Mark Antony
Marcus Antonius (14 January 83 BC – 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony,[1] was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the autocratic Roman Empire.
For other people with similar names, see Marcus Antonius (disambiguation) and Marc Anthony (disambiguation).
Marcus Antonius
14 January 83 BC
1 August 30 BC (aged 53)
Unlocated tomb (probably in Egypt)
Roman
| Legate (under Caesar) | 52–51 BC |
| Plebeian tribune | 49 BC |
| Propraetor | 49 BC |
| Magister equitum | 48 BC |
| Consul | 44 BC |
| Proconsul (Gaul) | 44–40 BC |
| Triumvir | 43–33 BC |
| Consul | 34 BC |
| Fadia | dates unknown |
| Antonia Hybrida Minor | ?–47 BC |
| Fulvia | 46–40 BC |
| Octavia Minor | 40–32 BC |
| Cleopatra | 32–30 BC |
54–30 BC
Antony was a relative and supporter of Julius Caesar, and he served as one of his generals during the conquest of Gaul and the Caesar's civil war. Antony was appointed administrator of Italy while Caesar eliminated political opponents in Greece, North Africa, and Spain. After Caesar's assassination in 44 BC, Antony joined forces with Lepidus, another of Caesar's generals, and Octavian, Caesar's great-nephew and adopted son, forming a three-man dictatorship known to historians as the Second Triumvirate. The Triumvirs defeated Caesar's killers, 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 when Octavian induced the republic to declare war on Cleopatra and proclaim 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, having again been defeated at the Battle of Alexandria, they committed suicide.
With Antony dead, Octavian became 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 Republic into a monarchy, with himself as the first Roman emperor.
Aftermath and legacy[edit]
Cicero's son, Cicero Minor, announced Antony's death to the senate.[151] Antony's honours were revoked and his statues removed,[152] but he was not subject to a complete damnatio memoriae.[153] Cicero's son also made a decree that no member of the Antonii would ever bear the name Marcus again.[154] "In this way Heaven entrusted the family of Cicero the final acts in the punishment of Antony."[155]
When Antony died, Octavian became uncontested ruler of Rome. In the following years, Octavian, who was known as Augustus after 27 BC, managed to accumulate in his person all administrative, political, and military offices. When Augustus died in AD 14, his political powers passed to his adopted son Tiberius; the Roman Empire had begun.
The rise of Caesar and the subsequent civil war between his two most powerful adherents effectively ended the credibility of the Roman oligarchy as a governing power and ensured that all future power struggles would centre upon which one individual would achieve supreme control of the government, eliminating the senate and the former magisterial structure as important foci of power in these conflicts. Thus, in history, Antony appears as one of Caesar's main adherents, he and Octavian being the two men around whom power coalesced following the assassination of Caesar, and finally as one of the three men chiefly responsible for the demise of the republic.[156]