The Second Triumvirate Flashcards
Who was Marcus Antonius?
Mark Antony
Dates: 83-30 BC,
Accomplished soldier who served in Gaul, he was consul with Caesar in 44BC and continued as head of state after the assassination. Fought Octavian and the senate in 43BC, but formed triumvirate with Octavian and Lepidus thereafter. Defeated by Octavian in 31BC at Actium, he committed suicide in Egypt in the following year.
What backfired for the assassins?
- They had expected popular support for freeing them,
- However, the masses had greatly benefitted from Caesar’s largesse and soon confined the conspirators to the Capitoline hill (Appian, The Civil Wars 2.120).
What did Antony do in the aftermath of Caesar’s death?
- Secured the support of M. Aemiliius Lepidus, who held the position of Master of Horses, which gave him troops close to Rome,
- Antony acquiesced when P. Cornelius Dolabella assumed the consulship made vacant after Caesar’s death, both were former lieutenants of Caesar.
What debate was held in the Senate, relating to the assassins?
- Debated whether to honour or condemn them,
- Antony pointed out that most of them either had benefitted, or stood to benefit from magistracies already designated by Caesar,
- If they honoured the assassins, then they condemned Caesar, and by default they then invalidated his decisions and disadvantaged themselves,
- The Senate agreed, and a general sense of amnesty prevailed so that the conspirators came down from Capitoline hill.
What did Antony do in regards to Caesar’s funeral?
- Presided over his funeral,
- Purposefully inflaming the populace who had all benefitted from Caesar’s largesse, most recently as a result of his will.
How did the masses respond to Caesar’s death?
Massive outpourings of grief among the common people against the assassins (Cicero, Philippics 2.88-91).
What did Antony take of Caesar’s to secure his position?
- Quickly secured Caesar’s will and access to his papers, together with his wealth,
- He began to pass off his own decisions as those of Caesar.
What does Cicero write of Antony after Caesar’s death?
- He was appalled by his actions:
‘I am afraid that the Ides of March will have given us nothing except a feeling of happiness and recompense for our hatred and grief… O deed that was noble, yet incomplete! You know how much I love the Sicilians and how much I declare that I am honoured to have them as my clients. Caesar gave them much - and I did not object, though making them Latins was intolerable. But anyway, look how Antony has received a large sum of money and established a law passed in the assembly under the dictator, under which the Sicilians are Roman citizens - something never mentioned in his lifetime’
(ad Atticum, 14.12)
Who did the Senate look to, to re-establish order?
- Depending on their allegiances, individual politicians either looked to Caesar’s former lieutenants or the liberators and Pompey’s surviving son Sextus (Cicero, ad Atticum 14.1).
Why couldn’t Brutus and Cassius leave Rome? What was done so they could?
- They were keen to leave, but couldn’t as they were still serving as praetors,
- The Senate proposed that they take a new command over the corn supply, allowing them to leave the city prior to going on to their already allocated pro-praetorian provinces.
What change to the provinces did Antony want to make?
- Sought to adjust the pro-magisterial provinces,
- Taking those already awarded to Brutus and Cassius for himself and Dolabella.
How did Brutus and Cassius respond to these provincial changes?
- Cassius saw the corn commission, as proposed by the Senate, as an insult and vowed to go directly east,
- Brutus was all for returning to Rome in the name of the republic. Cicero, however, present at a family conference, cautioned against this,
- Brutus was persuaded to go to the east also (ad Atticum 15.11),
- Once in the east, Brutus was free to revel in the achievement of the Ides of March.
What was the Denarius of Brutus?
Date: 43-42
Obverse: Head of Brutus; reading ‘L Plaet(orius) Ces(tianus)’ Brutus’ supporter who minted the coin, ‘Brut(us) IMP(erator)’,
Reverse: Pileus (a freedman’s hat) between two daggers; reading ‘EID MAR (Ides of March)’,
Significance: Brutus revels in the assassination of Caesar and the supposed freedom that he brought.
How did Octavian enter the political scene?
- Antony seemed to be in control of the situation, with confusion rife among the liberators,
- Antony, however, failed to account for Caesar’s nominated heir and great-nephew, the eighteen-year old Octavian,
- Arriving at Rome, Octavian chastised Antony for being conciliatory towards the assassins, and more critically for not distributing Caesar’s property according to his will.
How did Antony treat Octavian at first?
Dismissed him as a upstart.
What further disputes arose in Rome, how did this effect Antony?
- Disputes arose over the honours that were to be bestowed upon the dead Caesar at upcoming games,
- At the same time there was a sufficient resurgent Republicanism to make Antony less sure of his position.
What provinces did Antony seize? How did he do this?
- Used the comitia tributa to take the strategically important Cisalpine Gaul as his future province,
- This was currently held by one of the assassins, Decimus Junius Brutus.
What conflict was about to happen in Gaul? What did Antony do? What did Octavian do? How did Octavian undermine Antony at this point?
- Antony prepared to move troops to Cisalpine Gaul, to take the province from Decimus Junius Brutus,
- Octavian began to raise men in Caesar’s name (March 44BC). This was illegal, but Pompey had done the same for Sulla. and Octavian immediately recognised that if the was to be a major player, he needed military might,
- Two of Antony’s legions deserted for Octavian because of Antony’s mean donatives, harsh discipline, and not a few financial inducements; gifts promised by Octavian (Appian, The Civil War 3.43-8).
What did Decimus Junius Brutus do in response to the incoming forces?
- Had holed up at Mutina,
- This became Antony’s first objective (Appian, The Civil War 3.49).
What did the Senate now try with Octavian?
- The Senate courted Octavian, he was able to muster forces in Caesar’s name that they could not (Appian, The Civil War 3.75),
- ‘… For which reason the Senate had previously called in the help of Octavian against him (Antony). Although Octavian knew this he desired nevertheless to take the lead in humbling Antony.’ (Appian, The Civil Wars 3.51),
- The Senate sought to curb the influence of Antony by opportunistically using Octavian. This is summed up in a quip of Cicero’s that the boy ought to be praised, raised up, and then got rid of (Appian, The Civil War 3.50).
What was Cicero’s relation to both Antony and Octavian?
- Cicero’s attitude did not endear him to Octavian whatsoever, this would later prove to have been a significant mistake,
- Before Antony had departed to muster troops, he and Cicero had verbally attacked each other in the Senate,
- This argument has caused Cicero to compose the Second Philippic, a full blown attack on Antony and his morality, accusing him of public extortion and private licentiousness (Philippics 2.92-7; ad Atticum 14.12),
- In old age, twenty years after the death of Catiline, Cicero looked to reassert himself as the grand old man of the Republic; few other ex-consuls remained alive as a result of the Civil War and even fewer optimates,
- There followed another dozen Philippics attacking Antony at every opportunity.
What did the Senate confer upon Octavian? What did he do?
- The Senate conferred pro-praetorian imperium upon Octavian and he departed to campaign against Antony, to relieve Decimus Junius Brutus who was still holding Mutina, alongside the two consuls for 43, A. Hirtius and C. Vibius Pansa,
- Mutina was besieged by Antony in mid-december 44BC; Octavians force marched behind him and a series of battles took place in April 43BC,
- Hirtius was dead and Pansa was dying, Antony escaped to Transalpine Gaul. Here, after some procrastination and posturing on both sides, and largely because of the sentiment
what coinage of Antony’s attempts to diminish Octavian’s claim to be Caesar’s political heir?
Denarius of Antony
Date: 43BC,
Obverse: Head of M. Antonius, with lituus (a symbol of an Augur); words reading ‘M. Anton(ius) [imp]’,
Reverse: Laureate head of Julius Caesar with jug (a symbol of an Augur); words reading ‘Caesar Dic(tator)’,
Significance: Antony links himself to Caesar, so diminishing Octavian’s claim to be Caesar’s political heir.
Who was M. Aemilius Lepidus?
Died c. 13 BC
Son of M. Aemilius Lepidus consul in 78. Caesar’s lieutenant during the civil wars. Joined with Antony after the battle of Mutina 43BC. Triumvir with Antony and Octavian. Marginalised after Philippi because he was suspected of dealing with Sextus Pompeius, he was relegated to Africa. He reasserted his authority at the end of the naval war against Sextus and tried to take Sicily.
What did Lepidus do during the Mutina conflict?
- Was stationed in Transalpine to consolidate his forces soon after the death of Caesar,
- Initially remained neutral in the conflict between Antony and Octavian at Mutina,
- When Antony retreated to Transalpine Gaul, Lepidus joined his forces to his army,
- Lepidus may have been forced to do so by his men, Caesar’s veteran legions crossed to Antony ahead of their commander, thus, Lepidus and other supporters of Caesar re-joined Antony,
- It is worth considering that Lepidus, whilst not engaging in the Mutina conflict, had allowed Antony to move his forces through his land; he leaned towards Antony.
What did Cicero argue should be done after Antony’s defeat at Mutina? What does Appian say of this?
- The Senate, at Cicero’s suggestion, awarded Decimus Junius Brutus a supplicatio of an unprecedented fifty days,
- Appian says that so great was Cicero’s hatred of Antony that he acted out of all proportion; in so doing he completely ignored Octavian and this would be his undoing (Appian, The Civil War 3.74).
Why did Octavian change allegiances to Antony? What were the Senate doing at this point?
- Octavian couldn’t honourably deal with Decimus as one of Caesar’s assassins,
- He further recognised that if Cassius and Brutus returned to Italy, he would become irrelevant,
- As a result, Octavian began communicating with Lepidus and Antony (Appian, The Civil War 3.80-1),
- At the same time, the Republicans at Rome were trying to prise Octavian’s troops away from him with donatives.
What did Octavian demand of the Senate? What did he do in response to their denial? What did the Senate do?
- He sent centurions ahead to demand the consulship,
- When they were rebuked by the Senate, he followed Caesar’s example and crossed into Italy,
- The Senate immediately panicked and promised to pay the troops, but soon reneged on that deal.
What happened when Octavian arrived in Rome?
- The Republican soldiers that existed went over to him and the Senate was seen to be impotent,
- He withdrew just outside the city while he was elected consul at the age of twenty,
- Again it is the soldiery that are instrumental in deciding who gained authority (Suetonius, Deified Augustus 26; Appian, The Civil War 3.86-94).
When did the (2nd) triumvirs meet to arrange their alliance? What did they do?
- Octavian met with Lepidus and Antony on an island near Bononia on 27th November 43,
- They made a formal alliance voted through the comitia plebis tributa by the tribune, P. Titius, that they should be triumvirs for the restoration of the Republic, with authority to make laws and nominate magistrates for five years,
- The triumvirs divided the Roman provinces between them: Antony retained Further and Cisalpine Gaul, Lepidus took Narbonese Gaul and Spain, and Octavian held Africa, Sicily, and Sardinia, which was the weakest position strategically,
- The east was still in the hands of the republicans.
How and when did Cicero die?
He died December 43BC. Now that Antony, Lepidus, and Octavian controlled Rome his life was forfeit. His head and hands were cut off, his hands for the writing of the Philippics. Antony requested that both his head and hands be displayed.
What did the triumvirs require? How did they achieve this?
- To wage war in the east, money was essential, and to place the veterans, land was required,
- The triumvirs posted up proscriptions so that 300 senators and 2,000 equestrians were deprived of their lives and estates,
- Among those proscribed was Cicero.
What did Cassius and Brutus do in the summer of 42?
- Marched into Greece, and camped at Philippi,
- Here they lost two engagements and their lives,
- With their deaths, the Republican cause was over.
What did the triumvirs need after their victory over the remaining Republicans?
- Octavian had 100,000 veterans to settle,
- Antony was to go east and find the funds to pay for these settlements,
- Antony, in so doing, made the same mistake as Pompey in the 60s. While he was absent, Octavian would be the face of the Triumvirate in Italy.
What became apparent between Octavian and Antony by the 30s BC?
- Rival claimants to power and several military adventures repeatedly put the relationship between Antony and Octavian under pressure,
- Three times - at Brundisium 40BC, Misenum 39BC, and Tarentum 37BC - the pair met to work out their differences,
- In so doing they postponed the inevitable clash between them.
When did Octavian begin settling his veterans? What was the result of these actions?
- Octavian began the process of settling his veterans in 42,
- The towns that lost land to this process sent deputations to Rome,
- The veterans and serving soldiers were heavy-handed with the civilians and contemptuous of Octavian, knowing that he needed their support to remain in power,
- There was street fighting and widespread discord (Appian, the Civil War 5.12-13).
What rebellion happened in 41BC?
- Antony’s wife Fulvia and his brother Lucius fostered a short-lived rebellion in the name of the republic,
- This is named the Perusine War, after Perusia where a winter siege too place,
- Octavian won, while he spared Lucius and Fulvia, and killed another 300 senators and equestrians, providing him a little of much-needed land to redistribute to his veterans.
What was agreed between Antony and Octavian at Brundisium?
- They redistributed the provinces between them; the east to Antony and the west to Octavian,
- Their peace was sealed with a political marriage between Octavian’s sister Octavia and Antony, whose wife Fulvia had died soon after Perusia.
What coinage shows the reaffirmed peace between Octavian and Antony?
Denarius of Octavian and Antony
Date: 39BC,
Obverse: Head of Octavian; words reading ‘Caesar Imp(erator)’,
Reverse: Caduceus; words reading ‘Antonius IMP(erator)’,
Significance: Octavian and Antony affirm their amicitia.
What happened to Lepidus after the battle at Philippi?
- He was marginalised because it was thought that he tried to cut a deal with Pompey’s youngest son Sextus Pompeius,
- He was only allowed Africa as a sphere of influence.
What did Sextus do during the late 40s and early 30s?
- Sextus had been granted imperium in Sicily and Sardinia by the Republican government at the time of Mutina,
- Sextus then refused to give up his control to the second triumvirate, it is worth mentioning that this infuriated Octavian who, as per the agreement of the triumvirs, had imperium of Sicily, Sardinia, and Africa. His only province was Africa,
- Sextus blocked the trade routes to Rome and brought about a grain shortage and famine,
- Taxes raised to fund a war against Sextus caused civil unrest, and Octavian and Antony were attacked trying to quell the Plebs’ anger,
- The triumvirs had no choice but to negotiate with Sextus so that he received five-years imperium over the corn-producing islands when they met at Misenum,
- This only brought about a years peace.
Who were Octavian’s supporters?
- Agrippa was the most prominent of several of Octavian’s supporters, who was content to be subordinate to him,
- These supporters were not part of the established political order and would not have enjoyed such power under the traditional constitution,
- As a result they were very loyal.
How was Sextus defeated?
- There was a first attempted naval campaign against Sextus in 38, this failed miserably,
- After Octavian handed over military matters to his lieutenant Agrippa,
- Agrippa revitalised and trained Octavian’s navy, and in 36 directed a three-pronged campaign against Sextus, ejecting him from the island,
- This war against Sextus had required Lepidus to land forces in the west of Sicily.
What did Antony offer Octavian to defeat Sextus?
- Antony returned to meet Octavian at Tarentum in 37, Antony offered Octavian ships in exchange for troops,
- Octavian was now sure of Agrippa’s military talents and not inclined to accomodate Antony.
What happened to Sextus after his defeat in Sicily?
- He fled to the east where he was killed,
- Possibly on Antony’s orders.
What did Lepidus attempt after the Sicily campaign?
- After landing his forces on the island and the victory, he attempted to take the island for himself,
- However, his troops were tired of war and deserted to Octavian,
- Octavian spared him, only allowing him to keep his position as pontifex maximus.
What issues did Octavian face after the Sextus campaign?
- Octavian faced a challenge from his soldiers themselves who, having seen some colleagues resettled after Philippi, now revolted,
- He had no land to give them and no money to pay them off,
- He was compelled to exact money from the Sicilians, with which he bribed the majority, giving an additional two years’ pay and the promise of more money when they were discharged,
- Only the longest serving were discharged and resettled (Appian, The Civil War 5.127-130).
What had Octavian achieved from the Sextus campaign?
- He now could compete with Antony’s military reputation,
- He was granted an ovation and, among other honours, the sacrosanctity of a tribune,
- This was one of the mechanisms through which he would ultimately hold power.
What did Octavian commission after the Sicilian victory? What did this symbolise?
- Set up a golden statue of himself in the forum with an inscription that proclaimed that peace had been restored by land and sea (Appian, The Civil War 5.130),
- The propaganda worked, Appian’s narrative of the civil wars ends at this point (Appian, the Civil Wars 5.131-2)
What coinage displays Octavian’s trust in Agrippa?
Denarius of Octavian with Agrippa
Date: 38BC
Obverse: Head of Octavian; words reading ‘IMP CAESAR DIVI IULI F’ // Imperator Caesar son of the divine Julius,
Reverse: Words reading ‘M AGRIPPA COS DESIG’ // M Agrippa Consul Designate,
Significance: Agrippa is elevated to near equal status with Octavian.
What does Plutarch write of Antony?
Plutarch describes Antony as an inactive sot, drunk on wine, women and power.
What did Antony do in 37?
- Set off on the Parthian expedition which was poorly conceived with uncertain strategy,
- About 32,000 Roman soldiers perished, although the fact that anybody survived at all was down to Antony’s leadership and resolute character.
What happened when Rome heard of Antony’s failed campaign?
- Octavia sought permission to go to her husband,
- Octavian approved, according to Plutarch, in the hope that she would be dishonoured and so give him greater cause for complaint,
- Octavia took 2,000 reinforcements with her. By sending so few soldiers, Octavian was also sending a message to Antony that he was now militarily dominant,
- If Antony wanted more troops like at Tarentum, then he would have to deal nicely with Octavian.
How did Antony treat Octavia upon her arrival?
Antony had settled with and now favoured Cleopatra; he dismissed Octavia,
How did Antony break the Roman constitution?
- To make matters worse, despite his Parthian defeat, Antony celebrated a triumph in Alexandria for lesser victories he claimed in Armenia,
- This in itself was unconstitutional - triumphs were to be celebrated in Rome.
What did Antony and Cleopatra do together politically?
- Antony declared that Caesarion, Cleopatra’s son by Caesar, was the legitimate heir of Caesar,
- Thereby claiming that Octavian was a usurper,
- Caesarion was titled King of Kings, and Cleopatra Queen of Kings,
- Antony’s children by Cleopatra were also designated rules of provinces within a new Egyptian empire, despite some of these being Roman holdings (Plutarch, Antony 54),
- These events are known as the Donations of Alexandria.
What was Octavian doing 35BC?
Undertook operations in Illyricum, quelling rebellions of the local peoples. This kept his forces under arms in preparation for the inevitable showdown with Antony. At the same time this removed the army from Italy and reduced the burden on the countryside.
Who headed Octavian’s propaganda production?
A close supporter, Maecenas. Maecenas was Octavian’s literary agent, who at this time sponsored Virgil’s Georgics, which proclaimed the benefits of rural peace.
What did the donations of Alexandria cause in Rome? How did Octavian respond?
- Caused disquiet in Rome (Plutarch, Antony 55),
- Octavian denounced Antony’s actions and went on a public relations campaign,
- He celebrated his successful campaign in Illyricum with building works,
- Octavian’s generals from Illyricum celebrated triumphs,
- Maecenas opened his gardens to the poor,
- Agrippa, as aedile of 33, spent a fortune renovating the public water supplies, building a new aqueduct, 700 cisterns, 500 fountains, and 170 bathing houses,
- At the same time, he put on a massive set of public games,
- The overall effect was to buy the support of the plebs urbana.
