Mark Antony

Who was Mark Antony?

Marcus Antonius, commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from an oligarchy into the autocratic Roman Empire.

Antony was an important supporter of and military commander for Julius Caesar during his conquest of Gaul and subsequent civil war. Caesar appointed Antony the administrator of Italy while he eliminated his political opponents in Greece, North Africa, and Spain. After Caesar's assassination in 44 BC, Antony joined forces with Marcus Lepidus, one of Caesar's generals, and Caesar's adoptive son Octavian in a three-man dictatorship known as the Second Triumvirate. The Triumvirate defeated Caesar's murderers, the Liberatores, at the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC and divided government of the Republic between themselves. Antony was assigned Rome's eastern provinces, including Rome's client kingdom of Ptolemaic Egypt ruled by Queen Cleopatra, and command of Rome's war against Parthia.

Relations within the Triumvirate were strained as the various members sought greater political power.