Battle of Alexandria (30 BC)

Battle of Alexandria
Part of the Final War of the Roman Republic
Date July 31-August 1, 30 BC Location Alexandria, Egypt Result First Attack: Minor Antonian victory; Second Attack: Octavian victory
Belligerents
Mark Antony's forces	Octavian's forces
Commanders and leaders
Mark Antony	Octavian, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa
Strength
12,000	30,000
Casualties and losses
800-900	400

The Battle of Alexandria was fought on July 31, 30 BC between the forces of Octavian and Mark Antony during the Final War of the Roman Republic. Although Antony's side was plagued by desertions, he still managed to narrowly defeat the Roman forces. The desertions continued, however, and, in early August, Octavian launched a second, ultimately successful, invasion of Egypt.

Octavian's Second Attack

Octavian launched his second assault by land from east and west, causing the city to fall without much of a fight. Antony committed suicide following the desertion of his fleet, as did Cleopatra nine days after the battle. Octavian had Caesarion, Cleopatra's son by Julius Caesar, as well as Mark Antony's eldest son, Antyllus, executed. Octavian recognized the value of holding Egypt and had the kingdom annexed as a Roman province. Following the annexation of the kingdom, all Roman officials sent to Egypt were from the equestrian class, and no senator could visit Egypt without direct permission from Octavian.^[1] At the age of thirty-three, Octavian had finally achieved the undisputed control of the Roman world which had been his unwavering ambition through fourteen years of civil war. To this end, he had been responsible for death, destruction, confiscation, and unbroken misery on a scale quite unmatched in all the previous phases of Roman civil conflict over the past century.^[2]

References

General

• Pelling, Christopher (1996). "The triumviral period: Alexandria, 30 B.C.". The Cambridge Ancient History. Volume X: The Augustan Empire, 43 B.C. – A.D. 69 (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 59–64. ISBN 978-0-521-26430-3.

Specific

1. The Romans: From Village to Empire, Mary Boatwright, Daniel Gargola, Richard Talbert(New York: Oxford University Press, 2004)
2. The Romans: From Village to Empire, Mary Boatwright, Daniel Gargola, Richard Talbert(New York: Oxford University Press, 2004 p.276)