The Battle of Actium was a naval battle fought between Octavian's maritime fleet, led by Marcus Agrippa, and the combined fleets of both Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII Philopator. The battle took place on 2 September 31 BC in the Ionian Sea, near the former Roman colony of Actium, Greece, and was the climax of over a decade of rivalry between Octavian and Antony.
Marcus Antonius, commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the autocratic Roman Empire.
Year 31 BC was either a common year starting on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday or a leap year starting on Tuesday or Wednesday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Tuesday of the Proleptic Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Antonius and Caesar or as Caesar and Messalla. The denomination 31 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
This article concerns the period 39 BC – 30 BC.
Year 44 BC was either a common year starting on Sunday, common year starting on Monday, leap year starting on Friday, or leap year starting on Saturday. and a common year starting on Sunday of the Proleptic Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Julius Caesar V and Marc Antony. The denomination 44 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
This article concerns the period 49 BC – 40 BC.
Year 40 BC was either a common year starting on Thursday, Friday or Saturday or a leap year starting on Thursday or Friday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Friday of the Proleptic Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Calvinus and Pollio. The denomination 40 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Year 38 BC was either a common year starting on Sunday or Monday or a leap year starting on Saturday, Sunday or Monday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Sunday of the Proleptic Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Pulcher and Flaccus. The denomination 38 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. It was also the first year of the Spanish era calendar in use in Hispania until the 15th century.
Year 41 BC was either a common year starting on Wednesday or Thursday or a leap year starting on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday of the Julian calendar and a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Proleptic Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Antonius and Vatia. The denomination 41 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Year 36 BC was either a common year starting on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday or a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Wednesday of the Proleptic Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Poplicola and Nerva. The denomination 36 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Year 32 BC was either a common year starting on Monday or Tuesday or a leap year starting on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Monday of the Proleptic Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Ahenobarbus and Sosius. The denomination 32 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Year 33 BC was either a common year starting on Saturday, Sunday or Monday or a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar and a leap year starting on Saturday of the Proleptic Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Octavian and Tullus. The denomination 33 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Year 30 BC was either a common year starting on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday or a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Wednesday of the Proleptic Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Octavian and Crassus. The denomination 30 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Year 29 BC was either a common year starting on Friday or Saturday or a leap year starting on Thursday, Friday or Saturday of the Julian calendar and a leap year starting on Thursday of the Proleptic Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Octavian and Appuleius. The denomination 29 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler. A member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, she was a descendant of its founder Ptolemy I Soter, a Macedonian Greek general and companion of Alexander the Great. After the death of Cleopatra, Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire, marking the end of the last Hellenistic-period state in the Mediterranean and of the age that had lasted since the reign of Alexander. Her first language was Koine Greek and she is the only known Ptolemaic ruler to learn the Egyptian language.
Alexander Helios was a Ptolemaic prince and son of Pharaoh Cleopatra VII of the Ptolemaic dynasty and Roman triumvir Mark Antony. Alexander's fraternal twin sister was Cleopatra Selene II. Cleopatra named her son after Alexander the Great. His second name in Ancient Greek means "Sun"; this was the counterpart of his twin sister's second name Selene (Σελήνη), meaning "Moon".
Ptolemy XV Caesar, nicknamed Caesarion, was the last pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt, reigning with his mother Cleopatra VII from 2 September 44 BC until her death by 12 August 30 BC, then as sole ruler until his death was ordered by Octavian.
The Donations of Alexandria was a political act by Cleopatra VII and Mark Antony in which they distributed lands held by Rome and Parthia among Cleopatra's children and gave them many titles, especially for Caesarion, the son of Julius Caesar. This was the second of two such donations; a similar donation ceremony had taken place two years earlier at Antioch in 36 BC, at which time the donations enjoyed Octavian's full approval of the Antonine strategy of dominating the East by exploiting Cleopatra's unique royal Seleucid lineage in the donated territories. Ultimately, the Donations caused a fatal rupture in Antonine relations with Rome and were one of the causes of the final war of the Roman Republic.
The Battle of Alexandria was fought on July 1 to July 30, 30 BC between the forces of Octavian and Mark Antony during the last war of the Roman Republic. In the Battle of Actium, Antony had lost the majority of his fleet and had been forced to abandon the majority of his army in Greece, where without supplies they eventually surrendered. Although Antony's side was hindered by a few desertions, he still managed to narrowly defeat Octavian's forces in his initial defence. The desertions continued, however, and, in early August, Octavian launched a second, ultimately successful, invasion of Egypt, after which Antony and his lover, Cleopatra, committed suicide.
The reign of Cleopatra VII of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt began with the death of her father, Ptolemy XII Auletes, by March 51 BC. It ended with her suicide in August 30 BC, which also marked the conclusion of the Hellenistic period and the annexation of Egypt into a Roman province. In the style of her Greek predecessors, Cleopatra reigned over Egypt and other territories as an absolute monarch, although the Roman Republic frequently interfered in its internal affairs. Her personal rule of Egypt was characterized by a continued reliance on agriculture, extensive trade and conflict with other states, the tackling of corruption, strategic management of the bureaucracy, and ambitious building projects.
