WI:Marcus Antonius, Emperor Of Rome

What if Mark Antony won the War of the Second Triumvirate and took over Rome, with Cleopatra as virtual empress?
 
Octavian didn't become Roman Emperor by merely defeating Antony and being the last man standing. It took much more political manuevering and manipulation after thata gradual process in which he consolidated power.

Antony simply didn't have the patience or finesse to replicate that. If he had defeated Octavian and become sole ruler of Rome, I imagine his reign would have been short, and once he had alienated enough allies, he would be assassinated, just like Julius Caesar. Especially if Antony treated a foreigner like Cleopatra as his royal consort.
 
Octavian didn't become Roman Emperor by merely defeating Antony and being the last man standing. It took much more political manuevering and manipulation after thata gradual process in which he consolidated power.

Antony simply didn't have the patience or finesse to replicate that. If he had defeated Octavian and become sole ruler of Rome, I imagine his reign would have been short, and once he had alienated enough allies, he would be assassinated, just like Julius Caesar. Especially if Antony treated a foreigner like Cleopatra as his royal consort.

Yes, but what would be the effects of his reign on Rome and the world?
 
So it probably hangs on his successor. Did he have a senior figure among his officers who would be acceptable in Rome?
 
Yes, but what would be the effects of his reign on Rome and the world?
My point was that Antony replicating the success of Octavian is impossible based on his personality, and therefore ASB, unless you make significant changes to his character.

If you're asking me to simply assume that Antony magically attained the position that Augustus held, I guess I could, but once again, any timeline I might craft would have him ousted from that position fairly quickly.
 
Might we get Eastern and Western Empires a bit sooner?

If Octavian dies before he's eliminated Lepidus, might Antony leave Lepidus in charge of the western provinces? He's not unpopular, but neither is he strong enough to take on Antony in civil war.
 
I'm not necessarily sure Antony would go for a blatant dictator of the republic thing.He seemed content to let Octavian control the west and he the east.So maybe, a better idea would be to have the civil wars end inconclusively and Antony retain control of the east, and Octavian the west.
 
I'm not necessarily sure Antony would go for a blatant dictator of the republic thing.He seemed content to let Octavian control the west and he the east.So maybe, a better idea would be to have the civil wars end inconclusively and Antony retain control of the east, and Octavian the west.

Antony and Octavian both wanted to rule the entire empire, but Octavian did it better.
 
What if Mark Antony won the War of the Second Triumvirate and took over Rome, with Cleopatra as virtual empress?

At a great stretch, he might make Cleopatra a Roman citizen (Herod was, for example) and marry her legally, but she would never rule or exercise power as an Empress. Emperor, or rather, Imperator, was a military commander. Octavian was originally referred to as Dux but preferred the less aggressive Princeps as his casual title, holding onto the Imperator as his prename highlighting his unique position as supreme commander of the Roman military.

Say Mark Antony wins at Actium. He'll need to return to Italy, provide for his veterans, reward his allies and recruit new troops for endeavours elsewhere. Most of the old nobility was on his side, the remnants of the Liberatores, Pompeians and some of the Caesarians. He'd be able to get rid of Octavian's municipal creatures quite easily and reconcile the more useful Caesarians with ease also (ie, Asinius Pollio). Similar to Octavian his first recourse would probably be to hold the consulate fairly often and distribute provinces among loyal trustworthy men.

Lepidus, Ahenobarbus, Crassus and Pollio would be strongmen of the new regime perhaps.

Agrippa and Maecenas would most likely be ruined - proscriptions perhaps?

Antony himself had abolished the office of Dictator but he'd have need of some kind of general custody of the commonwealth (cura rei publicae) - Cassius had been made proconsul over all the East before Antony was triumvir, so it's possible he'd receive some extensive grant of imperium over a vast provincia similar to Octavian OTL. OTL Octavian blocked publication of Antony's conquest of Armenia - here he would be able to publicize his victories and nab a triumph, a nice re-entry into the Roman conscious.

Ultimately he'd need to defeat Parthia - a ridiculously draining undertaking he seemingly was unable to execute but most likely unable to let go as casually as Octavian did OTL.

Marriage to Cleopatra would be a problem - rejection of Cleopatra would be a problem. He needs to stay for an extended period of time in the West to fix all that went wrong during Octavian's last few years (in terms of his own public image) and he'd also need to go East to fight Parthia and pacify Cleopatra (not sure the capitol would be ready for her just yet). It's messy and probably wouldn't end well one way or another.
 
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