The two met in Antioch (AN-tee-ahk), Syria, where Antony proceeded with an extremely ill-advised campaign against the Parthians. Apparently he wanted to prove himself by winning an empire in Asia; instead, as many as 30,000 Roman soldiers lost their lives. In 36 b. c., Cleopatra gave birth to a son by Antony. Perhaps during this time, the couple—they had apparently been married in a secret ceremony—made plans for a trans-Mediterranean empire. They would build this empire, combining Greece, Rome, and Egypt, once they had dealt with Octavian.
After a successful campaign against Armenia, they finally turned their attention to the more pressing matter of dealing with Octavian. By now, Cleopatra's ability to control Roman rulers had won her the admiration of the Egyptian people. The opposite was true of Antony in Rome, where citizens saw him as the weak-willed servant of a foreign seductress. Playing on these sentiments, Octavian in 32 b. c. produced a
Document—most certainly a forgery—that he claimed was Antony's will. It stated that in the event of Antony's death, he would leave his part of Rome's possessions in Cleopatra's hands. When the outraged Roman Senate heard this, it declared war against both Antony and Cleopatra.
The forces met in a naval battle near the town of Actium (AK-tee-uhm) in Greece on September 2, 31 b. c. Antony and Cleopatra's side never stood a chance. As the battle ended in disaster for them, they fled separately to Egypt. Octavian sent a message to Cleopatra that if she would give up Antony, he might make a deal with her. She refused. Antony, having heard a rumor that she had killed herself, took poison and died in her arms.
The Romans caught Cleopatra and put her in prison, but she managed to have asps, highly poisonous snakes, smuggled in. With these snakes, she killed herself. She died hoping that her children's lives would be saved, but in fact seventeen-year-old Cesarion was executed by Octavian, soon to be known as Augustus Caesar, founder of the Roman Empire. Cleopatra and Antony's son was adopted by Octavia but may have died of disease, along with one of the twins. The other twin, Cleopatra Selene (seh-LEEN), married Juba (YOO-buh), king of Numidia and Mauretania. She was later killed by the mad Roman emperor Caligula (kuh-LIG-yoo-luh).
World History
