At the Battle of Philippi, Marc Antony and Octavian fight back their joint enemies to lay claim to Caesar's throne. Eleven years later, the two square off in the naval Battle of Actium to decide once and for all the destiny of Rome. The bitter personal rivalry between the two men climaxes when Marc Antony abandons his attacking forces to pursue the fleeing Cleopatra. This single act sounded the death knell of the Roman Republic and gave birth to an empire.
Marc Antony and Octavian were part of the triumvirate seeking to avenge Caesar. The two leaders managed to combine their forces to punish Brutus and Cassius, Caesar's assassins, following the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC. But how would the ambitions of the two men collide as time went on?
After Caesar, Antony and Octavian divided the empire for a time. But there could only be one successor to Caesar. Ten years later, the supreme strategist Octavian waged a critical naval battle, the Battle of Actium, against his former ally, Antony, who now had the backing of Cleopatra.
