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The leadership of octavian
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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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Shuckburgh, Evelyn Shirley. A history of Rome to the battle of Actium. London: Macmillan and Co., 1917.
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T.J. Cornell, The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000-264 BC), London and New York: Routledge, 1995
Livy’s The Rise of Rome serves as the ultimate catalogue of Roman history, elaborating on the accomplishments of each king and set of consuls through the ages of its vast empire. In the first five books, Livy lays the groundwork for the history of Rome and sets forth a model for all of Rome to follow. For him, the “special and salutary benefit of the study of history is to behold evidence of every sort of behaviour set forth as on a splendid memorial; from it you may select for yourself and for your country what to emulate, from it what to avoid, whether basely begun or basely concluded.” (Livy 4). Livy, however, denies the general populace the right to make the same sort of conclusions that he made in constructing his histories. His biased representation of Romulus and Tarquin Superbus, two icons of Roman history, give the readers a definite model of what a Roman should be, instead of allowing them to come to their own conclusion.
...entions allowed him to counterattack and gain the upper hand. Mark Antony’s model of understanding yourself, your enemy, and your environment stand as an enduring example to commanders.
Morey, William C. "Outlines of Roman History, Chapter 26." Outlines of Roman History, Chapter 26. American Book Company, 1901. Web. 6 Nov. 2013. .
Livius, Titus. The Early History of Rome. Trans. Aubrey De Sélincourt. London: Penguin Group, 2002. N. pag. Print.
The overwhelming victory at Actium is due in large part, according to Dio, to Agrippa’s concerns. Dio had shown that Agrippa was a key success in aiding Octavian’s gaining of power, but also showed what Agrippa’s thoughts were regarding his sovereignty. “And you will remember how they treated your own father, Julius Caesar, because of the mere suspicion that he wished to make himself sole ruler. ”3 Dio shows through Agrippa’s speech that he was weary of Octavian becoming a king of sorts, because he feared for his safety, and the morale of the nation.
Marcel Le Glay, Jean-Louis Voisin, Yann Le Bohec. A History of Rome. West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.
... Austin: University of Texas Press, 1997. Hopkins, Keith. A. A. Death and Renewal: Sociological Studies in Roman History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983 Johnston, Harold Whetstone. The Private Life of the Romans.
Livy. The Early History of Rome: Books I-V of The History of Rome from its
3)Gwynn, David M. The Roman Republic: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2012. Print.
Around 69 B.C, one of the most famous female rulers ever known was born, she was Cleopatra. She was the descendent of the Egyptian ruler, Ptolemy XII, and she would eventually became the queen of ancient Egypt herself. She was known for being extremely intelligent and very charming, and because of this many romans feared her and viewed her as a threat. When her father died the throne of Egypt was left to her and her brother, Ptolemy XIII, and rivalry formed between the two, making her even more determined to become the sole ruler of Egypt. Cleopatra had trained all her life to be the successor of Egypt and she hungered for power. Like her father, she tried to have peace with Rome and maybe even have power over them. She would gain her power by having Caesar one and only son, Caesarion, the loyalty of Marc Antony, a well-known general who was popular among the troops in Rome, and of course by using her intelligence and Egypt’s resources. Cleopatra was a successful ruler because she had a thirst for power.
Darius’ first attempt at capturing Athens was a complete failure from the beginning. He sent an army around the northern coast of the Aegean Sea. However, a storm destroyed his supply ships, forcing him to turn back. Two years later Darius tried again. He sent a large army and fleet of about 200 ships directly across the Aegean Sea to seize ...
Buren, Albert W. Van. "The Ara Pacis Augustae." Journal of Roman Studies 3 (1913): 134-141.
Cleopatra is the main root of Mark Antonys downfall from a well. respected and powerful leader of Rome, a man who spent his days. frolicking in the desert of Egypt. Agrippa Enobarbus describes how Antony fell. under the spell of Cleopatra.