Taking A Closer Look At The Battle Of Actium

The Battle of Actium is one of the most important battles in Rome’s history. It was between Caesar’s heir, Octavian, and his right hand man, Marc Antony. Antony was one of Rome’s most beloved generals. He had been with Caesar through many battles and had won the respect and loyalty of Rome’s soldiers. Octavius was the undisputed heir of Caesar. Caesar had named the young boy in his will, and as such, Octavius had inherited not only his adopted Father’s name but also his wealth. Between these two mega forces, the Roman Republic was divided. Marc Antony gained control of the Eastern half and Octavian the Western half. The outcome of the battle is well-known. Octavian wins, becomes the first Emperor, establishes the Roman Empire, and creates the
The situations between Caesar and Antony were also similar. Caesar needed to win the battle quickly as he was running low on supplies and his enemies had taken control of the sea (Chrissthanos 147). Caesar attempted to tire out Pompey’s army by continuously moving his camp, forcing Pompey and men to move as well (Caesar 151). Caesar and Pompey were at a stalemate for some time. Pompey refused to engage Caesar in battle, but when they finally did fight at Dyrrachium, it ended with Pompey as the victor, but it was not a decisive victory. When the two generals finally did meet for the final battle, Caesar was the victor. It is recorded that Pompey lost fifteen-thousand men and twenty-four thousand were captured. On the other hand, Caesar reported he had lost only two hundred men during the battle (Chrissthanos 153). It was a major loss for Pompey which resulted in his flight to Egypt and eventual death. In order to avoid a similar disaster, Octavian knew he must not fight Antony in a land battle. Not only was Antony in a similar situation as Caesar, he had been with Caesar during the Battle of Pharsalus, he knew what he needed to do to win. In spite of is positional advantage, Octavian realized time was not on his side. According to Lange, author of The Battle of Actium: A Reconsideration, both Antony had Octavian realized they needed a decisive battle before Winter, as neither camp was in any
Although the numbers are still debated amongst scholars, many historians use the accounts of Plutarch, who stated that Antony had put twenty-thousand fighting men onto his ships, and Florus, who estimated Antony had no more than two-hundred. Historians then tend to approximate that Octavian was in command of around two-hundred and fifty ships while the number Antony commanded is less clear but estimated to have been close to one-hundred and seventy (Lange 614-615). This then shows that while it is true that Octavian had an advantage in number, it was not so great that Antony would not stand a chance of attaining victory. According to various ancient sources, the battle was hard