Was she a shadowy figure, who orchestrated the murders of people who stood in her way or was she a misunderstood character? We may never be able to say for certain, but she undeniably had a close relationship with her husband Augustus, becoming his closest confidant and advisor. Her involvement in court intrigue played a crucial role in securing the Imperial title for her son Tiberius, laying the groundworks for the turbulent Julio–Claudian dynasty following the death of Augustus.

Here are 10 facts about the first Roman Empress Livia Drusilla.

1.  Her early life is clouded in mystery

Roman society was heavily male dominated, with women often ignored in written records. Born 30 January 58 BC, Livia was the daughter of Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus. Little is known about her early life, with more information emerging 16 years later with her first marriage.

2. Before Augustus, she was married to her cousin

Around 43 BC Livia was married to her cousin Tiberius Claudius Nero, who was part of the very old and respected Claudian clan. He unfortunately was not as skilful in political manoeuvring as his wife’s future husband, aligning himself with Julius Caesar‘s assassins against Octavian. The civil war, which ravaged the weakened Roman Republic would become a watershed moment for the emerging Emperor, defeating his main rival Mark Antony. Livia’s family was forced to flee to Greece, to avoid Octavian’s wrath.

Following the peace established between all sides, she returned to Rome and was personally introduced to the future Emperor in 39 BC. Octavian was at that time married to his second wife Scribonia, though legend says that he immediately fell in love with Livia.

3. Livia had two children

Livia had two children with her first husband – Tiberius and Nero Claudius Drusus. She was still pregnant with her second child when Octavian convinced or forced Tiberius Claudius Nero to divorce from his wife. Both of Livi’s children would be adopted by the first Emperor, securing them a place in the line of accession.

Livia and her son Tiberius, AD 14–19, from Paestum, National Archaeological Museum of Spain, Madrid

Image Credit: Miguel Hermoso Cuesta, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

4. Augustus truly loved her

By all accounts Augustus greatly respected Livia, regularly asking for her council regarding matters of state. She would be seen by the people of Rome as a ‘model wife’ – dignified, beautiful and loyal to her husband. For Augustus’ enemies she was a ruthless intriguer, who exercised more and more influence over the Emperor. Livia always denied having any great impact on her husband’s decisions, though that did not quieten the whispers within the Imperial court. Her step-grandson Gaius described her as an ‘Odysseus in a frock’.

5. Livia worked toward making her son Emperor

The first Augusta of Rome is best remember for tirelessly working towards ensuring that her son Tiberius would succeed Augustus over his own biological children. Two of her husband’s sons died in their early adulthood, with some suspecting foul play. For centuries Livia has been suspected of having a hand in the demise of her husband’s children, though the lack of concrete evidence makes it difficult to prove. Interestingly, even though Livia worked to make Tiberius Emperor, she never discussed the matter with her son, who felt completely out of place in the Imperial household.

Bust of Tiberius , between 14 and 23 AD

Image Credit: Musée Saint-Raymond, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

6. She possibly delayed the announcement of Augustus’ death

On 19 August 14 AD, Augustus died. Some contemporaries claimed that Livia may have delayed the announcement to make sure that her son Tiberius, who was a five day ride away, could make his way to the Imperial home. During the Emperor’s last days, Livia carefully governed who could see him and who could not. Some have even suggested that she caused her husband’s death with poisoned figs.

7. Augustus adopted Livia as his daughter

In his will, Augustus divided a large part of his estate between Livia and Tiberius. He also adopted his wife, making her known as Julia Augusta. This allowed her to maintain much of her power and status following her husband’s death.

8. The Roman Senate wanted to name her ‘Mother of the Fatherland’

At the beginning of Tiberius’ reign, the Roman Senate wanted to bestow Livia the title Mater Patriae, which would have been unprecedented. Tiberius, whose relationship with his mother continuously worsened, vetoed the resolution.

9. Tiberius exiled himself to Capri to get away from his mother

Based on ancient historians Tacitus and Cassius Dio, Livia seemed to be an overbearing mother, who would regularly interfere in Tiberius’ decisions. If this is true is up for debate, but Tiberius did seem to want get away from his mother, exiling himself to Capri in 22 AD. Following her death in 29 AD, he nullifies her will and vetoed all the honours the Senate had granted Livia after her passing.

10. Livia was eventually deified by her grandson

In 42 AD, Emperor Claudius restored all of Livia’s honours, completing her deification. She was thereon known as Diva Augusta (The Divine Augusta), with her statue being set up in the Temple of Augustulus.

1. He was Caesar’s great nephew and adopted son

Roman families were complicated affairs. Octavian’s father was a senator and his mother was Caesar’s niece, Atia. He met his great-uncle relatively briefly on a campaign in Hispania, but Caesar was impressed by the young man and they spent more time together.

When Caesar returned to Rome, he deposited a new will with the Vestal Virgins naming Octavian as his sole heir and beneficiary. Rumours swirled at the time that he had only managed this feat through distributing sexual favours, but this seems unlikely and slander like this was common at the time.

2. He defeated Caesar’s assassins

Upon the assassination of Caesar in 43 BC, Octavian fought to avenge his great uncle and adoptive father’s death, establishing his desire to become Caesar’s political heir in the process. He, Mark Antony, and Marcus Lepidus formed the Second Triumvirate to defeat the assassins of Caesar.

At the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC, a combination of Mark Anthony’s superb commanding skills and luck helped bring the Republican Army, led by Bruttus and Cassius, to its knees. Both Republican generals committed suicide in a tragic and uncalculated turn of events (Cassius wrongly believed that all hope was lost when Brutus had actually defeated Octavian army).

Following their victory at Phillipi, the Triumvirate divided the Roman Republic among themselves and ruled as de facto dictators.

3. An Augustan family feud caused the last war in the Roman Republic

In order to solidify the alliance, Mark Antony married Augustus’ sister, and Augustus married Antony’s stepdaughter Claudia. Neither marriage lasted, however, nor did the triumvirate. The final break came in 32 BC, when Augustus used an illicitly obtained copy of Antony’s will to rail against him and his high-profile mistress, the Egyptian queen Cleopatra.

The Naval Battle of Actium, 31 BC.

Image Credit: Public Domain

In the civil war that followed, Augustus blockaded Antony’s force off the western coast of Greece at the Battle of Actium. Though Antony and Cleopatra escaped to Egypt, the majority of their soldiers surrendered, and they both ended up committing suicide as Augustus closed in on them. To add insult to injury, Augustus ordered that Antony’s heir be killed, along with a son that Cleopatra had with Caesar.

4. He introduced numerous political and social reforms

After the dictatorship of Julius Caesar, Romans were still accustomed to the idea of living in a republic and not an empire. Though Augustus established himself as ruler for life, he used constitutional forms to consolidate power, outwardly rejecting official offers of life consulship or dictatorship. In order to introduce the Imperial system, he established the Principate, with himself as Princeps, meaning ‘first among equals’.

Through his reforms, Augustus established himself as head of state religion, military and tribunal. He greatly reformed politics and the tax system, as well as establishing a large program of public works, including transforming the architecture of central Rome by constructing grand monuments.

5. Under his rule, the Roman Empire doubled in size

Augustus looked to expand the empire’s borders, bringing Egypt, northern Spain, the Alps and much of the Balkans under Roman control. Progress was made in Germany as well, until three legions were wiped out in an ambush in 9 AD, forcing the Romans to withdraw west of the Rhine River. As part of these expansion efforts, Augustus spent years in Spain, Gaul, Greece and Asia.

A map of the Roman Empire under the reign of Emperor Augustus.

Image Credit: CC

He was committed to diplomacy and strived to make alliances in order to intangeably spread the influence of his Empire.By the time his tenure was over, Augustus, in the space of 40 years had expanded Rome’s Empire to almost double its size when he gained power.

Militarily, Augustus did not enjoy combat himself – he often was sick on the eve of a battle. Neither was he much of a general, depending heavily on the strategy of hils childhood friend Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa.

6. The month of August was named after him

In Augustus’ final years, the Empire was plagued by economic woes and military defeats. With no blood heir — he had no sons and his grandsons had already perished — Augustus named Tiberius as his successor. He died in the month of Sextili, which was renamed in his honour, in 14 AD.

Not only did the Senate name a month after Augustus, but it decided that since Julius’s month, July, had 31 days, Augustus’s month should equal it: under the Julian calendar, the months alternated evenly between 30 and 31 days (with the exception of February), which made August 30 days long. So, instead of August having a mere 30 days, it was lengthened to 31, preventing anyone from claiming that Emperor Augustus was saddled with an inferior month.

7. Augustus could be ruthless

Augustus sent his only daughter, Julia, into exile, after discovering she had been having sexual relationships with men out of wedlock. Having enacted strict laws which criminalized adultery, he banished Julia to the barren island of Ventotene and never saw her again.

Julia’s daughter, also named Julia, met a similar fate: banished for infidelity, she died in exile and was refused a burial in Rome because of her disgrace.

8. He may or may not have been murdered by his wife

High society in ancient Rome was notorious for back-stabbing and treachery. After his death in August 14, rumours swirled that his wife, Livia, had poisoned the fresh figs Augustus ate to hasten his end.

This may have been true, but if it were, it could well have been assisted suicide rather than murder: Augustus’ health was already in serious decline by this point.

9. The Roman Empire he established lasted in some form for nearly 1500 years

Augustus began a regime which would last in some form until the fall of Constantinople in the 15th century, shaping European and Asian history for centuries.

His title, Caesar, lived on until the 20th century, transforming into kaiser in Germany and tsar in Russia respectively. Many still consider him to be one of the most important figures in the ancient world: his policies and ideals lasted long after his death.

10. He left a lasting built legacy in Rome

Julius Caesar began the custom of building a new forum in honour of the ruler’s family. Augustus’ grandiose forum was part of a series of buildings constructed with the intent of promoting military victories and unity after the civil war. Augustus also erected obelisks in the circus maximus and at several more of his monuments.

1911 drawing of the Forum of Augustus by S.B. Platner

Image Credit: CC

It seems these monuments to Augustus fulfilled their intention all the way into modern times. Even Mussolini, who greatly admired and celebrated Rome’s first Emperor, wished to return the city of Rome to as it was during Augustus’ reign. You can still visit the Forum of Augustus in Rome today.

And then there were the Roman Emperors.

From decadent teenagers and incapable megalomaniacs to remarkable military leaders and shrewd administrators, the Roman Empire witnessed all sorts of emperors between 27 BC and 410 AD.

Below is a list of every Roman Emperor – from Augustus to the Sack of Rome.

Augustus (27 BC – 19 August 14 AD)

Formerly ‘Octavian’, Augustus was the first Roman emperor. He made the army a formal constitution, created the Praetorian Guard, the Urban Cohorts and the Vigiles, and oversaw a great building project in Rome.

Despite his conservative nature, Augustus’ reign witnessed a series of expansionist wars that resulted in the Roman Empire doubling in size (overshadowed by the Teutoburg Forest disaster of 9 AD). He also had plans for an invasion of Britain, though they did not materialise.

During Augustus’ reign a ruler cult gathered strength, and he was considered whilst alive to be something between god and man; after his death he became more closely associated with the gods.

Tiberius (18 September 14 – 16 March 37)

Augustus was succeeded by his adopted stepson Tiberius, who ensured the integrity of the empire was maintained throughout his rule.

He rebuilt Rome’s military strength along the Rhine frontier to ensure the river fortifications held in the wake of the Teutoburg Forest disaster.

For the last 10 years of his reign, Tiberius retired from Rome to Capri island off the Bay of Naples. This blackened his reputation back in Rome, but elsewhere in the empire this retreat from the capital actually improved his standing. Provincials viewed him as a philosopher king, more learned and more knowledgeable in the relationship of the gods to men than anyone else in the world.

Caligula (16 March 37 – 24 January 41)

Officially Gaius Julius Caesar, Caligula was the son of the famous Roman general Germanicus. He greatly resented the old traditions of the Republic and sought to destroy the reputation of the senatorial class. Ruthless and cruel, he humiliated the senators, much to the delight of the Roman people.

The story goes that he even once made Incitatus, his horse, a consul – to spite the senators and to emphasise his supreme authority. He was assassinated by a senatorial / Praetorian prefect – led conspiracy.

Claudius (24 January 41 – 13 October 54)

Claudius, grandson of Mark Antony, succeeded Caligula following the latter’s assassination. The Praetorian Guard played a key part in the succession and Claudius was sure to reward them with a large donative.

It was during Claudius’ reign that the Romans invaded Britain and established a permanent presence, at least over the southeast.

Nero (13 October 54 – 9 June 68)

Bust of Nero at the Capitoline Museum, Rome. Image Credit: cjh1452000 / Commons.

Although the first five years of his reign proved positive, like Caligula before him, Nero became disillusioned with the aristocracy and the overarching influence of certain figures when he became his own man.

Most notable among these figures was Agrippina, his mother. Nero ordered her execution on 23 March 59 AD and many view this as a significant turning point. From then on the emperor’s reign became more and more infamous.

Several of Nero’s most infamous acts include the persecution of Christians, the murdering of senators (including forcing his former tutor Seneca to commit suicide) and his participation in theatrical performances. Nero was a hellenophile (lover of Greek culture), and aligned himself more as a Hellenistic king than a virtuous Roman emperor – much to the senators’ displeasure.

It is unlikely he played the lyre when Rome burned and actually played an active role in helping the refugees – something that would certainly help explain Nero’s great and enduring popularity amongst the ordinary people of the empire .

Nero committed suicide on 9 June 68, after discovering the Senate had condemned him to death as a public enemy. He was the last of the Julio-Claudian dynasty.

Galba (June 68 – 15 February 69)

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In 68, Galba was the governor of Spain. He was encouraged to become emperor in 68, particularly by Vindex, a governor in Gaul, and Otho, the governor of Lusitania. He was proclaimed emperor by the Senate just before Nero committed suicide.

Galba returned to Rome, but soon grew unpopular after he refused to pay the Praetorians.

He was murdered on 15 February 69 in the Roman Forum after Otho, his former friend-turned-foe, bribed a party of Praetorians to murder him.

Otho (15 February – 16 April 69)

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With the Praetorians’ backing, Otho succeeded Galba as emperor, killing his former ally’s official heir in the process.

He was soon challenged by Aulus Vitellius, the governor of the province of Germania Inferior, for the title of emperor. Otho’s forces were defeated at the First Battle of Bedriacum on 14 April 69, and the emperor committed suicide two days later.

Vitellius (16 April – 20 December 69)

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Aulus Vitellius was the governor of Germania Inferior in early 69. With his Rhine legions he marched down to Italy, defeated Otho, and was proclaimed emperor on 16 April.

During his brief reign, Vitellius greatly increased the size of his Praetorian Guard, expanding it to 16 cohorts – each 1,000 men strong.

His forces were defeated by those of Vespasian at the Second Battle of Bedriacum on 24 October. After Vitellius was prevented from abdicating his power another battle occurred outside the gates of Rome itself.

Vitellius was defeated, dragged out of the Imperial Palace and killed by Vespasian’s soldiers.

Vespasian (21 December 69 – 23 June 79)

First of the Flavian emperors, he restored a sense of stability following the Year of the 4 Emperors. Significant events during his reign included Titus’ successful (and bloody) Siege of Jerusalem and the Siege of Masada. Construction of the Colosseum also commenced during his reign.

Vespasian’s final words (supposedly) were:

“Vae, puto deus fio.” (“Dear me, I think I’m becoming a god”)

Titus (24 June 79 – 13 September 81)

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The eldest son of Vespasian and the suppressor of the First Jewish Revolt. Best remembered today for the arch constructed in his honour by his successor Domitian. The arch still stands today in the Rome’s Forum, depicting his triumphant Roman army seizing the spoils from the Second Temple of Jerusalem.

Perhaps the most infamous event to occur during Titus’ brief reign was the eruption of Vesuvius and the destruction of Pompeii, Herculaneum and several other settlements around the Bay of Naples, either on 24 August or during mid-October 79.

The Arch of Titus in Rome today.

Domitian (14 September 81 – 18 September 96)

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The younger brother of Titus; the younger son of Vespasian. He may have had a hand in Titus’ early death; famous for being paranoid against assassination attempts and recalling generals who had gained too much success.

Like Caligula and Nero, Domitian soon came at odds with the Senate, curtailing almost all their power as he sought to become an absolute emperor. Successfully repulsed Dacian invasion of Moesia, but a disastrous invasion of Dacia followed.

Construction of the Colosseum, initiated under Vespasian, was completed near the end of Domitian’s reign in 96. He was murdered by his own courtiers on 18 September 96 – much to the delight of the senators, though it also encouraged the wrath of the Praetorian Guard. He was the last of the Flavian dynasty.

Nerva (18 September 96 – 28 January 98)

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Nerva was 60 years old when the senate recognised him as Domitian’s successor on 18 September 96. He had held positions under the Julio-Claudian and Flavian emperors.

In 97 the Praetorian Guard revolted against Nerva’s authority, instigated by their Prefect Casperius Aelianus. They demanded the handing over of Domitian’s assassins. Nerva proved powerless to stop Aelianus, highlighting the weakness of his position. He handed over the assassins and officially adopted Trajan, the soldier-governor of Germania Superior, soon after.

Some have suggested Trajan conspired with Aelianus to instigate the revolt, so as to be named Nerva’s successor.

He died in early 98 and is regarded as the first of the ‘Five Good Emperors.’

Trajan (28 January 98 – 9 August 117)

Marcus Ulpius Trajanus was the most successful military man in Roman history, expanding the Empire to its greatest extent. He won several remarkable military campaigns – against the Dacians and Parthians – and by the time of his death, his empire stretched from the Persian Gulf, to northern Britain.

Although perhaps initiated under Nerva, it was Trajan who formalised the alimenta welfare programme. He also oversaw the construction of several, monumental building projects in Rome: his namesake Column and Forum most notably.

The bridge Trajan had his architect build across the Danube during his Dacian Campaign remained for 1,000 years the longest arched bridge in the world.

Hadrian (11 August 117 – 10 July 138)

Trajan died childless and was succeeded by Hadrian, Trajan’s (unofficial) successor. He spent more time outside Rome than in the capital during his reign. He visited the outposts of the Empire and prioritised solidifying the frontiers. He is best remembered in Britain today for the construction of his namesake wall.

A renowned Hellenophile, Hadrian spent a large amount of his reign in the eastern Mediterranean. He erected several monumental structures in prime Hellenic cities such as Athens and also visited the tomb of Alexander the Great in Alexandria.

His Hellenistic outlook clashed with Jewish practices, leading to the outbreak of the Third Jewish Revolt, which Hadrian brutally suppressed.

Antoninus Pius (10 July 138 – 7 March 161)

Bust of Antoninus Pius (reign 138–161 CE), ca. 150.

Antoninus Pius was officially adopted by Hadrian 5 months before the latter’s death, but on the condition that he in turn adopt Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus. Antoninus’ reign was one of relative peace and stability, with the emperor never leaving the safety of central Italy.

It was during Antoninus’ rule that his generals extended the Roman frontier in Britain further north, erecting a turf and timber wall that stretched from the Clyde to the Forth. It was called the Antonine Wall.

Marcus Aurelius (9 March 161 – 17 March 180)

Image Credit: Sébastien Bertrand / Commons.

Marcus Aurelius succeeded Antoninus Pius and co-ruled the Roman Empire with Lucius Verus. He ruled alone following Lucius Verus’ death in 169. He faced his greatest military test against the Marcomanni tribe and their Germanic allies. Depictions of battles from this war are visible on the Column of Marcus Aurelius in Rome, Italy.

Despite constant military and political troubles, Marcus’ competent administration reacted well to crises like the flooding of the Tiber in 162. He reformed the currency intelligently in response to changing economic circumstances and picked his advisers well. He was praised for his mastery of the law and his fairness.

Marcus Aurelius was known as ‘the philosopher’ and was particularly influenced by Stoicism. His book on guidance and self-improvement, called ‘Meditations’, is still widely read today.

The historian of his reign, Cassius Dio, wrote that his death marked a descent “from a kingdom of gold to one of iron and rust.” The last of the 5 Good Emperors.

Lucius Verus (9 March 161 – 23 January 169)

Co-ruled the Roman Empire alongside Marcus Aurelius for nine years. Lucius Verus was younger and more decadent than his co-emperor. His greater military experience meant it was Verus who was sent east with an army to defeat the Parthians.

Verus’ generals won the campaign for him, though the emperor blackened his reputation by sacking the still largely Hellenistic city of Seleukeia on the Tigris.

He returned to Rome with his victorious army and received a triumph alongside Marcus Aurelius, but his men also brought back a plague, known as the Antonine Plague (believed to be smallpox). Lucius succumbed to the plague in 169.

Commodus (177 – 31 December 192)

The son of Marcus Aurelius who failed to live up to his father’s virtuous reputation. He initially ruled as co-emperor alongside his father for three years and afterwards ruled alone. His rule is defined by paranoia, decadence and megalomania; he is considered one of Rome’s worst emperors.

He believed he was Hercules reincarnated, depicting himself as such in sculpture, dressing as the hero and ordering people to call him Hercules; he fought as a gladiator and usually armed himself with a club to mimic his hero Heracles (his opponents stretched from crippled soldiers to exotic beasts which shocked the Roman public); he also renamed Rome following a great fire, calling it Colonia Commodiana.

It is no surprise that Commodus was later murdered – choked to death by his fitness coach.

Pertinax (1 January – 28 March 193)

Roman aureus struck under the rule of Pertinax. Image Credit: Classical Numismatic Group / Commons.

Pertinax was proclaimed emperor by the Senate in the early morning of 1 January 193, having gained the support of the Praetorian Guard by offering them a large donative. Although he managed to pay the Guard this donative, he failed to win their complete trust.

The men had grown use to the luxuries showered on them by Commodus and were averse to Pertinax’s attempts to reduce their extravagances and restore integrity.

Some of the Praetorians were angered by this swift, radical change and on 28 March, they stormed the Palace and killed the Emperor.

With no clear successor, civil war ensued.

Didius Julianus (28 March – 2 June 193)

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The Praetorians proclaimed Didius Julianus emperor at their camp on the same day of Pertinax’s death, after the statesman had offered the soldiers 25,000 sesterces each for their loyalty.

Despite the popular conception, Didius did not win the throne because he simply ‘outbid’ Sulpicianus, another statesman who similarly desired the throne and had offered each Praetorian 20,000 sesterces.

Rather, Sulpicianus was Pertinax’s father-in-law and it is likely the Praetorians had feared retribution if they had picked a man related to the emperor they had just murdered.

Didius’ reign was highly-contested; once news of Pertinax’s murder reached generals and governors in the provinces, three others assumed the royal purple. Didius was deserted of allies and killed on 2 June, after one of his rivals, Septimius Severus, arrived in Italy with an army.

Pescennius Niger (April 93 – April 94)

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The governor of Syria at the time of Pertinax’s murder, he was proclaimed emperor by his troops after they received word of Didius’ accession.

Despite controlling a large number of legions and the vital province of Egypt (the main source of Rome’s grain supply), Severus defeated Niger in a series of battles, culminating in the decisive Battle of Issus on 31 March 194.

He was killed within the next month.

Clodius Albinus (93 – 19 February 197)

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Clodius Albinus was the Governor of Britain at the time of Pertinax’s assassination and may have played a covert role in the plot to assassinate Commodus through his friends in the senate (it was said that Commodus, due to the Albinus’ renowned reputation, had ordered him be his successor).

As Governor of Britain, Albinus had three legions at his disposal and was acclaimed emperor. He formed an alliance with Severus in 193, becoming his Caesar (successor), leaving the latter free to fight Niger in the east.

In 196 however Severus, in his attempts to start a Severan dynasty, betrayed the agreement with Albinus and attempted to have his Caesar assassinated. Albinus survived and Severus declared him a political enemy of the state.

Albinus mustered his legions and sailed to Gaul with most of the British garrison. He faced Severus for the decisive battle at Lugdunum on 19 February 197. Although more recently debated by scholars, 300,000 Romans are said to have participated at this battle (150,000 on either side), making it the biggest in Roman history.

Albinus narrowly lost the battle, and his life. He was the greatest challenge Severus ever faced to his rule.

Septimius Severus (14 April 193 – 4 February 211)

Septimius Severus originally hailed from Lepcis Magna in North Africa. At the time of Pertinax’s assassination, Severus was the governor of Pannonia Superior and was proclaimed emperor by the Pannonian legions (stationed in modern day Bosnia) soon after.

Severus quickly seized Rome, reformed the Praetorian Guard and made an alliance with Albinus, before he marched east and crushed Niger’s forces in Anatolia. He then turned on Albinus, defeating him at Lugdunum in February 197.

Severus went on to launch military conquests at the limits of his empire: in the Near East against the Parthians, in Africa and in northern Britain.

The largest campaigning force ever to fight in Britain was led by Severus into Scotland in 209 and 210 BC. It numbered 50,000 men, as well as 7,000 sailors and marines from the regional fleet Classis Britannica.

He died in York on 4 February 211.

Caracalla (209 – 8 April 217)

Eldest son of Severus. Initially ruled as co-emperor, first with his father Severus and then with his hated younger brother Geta. He had Geta murdered in December 211, and his face removed from all public images.

Caracalla was one of Rome’s worst emperors. He was a megalomaniac; he believed he was Alexander the Great reborn; he called himself the Great Alexander and equipped some of his soldiers with Alexander-era weapons – arming them with pikes and naming them Alexander’s phalanx. It is not surprising that Caracalla was murdered soon after.

Geta (4 February 211 – 26 December 211)

Image Credit: Rasiel / Commons.

Son of Septimius Severus; younger brother of Caracalla. Ruled with Caracalla for less than a year before his elder brother had him executed. Caracalla then had Geta’s face removed from all public images – damnatio memoriae.

Macrinus (11 April 217 – June 218)

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Praetorian Prefect of Caracalla who supposedly ordered the emperor’s assassination near the ancient town of Carrhae. He assumed the title of emperor as Caracalla had no clear successor.

Discontent quickly spread in the army regarding Macrinus’ rule however. His reign was challenged; Macrinus was defeated in battle, forced to flee, captured and beheaded.

He never set foot in Rome.

Elagabalus (16 May 218 – 11 March 222)

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The man chosen by the army to replace Macrinus was Varius Avitus Bassianus, better known as Elagabalus.

He proposed radical and highly-unpopular religious reform upon returning to Rome, when he planned to replace the chief traditional Roman god Jupiter with Elagabal, the Syrian sun god. He then (briefly) married a Vestal Virgin, and proceeded to show no interest in managing the empire.

He became the epitome of decadence and proved highly unpopular. Arguably, he was THE worst Roman Emperor.

He and his controlling mother were executed at the Castra Praetoria on 11 March 222 – their beheaded bodies were dragged through the streets of Rome and deposited in the Tiber.

Severus Alexander (11 or 13 March 222 – 18 March 235)

Cousin of Elagabulus. When Severus was proclaimed the new imperial ruler, he was just 13 years old. During his teenage years Julia Mamaea, Alexander’s mother, effectively ruled.

Both Alexander and his mother proved inept at conducting military campaigns at a time when the empire was under threat in both Europe and the Near East. In the end, the army sought a new emperor who had proven himself in war.

Alexander was assassinated by his own soldiers at Mainz on either 18 or 19 March 235, along with his mother.

His assassination marked the end of the Severan dynasty.

Maximinus Thrax (March 235 – May 238)

Hailing from a lowly family in Thrace, Maximinus Thrax had risen through the ranks of the Roman military. By 235, he was a high-standing general within Alexander Severus’ army and was the commander who the army turned to when they lost faith in the young emperor.

He lacked support in the Senate due to his ‘barbarian’ roots, but he had the support of the army. He won a couple of victories in Germania but little else.

The Patrician Senate soon threw their support behind several other imperial candidates and declared Maximinus an enemy of the state in 238. He was killed by his Praetorian Guard, after he suffered a series of setbacks besieging the city of Aquileia.

He never set foot in Rome and was the first of the Barracks / Soldier Emperors.

Gordian I and II (22 March 238 – 12 April 238)

Gordian I.

Gordian I was the elderly provincial governor of Africa during Maximinus’ reign. An uprising against corrupt tax officials forced him to assume the purple, along with his son, and they soon received the official backing of the senate.

The neighbouring governor of Numidia, however, was an ally of Maximinus. He marched on Carthage and defeated the militia, killing Gordian II in the process.

When Gordian I learned of his son’s death in battle, he hanged himself.

They had ruled just 22 days.

Gordian II. Image Credit: Classical Numismatic Group / Commons.

Pupienus and Balbinus (22 April – 29 July 238)

After the demise of the Gordian co-emperors, the Senate elected two of its own members to the throne: Pupienus Maximus and Balbinus.

Pupienus marched north and oversaw the defeat and death of Maximinus outside Aquileia. He then returned to Rome, which was in a state of anarchy.

The Emperors were soon seized by members of the Praetorian Guard, stripped, dragged through the streets, tortured and killed.

Balbinus. Image Credit: George Shuklin / Commons.

Gordian III (29 July 238 – 25 February 244)

The popular boy-emperor Gordian III, credit: Ancienne collection Borghèse ; acquisition, 1807 / Borghese Collection; purchase, 1807.

The grandson of the elderly Gordian I. He was appointed Caesar (successor) during the brief reign of Pupienus and Balbinus. He ruled from 239 – 244, largely as a figurehead controlled by his advisers, particularly the head of the Praetorian Guard, Timesitheus, who was also his father in law.

Gordian III died of unknown causes while campaigning in the Middle East.

Philip the Arab (244 – 249)

Image Credit: Rabax63 / Commons.

Succeeded the successful Timesitheus as Gordian III’s Praetorian Prefect in early 244. He may have had a role in Gordian III’s death, though this is debated.

Upon his return to Europe, Philip won victories against the Dacian Carpi tribe and the Germans and over the next 5 years several challenges to his rule were suppressed. In 249 however, his successful general Quintus Decius Valerinus defeated a Gothic rebellion and was pronounced emperor by his troops.

Philip was defeated and killed by Decius’ army in late 249.

Philip II (237 – 249)

Image Credit: Architas / Commons.

Son and heir of Philip the Arab. Murdered by the Praetorian Guard in 249, when word reached the capital of his father’s death against Decius. He was only 11 years old.

Decius (249 – June 251)

Image Credit: José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro / Commons.

After the deaths of Philip the Arab and his son, Decius ruled as emperor for two years. He spent most of his reign fighting the Goths, who had returned following his victory over them barely two years earlier.

Decius’ second campaign against the Goths did not prove as successful. He and his legions were soundly defeated at the Battle of Abritus. Decius died during the battle and was the first Roman Emperor to be killed by a foreign invader.

Decius persecuted Christians during his brief reign.

Herennius Etruscus (251)

Son and co-emperor alongside Decius during 251. He was killed at the Battle of Abritus, alongside his father.

Trebonianus Gallus (July 251 – 253)

Image Credit: Sailko / Commons.

Chosen as emperor following the death of Decius and Herennius Etruscus at Abritus. His reign was plagued by invasions from Visigoth and Sassanian forces.

Defeated by the imperial challenger Aemilianus at the Battle of Interamna Nahars in 253 and was murdered by his own men soon after.

Hostilian (July – November 251)

Image Credit: Sailko / Commons.

Youngest son of the Emperor Decius. He was made co-emperor alongside Trebonianus Gallus in 251, following Decius’ death at the Abritus, but died from plague in November 251.

Volusianus (November 251 – 253)

The son of Trebonianus Gallus. Becomes co-emperor alongside his father following the death of Hostilian. He was killed, along with his father, by their own troops after Aemilianus defeated them at the Battle of Interamna Nahars.

Aemilianus (253)

Image Credit: Classical Numismatic Group / Commons.

In 253 Aemilianus commanded a large Roman army in Asia Minor. He won a resounding victory against the invading Goths and his troops subsequently crowned him emperor. He marched on Rome, defeated Trebonianus Gallus and Volusanius in battle and assumed the royal title.

He was killed by his own soldiers barely three months after becoming emperor after they discovered that a large army, commanded by the Rhine governor Valerian, was marching south to challenge Aemilianus’ rule.

Valerian (253 – 260)

Image Credit: York Museums Trust Staff / Commons.

Experienced commander and patrician, Valerian succeeded Aemilianus as emperor. He spent very little time in Rome, prioritising the need to combat the rising power of the Sasanian king Shapur I in the east.

He became the first and only Roman emperor to be captured and taken prisoner in battle, when he was defeated by Shapur at the Battle of Edessa in 260. Some claimed Valerian was then humiliated by his captors, being used as a human footstool by Shapur whenever he mounted his horse.

Gallienus (253 – 268)

Image Credit:  Sailko / Commons.

Son of Valerian and co-emperor alongside his father between 253 and 260. He won a series of military victories in the north and east, (perhaps) culminating in a decisive victory over the Goths at Naissus in 268 (there is debate whether it was Gallienus or his successor Claudius who achieved this victory).

Gallienus made reforms to the army, especially among the cavalry to make his forces more effective against the Sasanians. He also proved more tolerant to Christians than his father.

He was assassinated by senior officers in his army while besieging the force of a would-be-usurper at Mediolanum.

Saloninus (260)

The son of Gallienus. Between 258 and 260 Gallienus had named him his official successor. In 260 Saloninus was residing in Colonia Agrippina when Postumus, the governor of Upper and Lower Germany, revolted and laid siege to the city.

Saloninus was declared co-emperor during the siege in the vain hope this would deter the besieging soldiers from continuing their military action. It didn’t work. The city succumbed to Postumus’ forces and Saloninus was executed.

Claudius II ‘Gothicus’ (268 – 270)

Image Credit: Ángel M. Felicísimo  / Commons.

Gallienus’ assassination in 268 brought Claudius to the throne. Claudius had served as the commander of Gallienus’ reformed, elite cavalry wing.

He won a decisive victory against the Goths at the Battle of Naissus in 268, although some argue this was achieved by the Emperor Gallienus the previous year. He went on to gain another decisive victory a few months later, in late 268, at the Battle of Lake Benacus.

Claudius had hoped to now start reuniting his divided empire by reducing the Gallic Empire in the west and the Palmyrene Empire in the east to his will. He succumbed to plague, however, in early 270.

Quintillus (270)

Image Credit: Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. / Commons.

Brother of Claudius II. Reigned for only a few months in 270. He was either murdered by his soldiers or forced to commit suicide.

Aurelian (270 – 275)

It had been the aim of Claudius II ‘Gothicus’ to reunite the divided Roman Empire, but it was Aurelian who saw this through.

First he threw barbarians from Italy and then Roman territory. He defeated the Goths in the Balkans and wisely decided to step back from defending Dacia.

Boosted by these victories he overthrew the Palmyrene Empire, which had grown from captured Roman provinces in North Africa and the Middle East, important sources of grain for Rome. Next were the Gauls in the west, completing a complete reunification of the Empire and earning Aurelian the title, “Restorer of the World.”

He didn’t just fight, he brought stability to religious and economic life, rebuilding public buildings and tackling corruption.

Despite his successes and support among the troops, Aurelian was assassinated by traitors who envied his success in 275.

Tacitus (275 – June 276)

Following Aurelian’s assassination the Senate appointed the 75 year old senator Marcus Claudius Tacitus to assume the purple. During his brief reign he won a victory against dissident Gothic and Heruli mercenaries originally recruited by Aurelian.

He died of fever in Cappadocia in June 276.

Florianus (June – September 276)

Praetorian Prefect and half-brother of the Emperor Tacitus. Assumed the royal purple after Tacitus’ demise, but immediately found his rule challenged by Probus, a powerful general in the east.

Florianus’ army fell ill while stationed in Cilicia however. Dissent grew and eventually, in September 276, they mutinied and murdered Florianus.

Probus (276 – 282)

One of the finest generals of his generation, Probus added the finishing touches to Aurelian’s military successes, consolidating the newly-united empire in the east and west.

He won victories against various enemies, including the Goths, the Alamanni, the Burgundians and the Vandals. He also brought greater stability to the empire in the east, agreeing a treaty with the Sasanians.

Probus was eventually killed by usurpers – murdered in a military building. He was one of Rome’s greatest later emperors.

Rome’s Aurelian Walls were completed during Probus’ reign.

Carus (282 – 283)

Image Credit: Rasiel / Commons.

Praetorian Prefect of Probus, proclaimed emperor in 282. Bribed soldiers to betray Probus, who was killed soon after.

During his brief reign, Carus won victories on Rome’s Danube river against barbarian tribes, but died in the east while campaigning against the Sasanians in 283. He was supposedly struck by lightening.

Carinus (283 – 285)

Bust of Carinus. Image Credit: Montemartini_-_Carino_1030439.JPG: Lalupa / Commons.

Eldest son of Carus. Famous womaniser. After his father’s death Carinus returned to Rome and initially ruled jointly with his younger brother Numerian.

After the death of Numerian and the army’s proclamation of Diocletian as emperor, Carinus marched east to confront the challenger. After defeating Julian, another usurper, with relative ease, Carinus confronted Diocletian at the Battle of the Margus River.

He was murdered by his own men, either during or soon after the battle.

Numerian (283 – 284)

Son of Carus; younger brother of Carinus. Ruled with his brother between 283 and 284, before dying on his return from the east. He was possibly murdered by Lucius Aper, Numerian’s Praetorian Prefect.

Diocletian (284 – 1 May 305)

Proclaimed emperor by Numerian’s army following his sudden death. Diocletian quickly confirmed he played no part in the assassination, blaming and killing Aper, the Praetorian Prefect.

Defeated Carinus at the Battle of the Margus River.

Diocletian went on to rejuvenate the Roman Empire, doubling the size of the army, reforming the empire’s administration and creating the ‘tetrarchic system’ of rule.

On 1 May 305 Diocletian abdicated his role as Augustus and retired to Dalmatia. He died on 3 December 312, living long enough to see his ‘tetrarchic’ system of rule decay among his successors.

He is considered the emperor who brought an end to the Third Century Crisis.

Maximian (2 April 286 – 1 May 305)

Maximian ruled as co-emperor in the west (with the title Augustus) alongside Diocletian. He was a military man who fought rebels and incursions in Gaul, Germania and Spain. Maximian later tried to depose both his own son, Maxentius and Emperor Constantine. He committed suicide on Constantine’s orders in 310.

Bust of Emperor Maximian. Image Credit: PierreSelim / Commons.

Constantius I (1 May 305 – 25 July 306)

Constantius I, known as Chlorus, was a successful general and emperor in the west who overcame a usuper in Britain, the Alamanni, the Franks and the Picts beyond the Antonine Wall in Scotland.

He died suddenly in Eboracum (York) in 306, sparking the collapse of Diocletian’s tetrarchic system of government and beginning a civil war.

Coin of Constantius I.

Valerius Severus (Summer 306 – March/April 307)

Valerius Severus was proclaimed Augustus in the west when news of Constantius’ death reached his army. After his forces came up against Maximian (the former emperor) and his son Maxentius, they defected to Maximian. Severus was killed soon after.

Coin of Valerius Severus. Image Credit: Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. http://www.cngcoins.com / Commons.

Maxentius (28 October 306 – 28 October 312)

Maxentius was the son of Maximian. He was declared emperor following Constantius’ death and defeated Severus; shortly afterwards his own father tried to depose him, but failed. When Maxentius was defeated at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge by Constantine and his allies he fell into the Tiber and drowned.

Constantine the Great (25 July 306 – 22 May 337)

Constantine I was the son of Constantius I. He was proclaimed Augustus at Eboracum (York) following the death of his father, but had to deal with the challenges of Severus and Maxentius before he could rule.

He defeated his rivals in the west at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, where he is said to have told his soldiers to fight under the Christian symbol of chi-rho.

Constantine then overcame Licinius, the emperor in the east, to become ruler of the whole Roman Empire. He established a new capital for the empire at Byzantium, re-naming it Constantinople.

Constantine helped convert the Roman Empire to Christianity. He passed the Edict of Milan which proclaimed religious tolerance towards Christians and convened the Council of Nicaea.  On his deathbed, he was baptised and officially converted to Christianity.

Constantine’s Conversion, Rubens.

Constantine II (22 May 337 – 340)

Constantine II was the eldest son of Constantine the Great. Raised as a Christian, he was made the guardian of his younger brother Constans.

After their father Constantine’s death the empire was split among his sons, but Constantine II complained that his own portion in the west was too small. He was killed in Italy while trying to assert control over Constans.

Statue of Constantine II. Image Credit: TckfaPanairjdde / Commons.

Constans (22 May 337 – 350)

Constans was the youngest son of Constantine the Great. He defeated his eldest brother’s attempt to gain control of the whole western empire in 340 and ruled for another decade.

He was a successful general and religiously tolerant. However, Constans lost control of the army owing to his homosexuality and cruelty, resulting in his assassination in 350.

Bust of Constans.

Constantius II (22 May 337 – November 361)

Constantius II was the middle son of Constantine the Great. He ruled as emperor in the east while his brothers quarrelled over the western empire, and after Constans’ assassination he took control over the entire empire.

He advocated Christianity and vanquished several rivals during his lengthy reign. He died of natural causes while marching against a usurper, his general Julian.

Bust of Constantius II.

Julian the Apostate (3 November 361 – 26 June 363)

Julian ruled the west under Constantius II. In 360 his army declared him sole Augustus and they marched against Constantius II, who died died before their forces met.

Julian is famous for rejecting Christianity (the last Roman emperor to do so) and promoting a form of paganism called Neoplatonic Hellenism. He died while campaigning against the Sasanians.

Portrait of Julian the Apostate.

Jovian (26 June 363 – 17 February 364)

Jovian was a prominent general in Julian’s campaigns. After Julian’s death he agreed a disadvantageous treaty with the Sasanians and reestablished Christianity as the Roman state church. He died (probably) of natural causes after 8 months as emperor.

Sasanian relief at Taq-e Bostan showing the fallen Emperor Julian. Image Credit: Philippe Chavin / Commons.

Valentinian I (26 March 364 – 16 November 375)

Valentinian I is often thought to be the ‘last great western emperor’. After being chosen to replace Jovian he appointed his brother Valens as Eastern Roman Emperor, keeping the west for himself. He repelled barbarian incursions around the Western Empire and established the Valentinian dynasty.

Gratian (16 November 375 – 25 August 383)

Gratian was the eldest son of Valentinian. He was the last emperor to successfully campaign across the Rhine, the historic border between the Roman Empire and the Germanic tribes. He ruled parts of the Western Empire alongside his younger brother.

Gratian’s favouritism towards his Scythian bodyguards angered the Roman army and enabled Magnus Maximus to overthrow him.

Coin of Gratian. Image Credit: Rasiel Suarez / Commons.

Valentinian II (22 November 375 – 15 May 392)

Valentinian II was the younger son of Valentinian I. He was appointed as Gratian’s co-emperor at the age of just four years old. Gratian commanded Gaul, Spain and Britain while Valentinian held Italy and North Africa.

After Magnus Maximius was defeated by Eastern Emperor Theodosius, the young Valentinian II was placed under the control of Theodosius’ trusted general, Arbogast. When Valentinian began to defy him, Arbogast had him hanged.

Statue of Valentinian II.

Magnus Maximus (384 – 28 August 388)

Maximus was a commander in Britain who overthrew Gratian. The Eastern Emperor Theodosius allowed Maximus to rule Britain and Gaul, but with Maximus threatening Italy Emperor Theodosius routed his armies.

Maximus stripped Britain of much of its garrison when he marched on Italy, leaving it vulnerable to barbarian incursions.

Portrait of Magnus Maximus.

Eugenius (22 August 392 – 6 September 394)

Eugenius was placed on the throne by Arbogast after he killed Valentinian II. He is notable as the last emperor to promote Roman paganism. Arbogast knew that, as a Frank, he would rule more easily through a puppet like Eugenius. Eugenius and Arbogast were defeated by Eastern Emperor Theodosius at the Battle of the Frigidus.

Theodosius I (15 May 392 – 17 January 395)

Theodosius the Great was first a successful Eastern Roman Emperor. He crushed the usurpers Magnus Maximius, Arbogast and Eugenius and took control of the Western Roman Empire. He was the last man to rule over a united Roman empire.

However, Theodosius began the policy of making barbarian tribes foederati, giving them land inside the Western Empire in exchange for military services. These autonomous tribes were now the backbone of the Roman army. They soon controlled, then destroyed, the Western Empire.

He officially banned paganism throughout the empire.

Dish showing Theodosius I.

Honorius (17 January 395 – 15 August 423)

Honorius was the younger son of Theodosius I. He is the last figure on our list of Roman emperors. He was protected in the early part of his reign by his father-in-law Stilicho, a powerful general who has been called ‘the last of the Romans’.

Honorius’ later reign was plagued by barbarian invasions into Italy by the Goths and Visigoths. For his own safety he moved his capital from Rome to Milan, and then again to Ravenna.

Mid-way through his rule Honorius refused to meet the demands of King Alaric I of the Visigoths, who laid siege to Rome itself. On 24 August 410 Alaric’s troops sacked the city.

The sack, a massive blow to all Romans, was a watershed moment in the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. It was the first time Rome had been captured by a foreign foe in 800 years.

The Sack of Rome by the Visigoths.

Although the empire quickly crumbled following his death, he left one of history’s most remarkable legacies. Here are several examples of the significant imprint Alexander left on the World.

The legend that was Alexander

Stories relating to Alexander’s conquests soon became the stuff of legend. His young age, his divinity, his charisma and his megalomania were romanticised into fictional stories that remained popular down into medieval times.

“Arthurian” tales of Alexander emerged in several different cultures, each supplementing Alexander’s conquests with many fictional stories that suited their own ethnic agendas.

Jewish versions of the Alexander Romance, for instance, claimed that Alexander the Great visited the Temple of Jerusalem; meanwhile in Ptolemaic Egypt, stories spread that the Macedonian king was actually the son of the last Egyptian pharaoh Nectanebo II.

Alexander is also mentioned in the Quran as Dhul-Qharnayn – literally ‘the two-horned one.’

Romanticised versions of Alexander’s conquests became abundant. They include him venturing to far-flung mythical places, using a flying machine, learning about his death from a talking tree, going to the depths of the sea in a submarine and fighting mythical beasts in India with his army.

Arthurian tales of Alexander shone throughout Europe and the Near-East until the Renaissance period.

Divine Alexander

An illustration of Alexander the Great’s elaborate funeral carriage. A description of it survives in detail thanks to the historical source Diodorus Siculus.

After Alexander died and his body ran cold, his corpse became a symbol of divine power and legitimacy. Whoever possessed the corpse secured great sway in a post-Alexander world. A war was even fought over its possession, such was the impact he left on the world.

Following the climactic battle of Ipsus in 301 BC Ptolemy, the Successor king ruling Egypt, had Alexander’s body moved to the centre of his new capital at Alexandria and placed in a magnificent tomb.

From far and wide for the next 600 years visitors journeyed to Alexander’s city to see the tomb.

In 47 BC Julius Caesar, following his triumphant entry into Alexandria, visited the tomb in homage to his hero.

Caesar proved the first of many prominent Romans to pay such homage. To those Romans who desired great power, Alexander was an immortalised conqueror who epitomised world conquest – a man to admire and emulate.

Throughout the Roman Imperial period, many emperors would visit Alexander’s tomb – emperors including Augustus, Caligula, Vespasian, Titus and Hadrian. For them all, the body symbolised the zenith of imperial power.

Many would thus associate themselves with Alexander – some more obsessively than others. The mad emperor Caligula for instance looted Alexander’s corpse of his breastplate.

Alexander’s body remained a place of pagan pilgrimage in Alexandria until 391 AD, when the Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius officially banned paganism throughout the Empire. It is likely Alexander’s tomb was either destroyed or converted during this crisis.

To this day the whereabouts of Alexander’s body and his tomb remain shrouded in mystery.

Augustus visits the tomb of Alexander the Great.

Setting the military bar

Throughout the rest of antiquity many generals revered Alexander the Great as the ideal military commander. This was especially true of his ‘Successors.’

Alexander the Great’s demise unleashed chaos onto his empire as various ambitious generals waged wars to become his true successor. Over the next forty years many formidable figures would rise and fall in antiquity’s version of Game of Thrones.

During this period many generals sought to emulate the leadership of Alexander the Great. The man who perhaps came closest was Pyrrhus, the leader of the most powerful tribe in Epirus and famous for his campaign against Rome.

It was said of Pyrrhus that, of all the generals that came after Alexander, he was the one who most resembled the great conqueror:

They saw in him shadows, as it were, and intimations of that leader’s impetuosity and might in conflicts.

Later notable commanders such as Hannibal Barca and Julius Caesar similarly revered Alexander as a man to admire and emulate on the battlefield.

Upon meeting Hannibal at Ephesus in 193 BC, Scipio Africanus, the victor of Zama, asked his former foe whom he considered to be the greatest general of all time, to which Hannibal replied:

“Alexander … because with a small force he routed armies of countless numbers, and because he traversed the remotest lands.”

Hannibal placed himself third in the list.

As for Caesar, he held similar adulation for the Macedonian conqueror. A story goes that while a 31-year-old Caesar was travelling in Spain, he noticed a statue of Alexander the Great. Seeing the statue Caesar wept, lamenting how Alexander had forged a huge empire by the age of 31, while he himself had accomplished nothing.

Alexander the Great’s generalship thus inspired many of history’s most outstanding generals, including Pyrrhus, Hannibal, Caesar and, more recently, Napoleon Bonaparte.

Creating the Hellenistic World

Alexander’s conquests spread Greek culture far and wide. During his campaigns he established Hellenic-style cities throughout his empire to improve administration, communication and trade.

Several of these cities remain prominent to this day. Both Kandahar (Alexandria-Arachosia) and Herat (Alexandria-Ariana) in Afghanistan and Khujand in Tajikistan (Alexandria-Eschate) were originally cities Alexander the Great founded as is, of course, Alexandria itself.

Following Alexander’s death Hellenistic kingdoms emerged across the length and breadth of Asia – from the Alexandria-based Ptolemaic kingdom in Egypt to the Indo-Greek kingdoms in India and Pakistan and the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom in Afghanistan.

A portrait of King Demetrius I ‘the Invincible’, a Greek king who ruled a large empire in modern day Afghanistan at the start of the 2nd century BC. Credit: Uploadalt / Commons.

From these areas, archaeologists have uncovered fascinating Greek-influenced art and architecture, perhaps most remarkably from the Greek-styled city of Ai Khanoum in northeastern Afghanistan.

The Hellenic art and architecture discovered at Ai Khanoum is some of the most beautiful in antiquity and provides a valuable insight to the Greeks in the East. Yet none of these fascinating Greek kingdoms would ever have existed if not for Alexander’s conquests.

Quelling vile Antony

Cicero, for one, was jubilant at Caesar’s liquidation, even though he played no part in the conspiracy. Fittingly, from Cicero’s point of view, he would assume the role of the older, disciplined and dignified senator working against the out-of-control, base and vile Antony.

The Philippics, the fourteen blistering orations he delivered against Mark Antony, thus belong to the last phase of Cicero’s career, leading up to – indeed helping to bring about – his murder.

Cicero did manage to cobble together a coalition against Mark Antony, consisting of a reluctant Senate (under his leadership), the two (Caesarian) consuls of 43 BC, Aulus Hirtius and Caius Vibius Pansa, who both commanded (mainly raw) legions, and Octavian and his private army of Caesarian veterans.

Meanwhile, with the endgame of his time in office fast approaching, Mark Antony withdrew from Rome and headed for Gallia Cisalpina.

The events of winter 44-43 BC (Bounford, (C) Osprey Publishing).

From a war of words to a war of force

Cicero’s personal war with Antony was one of words. Conversely, Antony’s was one of physical force, which was to be played out at Mutina, an important Roman town of Gallia Cisalpina, situated astride the Via Aemilia, between Parma and Bononia.

It was here the ‘senatorial’ coalition that Cicero helped put together against Antony slogged it out with the Antonian forces, the first at Forum Gallorum (14 April) and the follow up outside Mutina itself (21 April).

The victories, if we can call them such, soon turned out to be hollow ones. Octavian switched sides and Cicero was history.

Why was the Battle of Mutina so significant?

While Mark Antony managed to snatch victory from seemingly undeniable defeat, the real significance of Mutina was the fact Octavian was now marching along the trail that would lead to him becoming the dominating figure of Augustus, the most admired of all Roman emperors.

Most of us today, I trust, prefer democracy over dictatorship. The basic difference between democracy and dictatorship comes down to means and end. Democracy is about means, not ends. A dictatorship, by contrast, is only about ends. Those ends are the goals of the dictator – at minimum, preserving and accumulating personal power.

To achieve those ends, a dictator will use any means necessary. This brings us back to Octavian. If his adopted father’s liquidation taught him anything it was this: if you have power, people will always try to take it away from you.

As we have seen, then, with Rome still in political turmoil more than a year after Caesar’s assassination the course of history was turned by the double engagement outside Mutina, an affair that would make the events of 27 BC possible.

Cicero’s folly

Cicero mistakenly portrayed Mark Antony as the chief villain of the piece in a Rome that was sliding once more into authoritarianism.

Of course, it would be Antony’s final tragedy at Actium that saw the metamorphosis of Octavian into the princeps Augustus move closer and loom larger, but Mutina established the nineteen-year-old Octavian as a key player in the soon-to-be defunct Roman Republic.

With the remorseless petty and personal squabbling between the members of Rome’s ruling élite causing its social fabric to un-spool violently, the pragmatic and clear-sighted Octavian did what political circumstances required. He acted cynically, but politically and was the political victor.

Dr Nic Fields is a former Royal Marine turned classical scholar and now freelance author specialising in ancient military historian. He has been writing for Osprey Publishing since 2003. His latest title for their Campaign series is Mutina 43 BC: Mark Antony’s struggle for survival.

Three of them, Cicero, Mark Antony, and Octavian, are the main characters in the events that lead up to, and follow, the two civil war battles fought outside Mutina during the month of April 43 BC.

Octavian: Cicero’s puppet?

With the advent of Octavian, who was busy eroding Mark Antony’s support among the Caesarian veterans, Cicero saw a way to finally restore the Republic as it had been, the only form of government in which he himself could function effectively.

It was a rapidly changing world for Cicero and the senatorial élite. In the confused aftermath of Caesar’s death, Cicero and Antony, who was consul at the time, found themselves on opposing sides of an increasingly bitter and dangerous battle for political control.

The death of Caesar caused chaos and confusion in the capital.

At that moment in time, the elder statesman believed that it was his star that shined most brightly. The ideologue Brutus, however, was very sceptical about Cicero’s plan to support Octavian, the young heir of Caesar. Brutus saw it opening up a Pandora’s Box.

Cicero prided himself on his reputation as a wit. Caesar himself had appreciated this, and while he was in Gaul he had ordered that Cicero’s witticisms be sent to him post-haste. Even when we translate his well-wrought words from antique Latin to modern-day English, his style is still superb.

Let us take for instance his quip of the day, namely

“the young man must get praises, honours, and – the push”

Cicero’s senatorial colleagues got the gag, for it satisfactorily summed up the general feeling behind their motives at the time – they thought they could control Octavian by keeping him inside their tent – though not all agreed.

Marcus Brutus, who did not see Octavian as a naïve and ineffectual youth who could be easily manipulated, as Cicero seemed to think him to be, warned Cicero that Octavian was more dangerous than Mark Antony. His warning was not heeded.

Cicero’s ‘fake news’

We should stop a second so as to remember what Cicero had to say about Mark Antony. Put bluntly, Cicero on Antony is full of malice and misinformation.

In his incendiary pamphlet now known as the Second Philippic, a consummate piece of literary craftsmanship for sure, Cicero busies himself with sexual perversions, lust for fame, profligacy and profiteering.

He piles accusation upon accusation – many of them without a smidgen of evidence – and happily paints in the strongest colours Antony as a “drink-sodden, sex-ridden wreck” who never passes a day “without orgies of the most repulsive kind”, and continues by highlighting his reputation as a toy boy and a male prostitute who hangs out with brigands, pimps, mimes and other such riffraff. Strong stuff indeed.

Shakespeare liked to use two devices to get his characters to reveal their true selves: he either put them in disguise or got them drunk. By contrast, Cicero liked to use invective to blur the distinction between truth and lies, reality and fiction.

Arguably, Cicero’s line of attack in the Second Philippic has certain affinities with the here and now ‘post-truth’ politics, for much of what he cooks up in the pamphlet is ‘fake news’.

A marble bust of Marc Antony – the victim of Cicero’s stinging attacks in his Philippics.

Degrading Antony

Mind you, it is fair to say that Mark Antony had a certain bullish charm spiced with a touch of military swagger and savage menace. He was exactly what you imagine a fighting consul of Rome should be like, first and foremost a hard-drinking, hard-living soldier, Mars and Bacchus in one.

Yet Cicero paints this man of action as a decreasingly engaging figure, particularly one who behaves “as a robber of gold and silver – and of wine” or who disgraces himself at a public meeting by:

“flooding his lap and the whole platform with the gobbets of wine-reeking food he had vomited up”

Every individual is a prisoner of their tastes. Antony was a prisoner of his. But he was no weak-kneed slave of his desires beholden to the wrong sort of crowd.

These charges of sexual deviancy and three-day benders in the company of the ill-repute clung especially close to Antony and to this day his standing continues to suffer as a result of these allegations.

It goes without saying that the hand that holds the pen writes history, but you may want to ask yourself: was Cicero comfortable in the knowledge that the blistering orations he delivered against Mark Antony would for ever be known as his gift to the world?

Yes, I do believe so; in time the fourteen speeches, the Philippics, would also become known for their political affiliation rather than their juicy entertainment factor too.

A bust of Marcus Tullius Cicero, one of history’s greatest orators. Credit: José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro / Commons.

“The truest marks of infamy”

Cicero himself predicted correctly his impact on Antony’s public reputation:

“I will brand him with the truest marks of infamy, and will hand him down to the everlasting memory of man”.

Invective bluster may have been an art and convention in Rome (it possessed no libel laws), yet Cicero’s character assassination of Antony through verbal abuse was unrivalled in its ferocity and vitriol.

The seasoned orator knew how to use his word as a sword, and though the sword got the final word, to this day we read Cicero on Antony, not Antony on Cicero. Domestic scandal sells, or so it is said, but few ancient personalities have captured the zeitgeist with quite the popularity as the “naughty life” of Mark Antony.

Dr Nic Fields is a former Royal Marine turned classical scholar and now freelance author specialising in ancient military historian. He has been writing for Osprey Publishing since 2003. His latest title for their Campaign series is Mutina 43 BC: Mark Antony’s struggle for survival.

Top Image Credit: Cicero attacks Mark Anthony at the Senate (Artwork by Peter Dennis, (C) Osprey Publishing)

Here are ten facts about the Holy Land in the time of Jesus.

1. In antiquity, the Holy Land was part of Palestine

The borders of mandatory Palestine are visible in red.

Palestine was, and still is, situated between Egypt, Arabia and Syria in the Fertile Crescent.

2. Palestine was divided into two distinct geographic regions

In the north was Galilee, through which two great trading routes ran: one between Damascus and the eastern Mediterranean coast, the other between Damascus and Jerusalem.

Further south was Judaea, centred around Jerusalem. Judaea was more mountainous than Galilee and its arid landscape meant that olives and fruits were widely cultivated throughout the region. Sheep and goat rearing were also common sights.

3. Palestine had become a Roman client state in 63 BC

The third triumph of Pompey.

In 63 BC Pompey the Great captured Jerusalem. Although the ruling dynasty, the Jewish Hasmonean Kings, survived, they became ‘puppet monarchs’ who relied on Rome for their power.

4. At the time of Jesus’ birth in 4 BC, the Holy Land was ruled by King Herod

An image of Herod the Great.

Also known as Herod ‘the Great’ one of his greatest achievements was his overseeing of a great building program during his reign.

Herod constructed many military marvels such as the stronghold at Masada, but he also constructed much economic infrastructure, such as a Roman-style trading port called Caesarea Maritima which became a bustling port of trade.

A majority of biblical scholars have dismissed the story that Herod ordered the execution of all male children two years old and under, as claimed in the New Testament.

5. The greatest of Herod’s construction projects was the temple complex in Jerusalem

Herod massively expanded the Temple Mount, the ‘beating heart’ of Jerusalem. In the centre of the Mount was the Temple to the Jewish God, originally built over 500 years before. Under Herod’s orders the Temple underwent significant reconstruction and expansion. It was one of the largest building projects of the time.

A model of the Temple reconstructed by Herod on Temple Mount. It was the beating heart of Jerusalem.

Alongside reconstructing the Temple, Herod also constructed new, formidable defences guarding the ‘Holiest of Holies’, most notably the Antonia Fortress.

6. Herod had ten wives, as many sons and five daughters

Mariamne, the second wife of King Herod, and her children go to their execution. Painting by Edward Hopley.

All of his marriages were made for political reasons and it appears many were unhappy affairs. Herod even had three of his sons executed after he began to fear they were attempting a coup.

7. After Herod died in 4 BC, his kingdom was divided…

A map showing the division of Herod’s kingdom following his death. Jerusalem and the Holy Land was situated in Herod Archelaus’ territory (light green). Credit: Alorkezas / Commons.

In his will, Herod asked that Judaea be divided between three of his sons: Herod Archaelaus (shown in light green on the map), Herod Philip II (orange) and Herod Antipas (pink). Parts of his kingdom were also given to Salome (grey), his sister, while there were also ten autonomous cities: the ‘decapolis’ (cream).

8. …but Augustus soon annexed the Holy Land

Archelaus’ territory was annexed and became the Roman province of Judaea.

After judging Herod Archelaus as an incompetent ruler, in 4 AD the Roman Emperor Augustus annexed Archelaus’ territory, turning it into a Roman province called Judaea. Augustus placed this new territory in the hands of a Roman governor.

9. Augustus ordered a census of Judaea to be taken

A medieval Byzantine mosaic depicting Mary and Joseph registering for the census before Governor Quirinius.

The tax census was carried out by Publius Quirinus, the governor of Syria. The date of this census is contested by scholars as the Gospel of Luke states the census was carried out during the reign of Herod. Josephus, however, claims it was taken some ten years later after Herod’s death, following Augustus’ creation of the Roman province of Judaea.

10. A strict watch over the Temple in Jerusalem was maintained by the Temple Guard

It consisted of three priests and twenty-one levites, who likely wore civilian clothing to help blend in with Temple visitors. Their weapon was probably either a club or a sword, although the evidence is unclear on this.

Some suggest it was the Temple Guard who both arrested Jesus and then later stationed themselves outside of Jesus’ tomb to prevent people trying to move the body.

The arrest of Christ. Some believe it was members of the Temple Guard who seized Jesus as he was taken directly to a trial conducted by a Jewish judicial body

This article is an edited transcript of Tom Holland on Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar, available on History Hit.

Tiberius’ island retreat

In the last 10 years of his reign, Tiberius retired from Rome to Capri island off the Bay of Naples. This has darkened his reputation appallingly: in the opinion of the Roman people, the only reason that a prominent Roman would have for retiring was because he wanted to get up to unspeakable sexual perversions.

And so back in Rome, all kinds of shocking stories are told of Tiberius. However, there is a different perspective on Tiberius that we get from the provinces.

The philosopher king

Greek and Jewish provincial perspectives provide a fascinating counterpoint to the Roman take of it. To the provincials in Alexandria, Tiberius was a kind of Prospero figure: he was a philosopher king, he was the man who, on his rocky island, not only kept the entire world at peace but also was more learned and more knowledgeable in the relationship of the gods to men than anyone else in the world.

He was seen as a scholar, almost as a kind of mage and philosopher king. It’s crucial to recognize that when we look at the shocking stories that are told of someone like Tiberius on the island of Capri, there are also different perspectives on the man.

Tiberius was  absolutely qualified to uphold peace because as a young man, as a soldier on the frontiers, he demonstrated to an astonishing degree his ability to maintain the frontiers and to put in place structures that would enable the integrity of the empire, the peace of the provinces and of Rome itself to be maintained.

The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest: 9 AD.

Tiberius and the Teutoburg tragedy

The most striking example of that is what happens in the wake of the worst military defeat that Rome suffers in the Julio-Claudian period: in A.D. 9, when three legions in Germany are wiped out. Emperor Augustus had been hoping to turn Germany into a province much as Gaul had been turned into one. And indeed, they thought that that the Germans had been pacified. This turned out to be wrong. Three legions were wiped out.

That was an enormous quantity of Rome’s manpower and it seriously looked as though the entire Rhine frontier will implode. And if the Rhine frontier imploded, then Gaul imploded. If Gaul imploded, then Italy itself is in danger. So the very future of Rome itself was at stake here.

The Roman city of Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium, modern day Cologne, that was situated on the western bank of the Rhine river on the Roman frontier. In 9 AD, it was under threat.

What is emperor Tiberius best known for?

Tiberius strengthened Rome’s frontier by going to the front. He didn’t do anything glamorous. He did not lead armies out on a revenge mission. Instead, he rode up and down the Rhine frontier solidifying the river fortifications.

He sourced men and horses from across Gaul. He rebuilt Rome’s legions and its cavalry and then two years on, he was ready to start launching punitive strikes into Germany.

But even when he was doing that, he was taking the utmost care. And so, as a result of that, the Rhine frontier held and the Roman Empire did not collapse and the only impact of this disastrous defeat is that Germany was lost. Nothing else was lost.

Tiberius saw the bigger picture

Now, this was not glamorous. It did not win him plaudits. Tiberius’s nephew Germanicus was a young man full of dash and vim and he was endlessly galloping off into the forests and risking another calamitous defeat, and ultimately, Tiberius brings him back.

The Roman people are very cross about this because they love Germanicus. But Tiberius is right: security is far more important than dash. But unless you look at the evidence closely, you would never recognize that. You’d never recognise the qualities that Tiberius brought in the administration of the world. But when you look at the Rhine frontier and then you look at his reputation in Alexandria, those give you two useful clues as to why the Empire was at peace throughout his reign.

It wasn’t just luck. Tiberius may not have been a pleasant man, but he was exceptionally capable.

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Ancient ammo at Asculum

In 89 BC, during a war between the Romans and many of their allied-Italian states, a Roman army besieged the Italian stronghold of Asculum in southern Italy. According to our sources, the siege was long and the fighting fierce. And archaeological surveys have made fascinating discoveries.

Numerous pieces of lead slingshot left from the siege have been discovered around the ancient city. Some are inscribed with various ‘black humour’ messages; but others depict Roman numerals, believed to represent legions in the Roman besieging force. Among those discovered are some mentioning a Legio IX, a ninth legion. This is the first attested evidence for the existence of a ninth legion in the Roman army.

Caesar’s companions

From then on the Ninth Legion would play a leading role in some of the great wars of antiquity. In 59 BC it was one of the four original legions that Julius Caesar was granted from the senate – the manpower he needed to begin his famous Gallic conquest. From his early battle with the Helvetii at Bibracte to the epic siege of Alesia, the Ninth played a critical role in the success of Caesar’s Gallic campaign and his rise to prominence.

Vercingetorix surrenders to Caesar, 52 BC.

Following the end of Caesar’s Gallic Wars and 9 years of fighting, the Ninth Legion was formidable: its soldiers battle-hardened, its loyalty to Caesar paramount. Caesar knew this full well and would often rely upon it.

During the ensuing civil war between Caesar and Pompey the Great, the Ninth continued to serve Caesar with distinction. Although it was severely mauled by Pompey’s forces at the Battle of Dyrrachium it remained an integral part of Caesar’s army, going on to partake in his remarkable victories, first at Pharsalus and then at Thapsus.

Only in 46-45 BC, following his victory at Thapsus, did Caesar finally disband his veterans of the Ninth, many of whom he settled in Picenum. Yet the Legion would soon rise again.

The Ninth rises

Within ten years, the Ninth Legion was re-established and went on to serve with Octavian down to his final victory against Marc Anthony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC. With this success, Octavian now ruled the whole of the Roman Empire. Yet this did not signal the end for the Ninth. In fact, it was only the beginning.

In 29 BC, Octavian led the Ninth and up to six other legions into northern Spain to campaign against the last non-subjugated tribes in the region. For ten years the war waged, during which it appears the Ninth Legion performed exceptionally. It was for the role they played during these campaigns that the Ninth acquired its permanent title, Legio IX Hispania.

From then on, it appears the Ninth Legion was sent to the Roman frontier in Pannonia, where it remained for much of the primary half of the first century AD. Yet there was one time when the Legion was sent far away from Pannonia.

In 21 AD, the emperor Tiberius relocated the legion to North Africa to crush the revolt led by a Berber called Tacfarinas. For the past four years Tacfarinas had charismatically led a vicious guerrilla war against the encroaching Romans in North Africa and had already stretched the local legion to its limit. So Tiberius called in the Ninth Legion to finally end this uprising.

Aided by the Ninth, a victory soon followed for the Romans. Tiberius believed the war was over, the commander of the Ninth Legion, Publius Scipio, was honoured in Lepcis Magna, and the Legion was recalled to Pannonia.

Bound for Britannia

Upon returning to Pannonia, the Legion remained stationed there until 43 AD, when it once again found itself posted overseas. That year, the Ninth set sail for Britain as part of the Emperor Claudius’ invasion force. It partook in the ensuing Roman occupation and for the next 15 or so years, fought numerous battles against various hostile Celtic tribes.

Britannia duly became the Legion’s new home and in c.55 AD, it established its base at the legionary fort of Lindum Colonia, modern day Lincoln. Yet disaster soon followed for the Ninth.

The warrior queen

In 61 AD, a bloody revolt engulfed Roman Britain. Boudicca, Queen of the Iceni and a woman hell-bent on revenge for Roman brutality and humiliation of her family and her people, amassed a huge British force to drive out the Romans from the island. Success soon followed for Boudicca as she and her huge warband decimated the Roman colony at Camulodonum.

Upon hearing of the attack, the Ninth marched south to come to the aid. It was not to be. As the Ninth was en-route, Boudicca and her large army overwhelmed and destroyed much of the Legion. According to Tacitus every single infantryman was killed, with only the Roman commander and his cavalry managing to escape. 61 AD was not a good year for the Ninth.

Boudicca’s Revolt and the Battle of Camulodonum, also known as the ‘Massacre of the Ninth Legion’, AD 61.

Despite being devastated at the hands of Boudicca, the Romans subsequently quashed the revolt and brought the Ninth Legion back up to strength with reinforcements from the continent. The Legion was also then moved from Lindum to Eboracum, modern day York, to check the powerful Brigantes tribe and defend Roman Britain from the unconquered north.

Yet Boudicca would not be the last enemy to cripple Legio IX.

The IX Hispania moved to Eboracum (Eburacum), modern day York.

Dicing with death (again)

Not long after its establishment at York, the Ninth once again saw action. Under the command of Gnaeus Julius Agricola, the Ninth marched into modern-day Scotland and helped consolidate Roman rule as far as the river Forth.

Although Agricola’s campaign in Scotland achieved success, the Ninth Legion’s experience was far from pleasant. In 82 AD, as part of Agricola’s plan to defeat the Caledonians and secure the Forth-Clyde frontier, Agricola divided his force into three separate divisions. The Caledonians got word that Agricola had divided his army into weaker units however and they seized the opportunity, targeting one of these smaller forces: none other than the Ninth Legion.

Northern Britain in 82 AD, amid Agricola’s campaign. Some believe Agricola had stationed the Ninth at Inchtuthil or at the nearby fort of Pinnata Castra when it diced with death.

Stationed in a turf and timber fort, the Ninth Legion were surprised by the Caledonians in a night assault. Initially the Caledonian plan was perfectly executed; caught completely off-guard, the Legion suffered severely. Desperately with whatever arms and armour they could get their hands on, the Ninth finally managed to form some sort of effective defence. Still it could not withhold forever. Defeat looked inevitable.

Yet just as the Ninth looked doomed to fall, Agricola received word and marched with all haste to relieve the camp. Just in time Agricola and his army arrived at the scene, trapping the Caledonians and slaughtering them. The Ninth Legion had diced with death. Yet it had held on for just long enough!

This is our last literary mention of Legio IX Hispania. Following its serving with Agricola, all mention of it in our literary sources vanishes without a trace. Theories as to what may have happened to the Legion are plenty. Yet one thing is for sure, its history would make for a fascinating novel in itself.

He ended a long cycle of internal conflict in the Roman world, a territory that Julius Caesar had realised was too big to be ruled by its old institutions.

Caesar leaves a messy inheritance

Julius Caesar’s extraordinary personal power was the prime motive for his assassins, who wanted to revive the power of the Senate in Roman politics. However, the dictator had been enormously popular, and the aristocratic plotters who killed him would soon be faced by men ready to fight to take his place.

Antony was Caesar’s man for years. He was his deputy when he crossed the Rubicon River into Italy in 49 BC to trigger the civil war with Pompey, and was his co-Consul when he died. He was powerful and popular with lots of military experience.

Octavian was Caesar’s great-nephew and had been named as his heir and adopted son in a will made two years before Caesar died. He had proved effective in his short military career, and his links to Caesar gave him instant popularity, particularly with the army. He was only 19 when Caesar died and away from Rome, but would not stay so for long.

After putting down revolts in support of Caesar’s assassins, Octavian and Antony ruled as part of a Triumvirate with Lepidus until 36 BC, when they took joint power, splitting the Empire into Octavian’s West and Antony’s East.

Swords drawn: Octavian vs Antony

Just two years later, Antony went too far when he struck a deal with Cleopatra, his lover, that handed Roman territory in Egypt to her and the son she had borne Caesar during her long affair with the Roman leader.

Octavian’s sister was Antony’s wife, and he’d already publicised his adultery. When Antony married Cleopatra in 32 BC and seemed on the verge of setting up an alternative Imperial capital in Egypt, Octavian persuaded the Senate to declare war on Cleopatra, who they blamed for seducing their former hero.

As Octavian had foreseen, Antony backed Cleopatra, decisively cutting his ties with Rome and Octavian set off with 200,000 legionaries to punish the renegade pair.

The war was won in one decisive sea battle, off Actium in Greece. Octavian’s fleet of smaller, faster vessels with more experienced crews devastated Antony’s ships and his army surrendered without doing battle.

Antony fled with Cleopatra to Alexandria while Octavian plotted his next move.

He marched to Egypt, cementing the support of legions and Roman client kingdoms along the way. Antony was massively outnumbered, with around 10,000 men at his command who were quickly defeated by one of Octavian’s allies as most of the remainder of Antony’s forces surrendered.

The lovers’ suicides of Antony and Cleopatra

With no hope left, Antony messily killed himself on 1 August 30 BC, after apparently failing to strike a deal to protect Cleopatra.

Cleopatra then attempted to secure a deal for herself and Caesar’s son, Caesarion, but Octavian refused to listen, having the young man killed as he fled and warning his mother that she would be paraded in his triumph back in Rome.

Octavian was desperate to keep Cleopatra alive. He wanted a high-status prisoner, and her treasure to pay his troops. Cleopatra was able to kill herself though – possibly using a poisoned snake.

Nothing now stood between Octavian and total power. Egypt was granted to him as his personal possession and by 27 BC the granting of the titles Augustus and Princeps confirmed him as Emperor.

Telling the tale

The story of Antony and Cleopatra – the great Roman and the beautiful queen who caused him to turn his back on his nation – is compelling.

Romans and Egyptians no doubt told the tale many times and one surviving account has proved the most durable. Plutarch’s Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans was published in the late 1st century, pairing men from both civilisations.

Antony was paired with Demetrius, the king of Macedonia who died in enemy captivity and spent many years with a courtesan as his companion.

Plutarch was interested in character rather than history and his book was a defining text of the rediscovery of classical civilisation during the Renaissance. Among its most devoted readers was one William Shakespeare.

Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra is a fairly faithful telling of the tale, going so far as to lift some phrases directly from Sir Thomas North’s translation of Plutarch’s work.

Antony and Cleopatra would both be remembered by history as great public figures, but their love story – no matter how embellished – has taken them into different territory. Both, and Cleopatra in particular, have been portrayed in literature, film, dance and every other medium of art countless times.