strong leadership.

Bibliography

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Murray, Dr. William M. THE ACTIUM PROJECT. 1997. 1 November 2011 .

Shuckburgh, Evelyn Shirley. A history of Rome to the battle of Actium. London: Macmillan and Co., 1917.

Wiseman, Howard. Wikipedia. 27 December 2007. 2 November 2011 .