Rise and fall of Mark Antony: Forbidden love, civil war, and personal betrayal

Mark Antony was born in 83 BCE to Julia Antonia, who was a second cousin of Julius Caesar, and he belonged to a family with noble blood but fading prestige.

This connection linked him to the Julian clan, even though he was a member of the Antonian gens by birth.

His grandfather Marcus Antonius Orator, who had earned distinction as a consul and orator, was executed in the 80s BCE, while his father Marcus Antonius Creticus, who failed to distinguish himself in military command, died young, leaving Antony and his brothers under the uncertain guardianship of relatives.

During his youth, Antony’s reputation grew for extravagance and lawlessness, yet his fortunes changed after military service under Aulus Gabinius in the East, where he acquired valuable experience in Syria and Egypt.

Soon after, he had joined Julius Caesar’s forces in Gaul in 54 BCE and had quickly impressed his commander with a firm loyalty and physical bravery that suited the brutal demands of frontier warfare.

At the Battle of Alesia in 52 BCE, Antony led a key cavalry force in the outer ring of Caesar’s double surrounding strategy during the siege of the Gallic stronghold, and, as a result, that action largely earned him respect from the legions and secured his place in Caesar’s inner circle.

Over the next few years, Caesar rewarded him with political appointments in Rome, where he became tribune of the plebs in 49 BCE and publicly supported Caesar’s decision to cross the Rubicon.

By then, Antony had become the public voice of Caesar’s cause. He administered Italy during Caesar’s campaigns in Spain and the East and held command at the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BCE, where he oversaw the left wing of Caesar’s army in the defeat of Pompey.

However, his lack of administrative skill during Caesar’s absence largely frustrated many in Rome.

Though Caesar forgave him, tensions quietly grew between the two men during Caesar’s final year in power.

On the Ides of March 44 BCE, the conspirators struck Caesar down in the Theatre of Pompey.

Antony, who had been serving as consul alongside Caesar that year, escaped the assassination and immediately moved to seize state documents and public funds and thereby take over Caesar’s political apparatus.

As a result, within days he had organised Caesar’s funeral and delivered a speech that provoked Roman sentiment against the assassins.

To inflame the crowd, he used a wax model that showed the wounds and read aloud Caesar’s will.

As Caesar’s body burned on a pyre in the Forum, the crowd rioted and the Senate lost control, and Antony used this chaos to position himself as the true successor of Caesar’s power.

However, his path grew complicated when Caesar’s will was read aloud. The document named his 18-year-old great-nephew Gaius Octavius as his adopted son and chief heir.

It also promised 300 sesterces to each citizen and granted Caesar’s gardens across the Tiber to the Roman people.

Publicly, Antony agreed to honour Caesar’s memory, yet privately he withheld Caesar’s gifts and ignored Octavian’s claim.

Soon, a contest for Caesar’s inheritance began. Antony secured a five-year command in Cisalpine Gaul and marched north to seize territory held by Decimus Brutus, one of Caesar’s assassins.

However, Octavian, backed by Caesar’s veterans and funded by his personal wealth, marched against Antony with support from the Senate.

In April 43 BCE, two consular armies joined Octavian and fought engagements at Forum Gallorum and Mutina.

Antony withdrew from the field, but both consuls died in the campaign. The battles left him weakened.

Following the deaths of the consuls and Octavian’s sudden rise in authority, the Senate found itself powerless to check the rising power of Caesar’s young heir.

Octavian demanded the vacant consulship, marched on Rome with his legions, and forced the Senate to comply.

In the following months, Antony, Octavian, and Lepidus negotiated a political pact that formalised their alliance as the Second Triumvirate under the Lex Titia in November 43 BCE. 

Immediately, the Triumvirs launched a campaign of political violence when they drew up proscription lists that named hundreds of senators and thousands of equestrians for execution or the seizure of property.

Ancient sources claim over 300 senators and 2,000 equestrians were targeted, though modern historians consider these figures exaggerated.

These killings largely eliminated political enemies and raised funds for their military campaigns.

Cicero, who had championed the Republic and launched bitter attacks on Antony in his Philippics, was captured and killed.

His hands and head were displayed on the Rostra, a grim warning to others.

Together, the Triumvirs turned their attention to the east, where Brutus and Cassius had raised armies in Macedonia and Asia.

At Philippi in 42 BCE, Antony led the more effective half of the combined Roman army and won a major victory against Cassius.

A few weeks later, Brutus took his own life following a second defeat. During the campaign, Octavian, who had been frequently ill, had relied heavily on Antony’s leadership.

With the Republican cause destroyed, Antony assumed control over the wealthy eastern provinces while Octavian returned to Rome to settle veterans and suppress unrest. 

Over time, tensions grew. Antony, who was absent from Rome for long periods, delegated authority to eastern client kings, and increasingly aligned himself with Cleopatra of Egypt.

Meanwhile, Octavian slowly undermined Antony’s reputation, and he presented himself as the guardian of Roman values.

In 41 BCE, Antony summoned Cleopatra to meet him at Tarsus, where she arrived dressed in royal finery aboard a luxurious barge, which evoked the image of the goddess Aphrodite.

According to Plutarch, her barge had purple sails, silver oars, and servants dressed as Cupids.

Captivated, Antony accompanied her to Alexandria, and their alliance quickly became both romantic.

She provided material support through money and supplies, and he gave her legitimacy and protection that together produced prestige among Rome’s eastern subjects.

Together, they had three children and held extravagant court ceremonies that imitated Hellenistic royal traditions.

Antony, who had long embraced Dionysian imagery, adopted a regal style that alienated many in the Senate.

When he held the "Donations of Alexandria" in 34 BCE, he granted Armenia to Cleopatra's children: Alexander Helios, Libya and Cyrenaica to Ptolemy Philadelphus, and Cyprus to Cleopatra Selene.

Cleopatra already ruled Egypt. The gesture reaffirmed the expected future dominion of her daughter. Roman opinion turned sharply against him.

Soon after, Octavian had obtained Antony’s will from the Vestal Virgins and read it aloud before the Senate.

Some historians question the legality and authenticity of the document, but it showed Antony’s request to be buried in Alexandria and his generous gifts to Cleopatra’s children.

Octavian, who controlled Rome’s public messaging, effectively used this to present Antony as a traitor under the influence of a foreign queen.

As a consequence, Roman support for Antony began to unravel.

By 33 BCE, the Triumvirate had collapsed in all but name. Lepidus had already been sidelined after a failed rebellion in Sicily, and Antony’s relationship with Octavian had deteriorated until diplomacy broke down.

Now that he acted as Rome’s first citizen, Octavian presented the upcoming war as one against Cleopatra rather than Antony.

This allowed him to preserve a patriotic image, and he positioned himself as the protector of Roman tradition.

Meanwhile, Antony gathered forces in Greece and Asia Minor, and he drew on Roman veterans, local allies, and Egypt’s fleet.

Cleopatra provided additional resources and continued to be a central presence in his military planning.

However, distrust spread among his commanders, and desertions reduced his forces before a single engagement had occurred.

In 32 BCE, Octavian secured a declaration of war from the Senate that, again, targeted Cleopatra rather than Antony.

Strategically, this helped him rally support from conservative senators and neutral Italians.

Antony’s supporters in Rome mostly abandoned him or remained silent.

The two forces met at Actium on 2 September 31 BCE, where Antony and Cleopatra’s ships faced Agrippa’s smaller but better-organised fleet.

Agrippa had already cut off Antony’s supplies by sea and forced him into a vulnerable position in the Gulf of Ambracia.

Antony’s vessels were relatively heavy and less mobile, and his commanders failed to coordinate a unified plan.

Agrippa launched a side attack, and chaos spread through Antony’s lines.

During the battle, Cleopatra’s squadron withdrew toward the open sea. When he saw her depart, Antony broke from the engagement and followed.

This sudden decision caused confusion among his remaining captains, many of whom interpreted it as betrayal. The rest of his fleet surrendered or scattered. 

In the aftermath, Octavian pursued the couple as they retreated and slowly removed their remaining political and military support.

Antony’s eastern allies either surrendered or defected. His army in Egypt was largely without hope and leadership and began to disband.

By August 30 BCE, Octavian had entered Egypt. Antony, who had been preparing for a final stand, received false news claiming that Cleopatra had taken her own life.

Distraught, he stabbed himself, but lived long enough to be carried to her tomb, where he died in her arms.

According to Plutarch, Cleopatra’s attendants used ropes to haul Antony, who was bleeding, up to the upper floor.

Ancient sources made the scene more dramatic, yet they agree on his final request to die beside her, which she honoured.

Cleopatra, who knew her fate would be public humiliation, later arranged her own death.

Roman sources suggest she used poison, possibly concealed in a hairpin. Octavian spared her children by Antony, who were taken to Rome and raised by Octavia, Antony’s Roman wife.

However, Caesarion, her son by Julius Caesar, was killed on Octavian’s orders.

The death of Mark Antony brought an end to the final chapter of the Republic.

Octavian soon assumed the title "Augustus" and ruled as the first emperor of Rome.

At his triumph in 29 BCE, he displayed symbolic images of Antony and Cleopatra among the spoils, reinforcing their portrayal as enemies of the Roman people.

For Roman writers, Antony was a figure of tragic excess, brave in war, generous in friendship, yet ultimately undone by personal obsession and misplaced loyalty.