NAVAL BATTLE OF ACTIUM 31 BCE

THIS IS THE SECOND OF THREE NAVAL BATTLES WHICH SAVED THE WEST - ACTIUM IN 31 BCE.
(THE FIRST – SALAMIS - FOUGHT BETWEEN AN ALLIANCE OF GREEK CITY-STATES UNDER THEMISTOCLES AND THE PERSIAN EMPIRE UNDER KING XERXES IN 480 BCE, I HAVE ALREADY POSTED).

Roman Republic in 44 BCE at the death of Ceasar

The Battle of Actium was the decisive confrontation of the Final War of the Roman Republic, a naval engagement between Octavian and the combined forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra on 2 September 31 BCE, on the Ionian Sea near the promontory of Actium, in the Roman province of Epirus Vetus in Greece. Octavian's fleet was commanded by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, while Antony's fleet was supported by the power of Queen Cleopatra of Ptolemaic Egypt.

PRELUDE
Both Octavian and Antony had fought against their common enemies in the civil war that followed the assassination of Caesar. The alliance between Octavian, Antony and Lepidus, commonly known as the Second Triumvirate, was renewed for a five-year term in 38 BCE. However, the triumvirate broke down when Octavian saw Caesarion, the professed son of Julius Caesar and Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt, as a major threat to his power. This occurred when Mark Antony, the other most influential member of the triumvirate, abandoned his wife, Octavian's sister Octavia Minor. Afterwards he moved to Egypt to start a long-term romance with Cleopatra, becoming the de facto stepfather to Caesarion. Such an affair was doomed to become a political scandal. Antony was inevitably perceived by Octavian and the majority of the Roman Senate as the leader of a separatist movement that threatened to break the unity of the Roman Republic.

After years of loyal cooperation with Octavian, Antony started to act independently, eventually raising his rival's suspicion that he was vying to become sole master of Rome. When he left Octavia Minor and moved to Alexandria to become Cleopatra's official partner, he led many Roman politicians to believe that he was trying to become the unchecked ruler of Egypt and of other eastern kingdoms, while still maintaining his command over the many Roman legions in the East. As a personal challenge to Octavian's prestige, Antony tried to get Caesarion accepted as a true heir of Caesar, even though the legacy did not mention him.

ANTONY ARGUMENTS

As the Second Triumvirate formally expired on the last day of 33 BCE, Antony wrote to the Senate that he did not wish to be reappointed. He hoped that he might be regarded by them as their champion against the ambition of Octavian, whom he presumed would not be willing to abandon his position in a similar manner. The causes of mutual dissatisfaction between the two had been continually accumulating. Antony complained that Octavian had exceeded his powers in deposing Lepidus, in taking over the countries held by Sextus Pompeius and in enlisting soldiers for himself without sending half to him. Antony and Cleopatra formally elevated Caesarion, then 13, to power in 34 BCE, giving him the vague but alarming title of "King of the Kings" (Donations of Alexandria). Being a son of Caesar, such an entitlement was felt as a threat to Roman republican traditions. According to a widespread belief, Antony had once offered a diadem to Caesar. Thereafter, Octavian started a propaganda war, denouncing Antony as an enemy of Rome, asserting that he was seeking to establish a personal monarchy over the entire Roman Empire on the behalf of Caesarion, circumventing the Roman Senate. It was also said that Antony intended to move the capital of the empire to Alexandria.

OCTAVIAN COUNTER ARGUMENTS

Octavian complained that Antony had no authority for being in Egypt; that his execution of Sextus Pompeius was illegal; that his treachery to the king of Armenia disgraced the Roman name; that he had not sent half the proceeds of the spoils to Rome according to his agreement; and that his connection with Cleopatra and the acknowledgment of Caesarion as a legitimate son of Caesar were a degradation of his office and a menace to himself. Octavian's prestige and, more importantly, the loyalty of his legions, had been initially boosted by Julius Caesar's legacy of 44 BCE, by which 19-year-old Octavian was officially adopted as Caesar's only son and the sole legitimate heir of his enormous wealth. Antony had been the most important and most successful senior officer in Caesar's army (magister equitum) and, thanks to his military record, claimed a substantial share of the political support of Caesar's soldiers and veterans. Both Octavian and Antony had fought against their common enemies in the civil war that followed the assassination of Caesar.

THE BATTLE   ORDER OF BATTLE

The two fleets met outside the Gulf of Actium (today Preveza), on the morning of 2 September 31 BC. Antony's fleet numbered 240, of which 230 were large war galleys with towers full of armed men. He led these through the straits towards the open sea. Octavian had about 250 warships. 
 

Antony and Gellius Publicola commanded the right wing of the Antony fleet, while Marcus Octavius and Marcus Insteius commanded the center, with Cleopatra's squadron positioned behind them. Gaius Sosius launched the initial attack from the left wing of the fleet, while Antony's chief lieutenant Publius Canidius Crassus was in command of the triumvir's land forces.



CLEOPATRA IN BARGE

Octavian's fleet was waiting beyond the straits, led by the experienced admiral Agrippa, commanding from the left wing of the fleet, Lucius Arruntius the centre and Marcus Lurius the right. Titus Statilius Taurus commanded Octavian's armies, who observed the battle from shore to the north of the straits.

EGYPTIAN HEAVY QUINQUEREME

It was September 2^nd and the seas were rough. As Anthony’s fleet headed out, with Cleopatra and her gold-tipped oared floating palace tucked in safely behind. He was facing a smaller fleet than his own, and his ships were towering 250 ton quinquereme’s: armored, with rams that could render anything they hit to matchwood, and towers bursting with archers capable of tearing any nearby enemy crew to shreds. His fleet was a MONSTER. What he faced was not only fewer in numbers, but Octavian’s galleys under Agrippa were generally smaller, so much so that they’d struggle to make ramming actions effective against the much bigger opponents.

But it wasn’t all sunshine and roses for Anthony; he had some problems. Firstly, the illness that had plagued his camp had left him short on men and not all of his “battle tanks” were going to be able to work at top efficiency. Worse, with the incredible size of his ships came a ponderous speed and agility, especially compared to what Agrippa was punting around in, and Agrippa’s men were the better, fresher, sailors. Undermanned, slower, and with inferior crews, Anthony was going to have a problem bringing his main weapon to bear: the ram.

The battle raged all afternoon without decisive result. The majority of Antony's warships were Octaries (eight bank rowing galleys), with huge rams, that could weigh over 250 tons. Antony's personal flag ship, like those of his admirals, was a Deceres (ten bank rowing galleys). The bows of the galleys were armored with bronze plates and square-cut timbers, making a successful ramming attack with similar equipment difficult.

Unfortunately for Antony, many of his ships were undermanned with rowing crews; there had been a severe malaria outbreak while they were waiting for Octavian's fleet to arrive. Making the best of the situation, he burned those ships he could no longer man, while clustering the remainder tightly together. With many oarsmen dead or unfit to serve, the powerful, head-on ramming tactic for which the Octaries had been designed was now impossible. It is estimated that Antony had around 140 ships, vs 260 ships of Octavian's fleet. Antony's ships were built heavier and wide making them ideal weapon platforms. An Octaries war galley had around 200 heavy marines, archers, and at least 6 ballista catapults. Being larger than Octavian's ships, Antony's war galleys were very difficult to board in close combat, and were able to rain down missiles onto their smaller and lower opponent's ships.


BALISTA ON GALLEYS

 Being lighter, they could outmaneuver Antony's ships, get in close, attack the above-deck crew with a shower of arrows and ballista-launched stones, and then retreat. A medium ballista was capable of penetrating the sides of most warships at close range and had an effective range of around 200 yards. Most ballista firing was aimed at the marines on the fighting decks of the ships.


 
Having heavily constructed hulls, Antony's war galleys were nearly impossible to sink by ramming. The only way to disable such a ship was to smash its oars, rendering it immobile and hopefully, isolated from the rest of its fleet. The main weakness of Antony's ships was their lack of maneuverability; such a ship, once isolated from support of its fleet, could be swamped with boarding attacks.

Octavian's fleet was largely made up of the standard Roman warship, Quinqueremes (five bank rowing galleys) with a few smaller Quadremes (four bank rowing galleys) mixed in. His crews were better-trained, professional, well fed and rested. Octavian's ships, although smaller, were still manageable in the heavy surf, capable of reversing their course on short notice and returning to the charge or, after pouring in a volley of darts on some huge adversary, able to retreat out of range with ease.

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AFTERMATH 

The political consequences were far-reaching. Under cover of darkness some 19 legions and 12,000 cavalry fled before Antony was able to engage Octavian in a land battle. After Antony lost his fleet, his army, which had been equal to that of Octavian, deserted. Antony, though he had not laid down his imperium, was a fugitive and a rebel without that shadow of a legal position which the presence of the consuls and senators had given him in the previous year. Some of the victorious fleet went in pursuit of him; but Octavian himself visited Greece and Asia, and spent the winter at Samos; though he was obliged to go for a short time to Brundisium to settle a mutiny and arrange for assignations of land.
At Samos, Octavian received a message from Cleopatra with the present of a gold crown and throne, offering to abdicate in favor of her sons. She was allowed to believe that she would be well treated, for Octavian was anxious to secure her for his triumph.
Antony, who had found himself generally deserted, after vainly attempting to secure the army stationed near Paraetonium under Pinarius and sending his eldest son Antyllus with money to Octavian and an offer to live at Athens as a private citizen, found himself in the spring attacked on two sides. C. Cornelius Gallus was advancing from Paraetonium; and Octavian landed at Pelusium, with the connivance it was believed of Cleopatra. Antony was defeated by Gallus, and returning to Egypt, advanced on Pelusium.

SMALL LAND VICTORY OF ANTONY AT ALEXANDRIA

Despite a victory at Alexandria on 31 July 30 BC, more of Antony's men deserted, leaving him with insufficient forces to fight Octavian. A slight success over Octavian's tired soldiers encouraged him to make a general attack, in which he was decisively beaten.




DYING ANTONY

 He tried to flee from the battle: as a result of a communication breakdown he believed that Cleopatra had been captured. Failing to escape on board a ship, himself. He did not die at once and insisted on being taken to the mausoleum in which Cleopatra was locked up, and died in her arms. She was shortly afterwards brought to the palace and vainly attempted to move Octavian to pity.


 DYING CLEOPATRA

In her meeting with Octavian, Cleopatra told him candidly, "I will not be led in a triumph" (Ancient Greek: οὑ θριαμβεύσομαι, romanized: ou thriambéusomai), but Octavian only gave the cryptic answer that her life would be spared. He did not offer her any specific details about his plans for Egypt or her royal family. When a spy informed Cleopatra that Octavian intended to bring her back to Rome to be paraded as a prisoner in his Roman triumph, she decided to avoid this humiliation and took her own life at age 39, in August 30 BC

Cleopatra committed suicide, on 12 August 30 BC. In one account, she put an end to her life by the bite of an asp conveyed to her in a basket of figs. Octavian had Caesarion killed later that month, finally securing his legacy as Caesar's only 'son'.


EPILOGUE

Octavian's victory at Actium gave him sole and uncontested control of "Mare Nostrum" (Our Sea, i.e., the Roman Mediterranean) and he became "Augustus Caesar" and the "first citizen" of Rome. This victory, consolidating his power over every Roman institution, marked the transition of Rome from Republic to Empire. Egypt's surrender following Cleopatra's death marked the final demise of both the Hellenistic Period and the Ptolemaic Kingdom. Octavian's supremacy enabled him to consolidate his power over Rome and its dominions. He adopted the title of Princeps ("first citizen") and some years later was awarded the title of Augustus ("revered") by the Roman Senate. This became the name by which he was known in later times. As Augustus, he retained the trappings of a restored Republican leader, but historians generally view this consolidation of power and the adoption of these honorifics as the end of the Roman Republic and the beginning of the Roman Empire.

HYPOTHESIS

There is no doubt that if Anthony and Cleopatra had been victorious at Actium, they would have moved the Roman capital to Alexandria, and started wholesale Egyptian influence and religion across the empire. Antony would have ruled the empire as the guardian of Caesarion ... Or had him assassinated, after having a son from Cleopatra who was still in child bearing age. who knows, POLITICS IS A PRACTICAL BUSINESS!!   
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As it turned out, Octavian executed Caesarion, annexed Egypt into the Roman Empire, and used Cleopatra’s treasure to pay off his veterans. Augustus became the first and arguably most successful of all Roman emperors, and ruled a peaceful, prosperous, and expanding Roman Empire until his death in 14 AD at the ripe old age of 75.
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Belligerents
Octavian's Roman and allied supporters and forces	Mark Antony's Roman and allied supporters Ptolemaic Egypt
Commanders and leaders
Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa Caesar Octavian Lucius Arruntius Marcus Lurius	Marcus Antonius Gaius Sosius Cleopatra VII
Strength
250 galleys 16,000 infantry 3,000 archers.	290 galleys 30–50 Transports 20,000 infantry 2,000 archers
Casualties and losses
About 2,500 killed	Over 5,000 killed; 200 ships sunk or captured

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