Octavian was Julius caesars great nephew. As such he has some contact with the boy as he grew and octavian was enamoured of his uncle. Upon his death, Julius Caesars will named Octavian as his now adopted son and heir. Octavia took this to mean the heir to the throne and set about consolidating his position both in the senate and on the battle ground. Marc Anthony was Julius right hand man, war comrade, confidant and friend. Marc Anthony was a self assured man who liked To fight but was not a good diplomat or politician. Julius Caesar left Marc Anthony in Rome as ” leader” in the senate but due to the building hatred between Pompey and Caesar, the resultant civil war saw Pompey killed and Julius declared dictator for 10 years. After Julius Caesars assassination , Anthony was declared executor of his will and problems arose between him and Octavian. The resultant war between those two was a draw with a 3 way rule being established between Octavian, Marc Anthony and Lepidus. To bridge the difficulties Marc Anthony married Octavia sister Octavian, but when he went east he fell under the spell of cleopatra( just as Julius Caesar had done) and abandoned his wife. It all finally came to head at the battle of actium where marc Anthony and cleopatra were defeated by Octavian. Marc Anthony committed suicide first. Once cleopatra knew what Octavian was to do with her ( take her back to Rome as. A prisoner) she also committed suicide.

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