On This Day in History: September 2

The Battle of Actium

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There is a reason Shakespeare wrote the story of Antony and Cleopatra as a tragedy. Things didn’t end well for the pair. Their fortunes soured during one of the most important naval engagements in history: The Battle of Actium. It was one of those turning-point things.

--On This Day in History, Shit Went Down: September 2, 31 BCE--

In 44 BCE Roman dictator Julius Caesar was repeatedly knifed. Yes, even by his good pal Brutus. That must have hurt not just physically, but emotionally. Anyway, Julius had adopted his grand-nephew Gaius Octavius and named him heir. With Julius gone there was a power vacuum, so Octavius became Octavian and formed a triumvirate with Roman politician Mark Antony and General Marcus Lepidus. Together they defeated Caesar’s assassins and ruled as de factodictators.

But the alliance would not last.

Shit went south, literally, when Antony, who was married to Octavian’s sister, dumped her and moved south to Egypt to shack up with Cleopatra. Cleo had a son named Caesarion who had been born in 47 BCE, three years before the assassination of Caesar (remember to reverse the numbers in before-Jesus times). Cleopatra insisted Caesarion was the son of Julius Caesar, because they had rubbed slippery bits, although Jules never acknowledged the kid. With Antony increasing his power in Egypt, Octavian saw the possible son of Julius Caesar as a threat to his rule. This was ancient Rome. You know how that goes.

It took time for shit to completely fall apart politically. Octavian stripped Lepidus of his power and sent him into exile, then made war upon Antony. The big naval battle took place on September 2, 31 BCE in the Ionian Sea just west of Greece. A couple of things turned the tide. One of Antony’s generals defected to Octavian just before the battle, bringing Antony’s battle plans with him. Also, during the battle Cleopatra’s fleet, which was on Antony’s side, apparently said fuck this and sailed away without engaging Octavian’s forces. It was a couple of millennia ago, so we’re not sure, but it seems panic set in and what portion of Antony’s fleet that could escape, did.

Back on land, a large part of Antony’s army deserted him, and he became a fugitive. He fought on for a bit, but both he and Cleopatra took their own lives the following summer. Things also sucked for 17-year-old Caesarion, because Octavian had him killed a month later.

Octavian used his victory to become Augustus Caesar the “First Citizen” of Rome, ending the Republic and beginning the Empire that he would rule until his death in 14 CE.

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