Marco Antonio (Latin: Marcus Antonius) was a Roman politician and general. He was a key supporter and close associate of Julius Caesar during Caesar's rise to power. After Caesar's assassination, Antony, alongside Octavian (later known as Augustus) and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, formed the Second Triumvirate to defeat Caesar's assassins and divide the Roman Republic's territories.
Antony's political and military career was marked by his ambitious nature and his legendary relationship with Cleopatra VII, the Ptolemaic queen of Egypt. This alliance, and his growing independence from Rome, led to a final civil war against Octavian. Antony and Cleopatra's forces were decisively defeated by Octavian at the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE, leading to their suicides and the end of the Roman Republic.
