Roman General Marc Antony
Marc Antony, his Latin name was Marcus Antonius, was a Roman general and politician who was perhaps best known for his support of Gaius Julius Caesar during the latter's illustrious career as Rome's foremost military leader and statesman. More notoriously, Marc Antony is to this day also remembered for his stormy love affair with Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt.
After the death of Julius Caesar by assassination, Marc Antony formed an alliance with Octavian and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, in a partnership that would later be called the second triumvirate. This alliance would last until 33 B.C. when a conflict between Antony and Octavian embroiled the country in a civil war that began in 31 B.C.
Antony's armies did not fare well in this war and after the disastrous Battle of Actium and a short skirmish in Alexandria, whereupon his forces were severely beaten by Octavian's armies, Antony took his own life in 30 B.C. Queen Cleopatra would follow in her lover's fate shortly afterwards.
Marc Antony was born on January 14th, in the year 83 B.C. to Marcus Antonius Creticus who was in turn, the son of Marcus Antonius Orator. Marcus Antonius Orator was a renowned rhetorician and, as can be guessed from his name, orator who met an untimely demise at the hands of the supporters of Gaius Marius in 86 B.C. Marc Antony was in fact distantly related to Julius Caesar by way of his mother, Julia Antonia.
After the death of his father, while he was still at a very young age, Marc Antony, along with his brothers Lucius and Gaius were left in their mother's care. The subsequent marriage of Julia Antonia to Publius Cornelius Lentulus Sura, who was a politician of some renown, however, left her little time to care for her children and Antony and his brothers grew up largely without the benefit of parental supervision.
Marc Antony spent much of his teenage years in the pursuit of worldly pleasures such as gambling, drinking and licentiousness. Many historians, among them Plutarch, extensively detailed Antony's early life on the streets of Rome, where accompanied by his friends and brothers, he was free to live as carefree a life as he pleased.
Such were the excesses of Marc Antony that by the time he was 20 years old, he had incurred a personal debt of over 250 talents, a staggering sum of money in those days and now worth the equivalent of $165,000,000!
Needless to say, Antony had neither the means nor the desire to pay off such a huge debt and he sought refuge from his many creditors in Greece where he immersed himself in the study of rhetoric under the tutelage of the philosophers in Athens. He was in Greece for only a short period of time, before he would embark on his true calling as a military leader.
He was called upon by the proconsul of Syria, Aulus Gabinius, to join in the campaign against Aristobulus from Judea. It was also Aulus Gabinius's intention that Marc Antony and his troops serve as support for the armies of Ptolemy XII in Egypt. The young Antony was clearly in his element and as a cavalry commander quickly made a name for himself with his valour and courageousness in the field of battle.
This campaign, aside from being where Marc Antony began his illustrious military career was also significant in that it was the first time that he laid eyes on first Alexandria and then later on Egypt, where he would later meet arguably one of the most influential people in his life, the Egyptian queen, Cleopatra.
The year 54 B.C. would find Marc Antony at the helm of Julius Caesar's armies, first in Gaul, where they enjoyed an astounding victory and then later in what became known as Germany. Again, Antony performed spectacularly and his fame as a military leader grew immensely.
He was clearly fast becoming Julius Caesar's most dependable military ally, although it must be said that Antony's personal behaviour was the cause of much consternation for his superiors.
Marc Antony tended towards abrasiveness in person and had the tendency to cause uproar wherever he went. Nevertheless, his value to Caesar was clearly without question and Marc Antony was rewarded handsomely for his efforts by appointments into top positions within the military.
When Caesar was assassinated in 44 B.C., Marc Antony made a bid for power but was thwarted by the armies led by Octavian. The two would later form an alliance against the armies of Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius who were bent on taking Rome. After this uprising was crushed however, the two men would oppose each other once more and after a series of battles, with Octavian's forces drawing nearer, Marc Antony took his own life in Egypt on August 1st, 30 B.C.
Original Authors: Doods Pangburn
Edit Update Authors: M.A.Harris
Updated On: 22/07/2008
