Marcus Antonius was born on the 14th of January 83 BC into a family that seemed destined for mediocrity and scandal. His father, Marcus Antonius Creticus, was a man so incompetent and corrupt that the great orator Cicero claimed he was only given power because he was incapable of using or abusing it effectively. While his father died in Crete in 71 BC without making any significant progress against Mediterranean pirates, young Antony was left to wander the streets of Rome with his brothers, gambling, drinking, and engaging in scandalous love affairs. By the age of twenty, he had amassed an enormous debt that forced him to flee to Greece in 58 BC, where he studied philosophy and rhetoric at Athens. This early life of excess and political aimlessness stood in stark contrast to the destiny that awaited him, as he would soon become the man who helped transform the Roman Republic into an autocratic empire. His mother, Julia, was a third cousin of Julius Caesar, a connection that would prove to be the most significant relationship of his life, yet it was his association with street gangs and the Lupercal cult that defined his youth.
The General Who Ruled
Antony's military career began in 57 BC when he joined the staff of Aulus Gabinius, the Proconsul of Syria, as commander of the cavalry. He quickly distinguished himself by securing victories at Alexandrium and Machaerus, helping to restore Hyrcanus II as the High Priest of Judea. In 55 BC, he played a pivotal role in the restoration of Ptolemy XII Auletes to the throne of Egypt, a move that involved a massive 10,000 talent bribe and the garrisoning of two thousand Roman soldiers in Alexandria. It was during this Egyptian campaign that Antony claimed to have first met the fourteen-year-old Cleopatra, the daughter of Ptolemy XII. His association with Publius Clodius Pulcher allowed him to secure a position on Julius Caesar's military staff in 54 BC, joining the conquest of Gaul. Serving under Caesar, Antony demonstrated excellent military leadership, commanding the cavalry during the decisive victory at the Battle of Alesia against the Gallic chieftain Vercingetorix. After a year of service, he was made one of Caesar's legates and assigned command of two legions, approximately 7,500 soldiers, setting the stage for his rise as Caesar's most trusted lieutenant.
The Civil War Commander
The feud between Caesar and Pompey erupted into open confrontation by early 49 BC, and Antony found himself at the center of the storm. As a tribune for 49 BC, he used his veto power to protect Caesar from his political enemies, eventually fleeing Rome to rejoin Caesar's camp in Cisalpine Gaul. When Caesar crossed the Rubicon on the 10th of January 49 BC, initiating the civil war, Antony was installed as governor of Italy and commander of the army. During the Greek campaign, Plutarch records that Antony was Caesar's top general, second only to him in reputation. At the Battle of Pharsalus on the 9th of August 48 BC, Antony commanded the left wing of Caesar's army, which defeated Pompey's forces that outnumbered his own two to one. This battle marked the pinnacle of Caesar's power and effectively ended the Republic. After the battle, Caesar appointed Antony as master of horse, his lieutenant, and left him to govern Italy while Caesar sailed for Egypt. However, without Caesar to guide him, Antony quickly faced political difficulties, including a violent confrontation with Publius Cornelius Dolabella that led to the deaths of hundreds and left Rome in a state of anarchy.
On the Ides of March, the 15th of March 44 BC, Julius Caesar was assassinated by a group of senators who feared his dictatorship would transform the Republic into a monarchy. Antony, who had been waylaid at the door of the Theatre of Pompey by Trebonius, was unable to aid Caesar as he was stabbed twenty-three times. In the turmoil that followed, Antony escaped Rome dressed as a slave, fearing a bloodbath among his supporters. When the expected violence did not occur, he returned to Rome and seized the state treasury, presenting himself as Caesar's true successor. He presided over Caesar's funeral, reading his will and displaying the blood-stained toga to the crowd, which turned the assembly into a riot and forced many of the conspirators to flee Italy. Antony's actions were a masterstroke of demagoguery, as he managed to appease Caesar's veterans while appearing to be a partner to the Liberators. However, his relationship with Caesar's adopted son, Octavian, quickly deteriorated. Octavian arrived in Rome in May 44 BC to claim his inheritance, and Antony, who had appropriated a portion of Caesar's fortune, refused to relinquish it. This rivalry set the stage for a new civil war, as Octavian began to recruit Caesar's veterans to his side, away from Antony.
The Second Triumvirate
Defeated at the Battle of Mutina in April 43 BC, Antony recovered his position by joining forces with Marcus Aemilius Lepidus. In November 43 BC, Octavian, Lepidus, and Antony met near Bononia to establish a three-man dictatorship known to historians as the Second Triumvirate. They shared military command of the republic's armies and provinces among themselves, with Antony receiving Gaul and the Eastern provinces, Lepidus Spain, and Octavian Africa. The primary objective of the triumvirate was to avenge Caesar's death and make war upon his murderers. Before marching against Brutus and Cassius in the East, the triumvirs issued proscriptions against their enemies in Rome, stripping them of citizenship and offering rewards for their arrest or death. Two thousand equites were executed, and one third of the senate was purged. In the summer of 42 BC, Octavian and Antony sailed for Macedonia to face the Liberators with nineteen legions. At the First Battle of Philippi on the 3rd of October 42 BC, Antony defeated Cassius, while at the Second Battle of Philippi on the 23rd of October 42 BC, Antony's leadership routed Brutus' forces. Over fifty thousand Romans died in the two battles, ending the civil war in favor of the triumvirs and leaving only Sextus Pompey and his fleet to challenge their control.
The Eastern King
Upon returning to Rome, the triumvirate repartitioned rule of Rome's provinces, with Antony as the clear senior partner, governing all of the Eastern provinces while retaining Gaul in the West. He assumed direct control of the East, where he ruled generously towards the Greek cities, attending religious festivals and initiating into the Eleusinian Mysteries. In 41 BC, he traveled across the Aegean Sea to Anatolia, where he was worshiped as the god Dionysus born anew. Antony demanded heavy taxes from the Hellenic cities but exempted those which had remained loyal to Caesar. In October 41 BC, he requested Cleopatra meet him at Tarsus in Cilicia. Arriving aboard her magnificent ship, Cleopatra invited Antony to a grand banquet to solidify their alliance. Antony and Cleopatra spent the winter of 41 BC together in Alexandria, where she bore him twin children, Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene II, in 40 BC, and a third, Ptolemy Philadelphus, in 36 BC. Antony also granted formal control over Cyprus to Cleopatra as a gift for her loyalty to Rome. This period of luxury and Hellenistic rule won him the affection of the Greek peoples of the East but made him the target of Octavian's propaganda in Rome.
The War of Wives
Fulvia's civil war forced Antony to leave the East and return to Rome to secure his position. Led by Fulvia, the wife of Antony, the senators grew hostile towards Octavian over the issue of land confiscations. Fulvia, the most powerful woman in Rome at the time, encouraged the senate to oppose Octavian's land policies. When Octavian divorced Claudia, Fulvia's daughter, Fulvia and Antony's brother, Lucius Antonius, raised an army to fight for Antony's rights against Octavian. They marched on Rome and promised the people an end to the triumvirate in favor of Antony's sole rule. However, when Octavian returned to the city with his army, the pair were forced to retreat to Perusia in Etruria. Without reinforcements, Lucius and Fulvia were forced to surrender in February 40 BC. Fulvia died of a sudden and unknown illness in Sicyon, and the mutiny of their soldiers allowed the triumvirs to effect a reconciliation through a new power-sharing agreement in September 40 BC. As a symbol of their renewed alliance, Antony married Octavia, Octavian's sister, in October 40 BC. This marriage was intended to avert civil war, but it could not stop the growing tensions between the two men.
The Fall of Antony
Despite the marriage to Octavia, Antony carried on a love affair with Cleopatra, who bore him three children, further straining his relations with Octavian. In 33 BC, disagreements between Antony and Octavian caused a split between the remaining Triumvirs. Their ongoing hostility erupted into civil war in 31 BC, when Octavian induced the republic to declare war on Cleopatra and proclaim Antony a traitor. Later that year, Antony was defeated by Octavian's forces at the Battle of Actium. Antony and Cleopatra fled to Egypt, where, having again been defeated at the Battle of Alexandria, they died by suicide. With Antony dead, Octavian became the undisputed master of the Roman world. In 27 BC, Octavian was granted the honorific title of Augustus, marking the final stage in the transformation of the Republic into a monarchy, with himself as the first Roman emperor. The death of Antony and Cleopatra removed the last obstacle to Octavian's absolute power, ending the era of the Roman Republic and beginning the Roman Empire.