In the days of Julius Caesar, it was Marcus Antonius who was the second most powerful figure in Roman politics. He was a subordinate to Caesar in the command of his armies and he was an influential figure in Roman politics. By all rational expectations Antonius was the logical figure to succeed Caesar in power. As it turned out that was not to be. Caesar did not choose Antonius to be his heir, apparently knowing Antonius' flaws. Instead Caesar chose his great nephew, Octavian, a teenage student. Against all odds, 18 year old Octavian not only survived the power struggle with the politically and militarily experienced Antonius, who was in his forties, but defeated Antonius and went on to reorganize and rule the Roman empire for forty years. It reveals the astuteness of Julius Caesar's intellect that he chose Octavian to be his successor rather than Antonius.

Timeline

• 82-81 BCE: Marcus Antonius was born the son of a military commander and the grandson of a noted Roman orator. His mother was related to the family of the Gaius Julius Caesare.
• 57-54 BCE: Antonius was a cavalry commander for Roman military operations in Egypt and Judea.
• 54-50 BCE: Antonius joined the military staff of Julius Caesar for the Roman conquest of central and northern Gaul.
• 51 BCE: Antonius became a quaestor in Roman government. This office was concerned with financial matters. This gave Antonius membership in the Roman Senate.
• 49 BCE: Antonius becomes a tribune of the people, an office with considerable political power, include veto power over legislation passed by the Senate.

  Civil war breaks out between Caesar and his co-triumvir Pompey. Antonius flees Rome as a result of serious threats.

• 49-47 BCE: Caesar make Antonius Master of Horse, military commander of the Roman military in Italy.

  
        Marcus Antonius

• 46 BCE: Caesar takes away Antonius' command in Italy because of dissatisfaction with his rule.
• 44 BCE: Antonius is elected one of the two consuls of Roman. This was the highest legal administrative office in the Roman government. The actual power was in the hands of Julius Caesar.
• 44 BCE: On March 15th Julius Caesar is assassinated in the Roman Senate by a cabal of Roman Senators. Caesar's wife, Calpurnia, turns over Caesar's will, papers and funds to Antonius. Caesar's will announces his adoption of his sister's grandson, Octavian, and makes him heir to about three quarters of his fortune. The will also called for a stipend to each citizen of Rome.

  Caesar's will called for games for the entertainment of the public. Such things require funds, but Marcus Antonius controls Caesar's funds and refuses to grant Octavian access to those funds. Octavian borrowed funds to comply with Caesar's will and his efforts garnered public support for Octavian. His efforts to fulfill Caesar's will gains him considerable support among the troops of Caesar.

• 43 BCE: The Roman Senator and noted orator, Cicero, denounces Antonius in 14 public speeches in the Senate. These were known as the Philippics. Cicero repeatedly announces pubically that Marcus Antonius should have been assassinated along with Julius Caesar.

  Marcus Antonius was defying the will of the Senate and the Senate, led by Circero, called upon Octavian for support against Antonius. The Senate makes Octavian a senator even though he is far too young to qualify. The troops of Octavian joined with troops which the Senate has at its command. The combined forces drove Antonius out of Italy into Gaul.

  In the battle with Anthony's forces the two elected Consuls of Rome were killed. Octavian's troops demanded that the Senate confer the title of Consul on Octavian. Octavian was officially recognized as the son of Julius Caesar. He then took the name Gaius Julius Caesar (Octavianus). He was more generally known as Octavian during this period.

  Octavian and Antonius agreed to a sharing of power. They, along with Lepidus who was the Pontifex Maximus, are designated by the Senate as a Triumvirate with dictatorial powers for five years. Octavian, Antonius and Lepidus agreed to eliminate those Senators and members of the Roman aristocracy whom any one of the three considered a threat to public order. Altogether 300 senators and two thousand lesser level aristocrats are executed. Cicero, a supporter of Octavian, was designated for execution by Antonius under this arrangement.

• 42 BCE: The Senate deemed Julius Caesar as having been a god. This enhanced Octavian's status still further.

  Antony and Octavian undertook a military expedition to the east to defeat Brutus and Cassius. In two battles at Philippi the troops of Brutus and Cassius are defeated and Brutus and Cassius kill themselves. The Triumvirate then divide up the Empire. Anthony gets the east and Gaul. Lepidus gets Africa and Octavian gets the west except for Italy which was to be under common control of the three.

  In Italy Octavian faced a local war where he intended to grant land for settlement to the soldiers of his army. His forces defeated the local opposition at the city now known as Perugia.

  The island of Sicily was under the control of the son of Pompey, Sextus Pompeius, which gave him command of the shipping lanes. Octavian tried to defuse conflict with Sextus by entering into a marriage with Scribonia, a relative of Sextus. This ploy did not work. Sextus tried to establish an agreement with Antonius against the interests of Octavian. Antonius rejected Sextus' offer of an alliance. Octavian later divorced Scribonia.

• 40 BCE: Fulvia, the wife of Marcus Antonius, and his brother rebelled against Octavian in Italy and were killed. Antonius goes to Italy to resolve his relationship with Octavian.

  The allianace of Octavian and Antonius was renewed and further confirmed by Antonius marrying the sister of Octavian, Octavia. This political marriage also did not endure. Antonius was still enamored of Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt.

  The Parthians attack Roman territory in Syria. Antonius and Octavian meet Herod who had been driven out of Judea by the Partians and their allies. Antonius and Octavian agree to return Herod to power. This is the beginning of a long term friendship of Herod and Antonius.

• 38 BCE: A lieutenant of Marcus Antonius wins a decisive battle against the Parthians.
• 37 BCE: Octavian negotiates an arrangement with Antonius in which Antonius supplies Octavian with ships for Octavian's expedition against Sextus in Sicily in return for Octavian supplying troops to Antonius for his proposed invasion of the Parthian empire in the east. The Triumvirate was renewed for another five years.
• 36 BCE: Octavian was fortunate to have a close and trusted friend from his childhood, Marcus Agrippa, who was a military genius. Under Agrippa's command Octavian's fleet defeated Sextus.

  Lepidus the member of the Triumvirate who controlled the Roman territories in African attempted to challenge Octavian. Lepidus was defeated but forced into retirement instead of being executed.

• 35-33 BCE: Octavian with Agrippa fights campaigns in the Balkan peninsula. The formal powers of the Triumvirate end in 33 BCE.
• 32 BCE: Antonius divorces Octavia, Octavian's sister. Octavian reveals that Anthonius' will calls for the granting of Roman territory in the east to the children of Cleopatra. Furthermore it reveals plans for transferring the capital of the empire from Rome to Alexandria. The sympathy and allegiance of the Roman public are with Octavian against Antonius.
• 31 BCE: Antonius decides to bring his forces to the western side of Greece. Cleopatra accompanies him. Octavian sends a military expedition under the command of Agrippa to challenge Antonius' control of Greece. Octavian joins Agrippa and their fleet bottles up the fleet of Antonius and Cleopatra in the Gulf of Ambracia. A naval battle ensues at Actium in which Cleopatra, for fear of being captured, pulls her ships out of the battle and heads back to Egypt thus ensuring the defeat of Anthonius' forces. Anthonius and some of his ships escape from the battle and follow Cleopatra.
• 30 BCE: Octavian invades Egypt; Anthonius is told falsely that Cleopatra has died. Antonius commits suicide and Cleopatra follows suit in a tragic sequence of events. (See Cleopatra.)