alternatehistory.com

In 30 BC, Marcus Antonius and his wife, Cleopatra Ptolemy VII, assembled their Roman and Egyptian forces to meet those of Octavian Caesar at the Battle of Actium off the coast of Greece. As Octavian proposed a sea battle, he employed the expertise of Marcus Agrippa. Antonius, more adequate at warfare than Octavian, followed the advice of his land general, Publius Canidius Crassus, and made ready to spill Roman blood on the rugged Grecian terrain. Knowing he was outmatched but in full defiance of the scandalous actions of Antonius and Cleopatra, Octavian agreed to a land battle. Fighting with the heavy infantry, cavalry, and auxiliary forces of the Fourth legion, Antonius routed those of Octavian, the Egyptians chasing down the remnants and slaughtering those who would not defect to Antonius.

Antonius and Cleopatra moved north and stayed in Macedonia in late August of 30 BC, the general dispatching a courier back to Rome to deliver word of his victory over Julius Caesar's great-nephew. Antonius and Cleopatra took their time and enjoyed their spoils in Macedonia, birthplace of Alexander the Great and his general, Ptolemy I (Cleopatra's oldest descendent). Within weeks, Antonius and Cleopatra were presented in Rome. Cleopatra threw banquets for the Senators and Roman elite in the Palatine palace of Antonius, changing their preconceived notions of her. Antonius was soon pronounced princeps, and was then named after his good friend Julius Caesar and the month in which he defeated Octavian...Caesar Antonius Augustus.

In early 29, Cleopatra returned to Alexandria, Antonius Augustus occasionally taking leave of Rome to visit his wife in the land of her ancestors. Ptolemy Caesarion, the son Cleopatra had by Julius Caesar, was adopted by Antonius and named successor to the throne of Rome. As it was Ptolemaic custom, Cleopatra's twins by Antonius, Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene II, married upon the death of their mother in year 24, and ruled Alexandria together, carrying on a Ptolemaic monarchy in Egypt. Their younger brother, Ptolemy Philadelphus, was appointed advisor and chief military commander for his older siblings in 13 BC. He died in 9 BC on the plains of Parthia, attempting to bring to fruition to campaign planned by his father, Antonius, in the year 42.

After the death of Caesar Antonius Augustus in 16 AD, Emperor Caesarion Caesar launched a massive military campaign against the Parthians under the guidence of the son of Publius Canidius Crassus, who had exeeded his father in terms of Roman military conquest. Caesarion did not see the Parthians fall to their knees. He died in 14 AD, his son by Glaphyra Minor of Cappadocia succeeding him and carrying the Romans further into empire under Roman-Ptolemaic custom.
Top