Battle of actium
The Battle of Actium was the decisive confrontation of the Final War of the Roman Republic, a naval engagement between Octavian and the combined forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra on 2 September 31 BC, on the Ionian Sea near the city of Actium, in the Roman province of Epirus vetus in Greece. Octavian's fleet was commanded by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, while Antony's fleet was supported by the ships of Queen Cleopatra of Ptolemaic Egypt.
On the 2nd of September 31BC, the two fleets met outside the Gulf. Antony's fleet had 500 ships, of which 230 were large war galleys with towers full of armed men. Mark Antony and Gellius Publicola commanded the right wing of the Antonian fleet, while Marcus Octavius and Marcus Insteius commanded the center, with Cleopatra's squadron positioned behind them. The majority of Mark Antony's warships were quinqueremes, huge galleys with massive rams that could weigh up to 300 tons. These ships were designed to ram other ships and then use grappling irons to allow ships crew to board the now damaged vessel.
Octavian had roughly 250 warships. His army was led by Agrippa, commanding from the left wing of the fleet, Lucius Arruntius in the centre and Marcus Lurius to the right. Titus Statilius Taurus commanded Octavian's armies, who observed the battle from shore to the north of the straits. Octavian's fleet was largely made up of small, Liburnian vessels, armed with well trained crews. Octavian's ships were small, but very manageable in heavy surf. They were capable of changing course quickly which allowed them to do things like fire vollies of darts on big ships and then quickly retreat out of range.
The battle was seemingly doomed from the start for Antony, his fleet was plagued by a severe malaria outbreak while waiting for Octavian to arrive. Though he did his best to deal with the situation, he still lost multiple ships and many of his crew. Now undermanned, the quinqueremes were unable to properly ram opposing ships.
Adding to his bad luck, one of Mark Antony's generals, Quintus Dellius, switched sides to Octavian bringing with him all of Antony's battle plans.
Octavian had roughly 250 warships. His army was led by Agrippa, commanding from the left wing of the fleet, Lucius Arruntius in the centre and Marcus Lurius to the right. Titus Statilius Taurus commanded Octavian's armies, who observed the battle from shore to the north of the straits. Octavian's fleet was largely made up of small, Liburnian vessels, armed with well trained crews. Octavian's ships were small, but very manageable in heavy surf. They were capable of changing course quickly which allowed them to do things like fire vollies of darts on big ships and then quickly retreat out of range.
The battle was seemingly doomed from the start for Antony, his fleet was plagued by a severe malaria outbreak while waiting for Octavian to arrive. Though he did his best to deal with the situation, he still lost multiple ships and many of his crew. Now undermanned, the quinqueremes were unable to properly ram opposing ships.
Adding to his bad luck, one of Mark Antony's generals, Quintus Dellius, switched sides to Octavian bringing with him all of Antony's battle plans.
The battle raged for most of the day, Antony's initial strategy had been for his biggest ships to force Aggrippa's troops to withdraw. However thanks to Dellius' betrayal, Octavius was prepared and had Aggripa stay out of range of the rams.
The tide turned in Octaivan's favor shortly after midday when Antony was forced to engage with the Octavian forces. Cleopatra in the rear of the fight, gave the signal to retreat into open sea without engaging, this was possibly due to her seeing that the battle they were fighting was a losing one, or perhaps that she was simply unable to handle the suspense and anxiety. In either case the retreat order was given and soon the Egyptian ships were in full retreat.
Antony, who had not seen Cleopatra's signal, decided that she was fleeing in a panic. It is theoried that Antony's love and devotion for Cleaopatra is what fueled his next descion; after seeing Cleopatra flee, Antony quickly boarded a smaller vessel and order them to follow her at top speed. Seeing their leader fleeing the battle quickly sent a message to the remaining vessels, many soon unfurled their sails, ditched heavy equiptment overboard and initiated retreat.
It is believed that during retreat Antony knew he had nowhere to turn. In an attempt to escape he gathered his ships around him in a sort of horseshoe formation, staying close to the shore for safety. This mean that if Octavian's shipswere to approach Antony's, the sea would beach them. Antony and Cleopatra stayed in the rear of the formation and sent the ships on the northern part of the formation to attack. He had them move out to the north and sent Gaius Sosiussent down to the south to spread the Octavian's ships out to the north and south. This left a hole in the middle of Octavian's formation. Antony seized the opportunity, and with Cleopatra on her ship and him on a different ship, sped through the gap and escaped, abandoning his entire force.
In the aftermath of the battle, Cleopatra took refuge in the mausoleum she had commissioned for herself. Antony,
informed that Cleopatra was dead, stabbed himself with his sword. Before he died, another messenger arrived, saying Cleopatra still lived. Antony had himself carried to Cleopatra's retreat, where
he died after bidding her to make her peace with Octavian. When the triumphant Roman arrived, she attempted to seduce him, but he resisted her charms. Rather than fall under Octavian's domination, Cleopatra committed suicide on August 30, 30 B.C. possibly by means of an asp, a poisonous Egyptian serpent and symbol of divine royalty.
The tide turned in Octaivan's favor shortly after midday when Antony was forced to engage with the Octavian forces. Cleopatra in the rear of the fight, gave the signal to retreat into open sea without engaging, this was possibly due to her seeing that the battle they were fighting was a losing one, or perhaps that she was simply unable to handle the suspense and anxiety. In either case the retreat order was given and soon the Egyptian ships were in full retreat.
Antony, who had not seen Cleopatra's signal, decided that she was fleeing in a panic. It is theoried that Antony's love and devotion for Cleaopatra is what fueled his next descion; after seeing Cleopatra flee, Antony quickly boarded a smaller vessel and order them to follow her at top speed. Seeing their leader fleeing the battle quickly sent a message to the remaining vessels, many soon unfurled their sails, ditched heavy equiptment overboard and initiated retreat.
It is believed that during retreat Antony knew he had nowhere to turn. In an attempt to escape he gathered his ships around him in a sort of horseshoe formation, staying close to the shore for safety. This mean that if Octavian's shipswere to approach Antony's, the sea would beach them. Antony and Cleopatra stayed in the rear of the formation and sent the ships on the northern part of the formation to attack. He had them move out to the north and sent Gaius Sosiussent down to the south to spread the Octavian's ships out to the north and south. This left a hole in the middle of Octavian's formation. Antony seized the opportunity, and with Cleopatra on her ship and him on a different ship, sped through the gap and escaped, abandoning his entire force.
In the aftermath of the battle, Cleopatra took refuge in the mausoleum she had commissioned for herself. Antony,
informed that Cleopatra was dead, stabbed himself with his sword. Before he died, another messenger arrived, saying Cleopatra still lived. Antony had himself carried to Cleopatra's retreat, where
he died after bidding her to make her peace with Octavian. When the triumphant Roman arrived, she attempted to seduce him, but he resisted her charms. Rather than fall under Octavian's domination, Cleopatra committed suicide on August 30, 30 B.C. possibly by means of an asp, a poisonous Egyptian serpent and symbol of divine royalty.