Editing Mark Antony (section)

===Assassination of Caesar===
{{main|Assassination of Julius Caesar}}

====Ides of March====
Whatever conflicts existed between himself and Caesar, Antony remained faithful to Caesar, ensuring their estrangement did not last long. Antony reunited with Caesar at [[Narbo]] in 45 BC with full reconciliation coming in 44 BC when Antony was elected consul alongside Caesar. Caesar planned a new [[Roman-Parthian Wars|invasion of Parthia]] and desired to leave Antony in Italy to govern Rome in his name. The reconciliation came soon after Antony is said to have rejected an offer from [[Gaius Trebonius]], one of Caesar's generals, to join a conspiracy to assassinate Caesar.<ref>Broughton, p. 299</ref><ref>Bringmann, p. 272</ref> If such an offer was made, Antony made no mention of the matter to Caesar.

[[File:Vincenzo Camuccini - La morte di Cesare.jpg|thumb|right|upright=2|''[[The Death of Julius Caesar (Camuccini)|The Death of Julius Caesar]]'', as depicted by [[Vincenzo Camuccini]]. Caesar was assassinated on the [[Ides of March]] (15 March) 44 BC.]]

Soon after they assumed office together, the [[Lupercalia]] was held on 15 February 44 BC. The festival was held in honor of [[Lupa Capitolina|Lupa]], the she-wolf who suckled the infant orphans [[Romulus and Remus]], the founders of Rome.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tonykline.co.uk/index.php|title=A.S. Kline &#124; Author and Translator|website=tonykline.co.uk}}</ref> The political atmosphere of Rome at the time of the festival was deeply divided. Caesar had by this point centralised almost all political powers into his own hands. He was granted further honors, including a form of semi-official [[Imperial cult (ancient Rome)|cult]], with Antony as his high priest.<ref>Fuller, Chapter 13</ref> Additionally, on 1 January 44 BC, Caesar had been named [[Roman dictator|''dictator perpetuo'']], removing any formal end to his autocratic powers. Caesar's political rivals feared this dictatorship with no end date would transform the Republic into a monarchy, abolishing the centuries of rule by the [[SPQR|senate and people]]. During the festival's activities, Antony publicly offered Caesar a [[diadem]], which Caesar threw off. When Antony placed the diadem in his lap, Caesar ordered the diadem to be placed in the [[Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus]].<ref name="auto">Plutarch, ''Antony'', 12</ref>

When Antony offered Caesar the crown, there had been minor applause but mostly silence from the crowd. When Caesar refused it, however, the crowd was enthusiastic.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Death of Caesar: The Story of History's Most Famous Assassination|last=Strauss |first=Barry |year=2016 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1451668810 |pages=62}}</ref> The event presented a powerful message: a diadem was a symbol of a king. By refusing it, Caesar demonstrated he had no intention of making himself king. Antony's motive for such actions is not clear and it is unknown if he acted with Caesar's prior approval or on his own.<ref name="auto"/> While commonly described as an event that was "scripted", who was central to planning it is unclear. One argument is that Antony moved forward with the gesture on his own accord, possibly to embarrass or flatter Caesar. A later claim was that he was actually trying to convince Caesar not to go through with a kingship. By other accounts, it was Caesar's enemies who planned the incident as a way to frame him, with it being claimed two enemies of Caesar approached him to argue he should take the diadem. Another theory, one especially popular at the time, was that Caesar himself had orchestrated the event to test public support on him becoming king.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Death of Caesar: The Story of History's Most Famous Assassination|last=Strauss |first=Barry |year=2016 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1451668810 |pages=61–63}}</ref>

A group of senators resolved to kill Caesar to prevent him from establishing a monarchy. Chief among them were [[Marcus Junius Brutus]] and [[Gaius Cassius Longinus]]. Although Cassius was "the moving spirit" in the plot, winning over the chief assassins to the cause of [[tyrannicide]], Brutus, with his family's history of deposing Rome's kings, became their leader.<ref>Broughton, p. 320</ref> [[Cicero]], though not personally involved in the conspiracy, later claimed Antony's actions sealed Caesar's fate as such an obvious display of Caesar's preeminence motivated them to act.<ref>Cicero, ''2nd Philippic'', 34</ref> Originally, the conspirators had planned to eliminate not only Caesar but also many of his supporters, including Antony, but Brutus rejected the proposal, limiting the conspiracy to Caesar alone.<ref>[[Velleius Paterculus]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Velleius_Paterculus/2B*.html#58 2.58.5] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220731043323/https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Velleius_Paterculus/2B%2A.html#58 |date=31 July 2022 }}; [[Plutarch]], ''Brutus'', [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Brutus*.html#18 18.2–6] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220731043834/https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Brutus%2A.html#18 |date=31 July 2022 }}.</ref> With Caesar preparing to depart for [[Parthia]] in late March, the conspirators prepared to act when Caesar appeared for the senate meeting on the [[Ides of March]] (15 March).

Antony also went with Caesar, but was waylaid at the door of the [[Theatre of Pompey]] by Trebonius and was distracted from aiding Caesar. According to the Greek historian [[Plutarch]], as Caesar arrived at the senate, [[Lucius Tillius Cimber]] presented him with a petition to recall his exiled brother.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://classics.mit.edu/Plutarch/m_brutus.html|title=The Internet Classics Archive &#124; Marcus Brutus by Plutarch|website=classics.mit.edu|access-date=18 March 2014|archive-date=7 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111207184859/http://classics.mit.edu/Plutarch/m_brutus.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The other conspirators crowded round to offer their support. Within moments, the group of five conspirators stabbed Caesar one by one. Caesar attempted to get away, but, being drenched by blood, he tripped and fell. According to Roman historian [[Eutropius (historian)|Eutropius]], around 60 or more men participated in the assassination. Caesar was stabbed 23 times and died from the blood loss attributable to multiple stab wounds.<ref>Woolf{{page needed|date=May 2021}}</ref><ref>Suetonius, ''Julius'', c. 82.</ref>

====Leader of the Caesarians====
In the turmoil surrounding the assassination, Antony escaped Rome dressed as a slave, fearing Caesar's death would be the start of a bloodbath among his supporters. When this did not occur, he soon returned to Rome. The conspirators, who styled themselves the ''liberatores'' ("liberators"), had barricaded themselves on the [[Capitoline hill]]. Although they believed Caesar's death would restore the Republic, Caesar had been immensely popular with the [[Plebeians|Roman middle and lower classes]], who became enraged upon learning a small group of aristocrats had killed their champion.

[[File:Augustus Bevilacqua Glyptothek Munich 317.jpg|thumb|left|225px|[[Octavian]], [[Julius Caesar]]'s adopted son. Antony would struggle with Octavian for leadership of the Caesarians after Caesar's assassination.]]Antony, as the sole consul, soon took the initiative and seized the state treasury. [[Calpurnia (wife of Caesar)|Calpurnia]], Caesar's widow, presented him with Caesar's personal papers and custody of his extensive property, clearly marking him as Caesar's heir and leader of the Caesarians.<ref>David, 2000, p. 246</ref> Caesar's master of horse [[Marcus Aemilius Lepidus]] marched over 6,000 troops into Rome on 16 March to restore order and intimidate the ''liberatores''. Lepidus wanted to storm the Capitol, but Antony preferred a peaceful solution as a majority of both the ''liberatores'' and Caesar's own supporters preferred a settlement over renewed civil war.<ref>Jallet-Huant, 2009, p. 64</ref> On 17 March, at Antony's arrangement, the senate met to discuss a compromise, which, due to the presence of Caesar's veterans in the city, was quickly reached. Caesar's assassins would be pardoned of their crimes and, in return, all of Caesar's actions would be ratified.<ref>Plutarch, ''Antony'', 14</ref> In particular, the offices assigned to both Brutus and Cassius by Caesar were likewise ratified. Antony also agreed to accept the appointment of his rival Dolabella as his consular colleague to replace Caesar.<ref>Bramstedt, 2004, p. 143</ref> This compromise was a great success for Antony, who managed to simultaneously appease Caesar's veterans, reconcile the senate majority, and appear to the ''liberatores'' as their partner.<ref>Hinard, 2000, 827</ref>

On 19 March, Caesar's will was opened and read. In it, Caesar posthumously adopted his great-nephew [[Augustus|Gaius Octavius]] and named him his principal heir. Then only nineteen years old and stationed with Caesar's army in Macedonia, the youth became a member of Caesar's [[gens Julia]] with the name "Gaius Julius Caesar"; for clarity, it is historical convention to call him Octavian. Though not the chief beneficiary, Antony did receive some bequests.<ref>Hinard, 2000, p. 832</ref>

[[File:Marc Antony's Oration at Caesar's Funeral by George Edward Robertson.jpg|thumb|right|upright=2|"Marc Antony's Oration at Caesar's Funeral" as depicted by [[George Edward Robertson]]. ]]Shortly after the compromise was reached, as a sign of good faith, Brutus, against the advice of Cassius and Cicero, agreed Caesar would be given a public funeral and his will would be validated. Caesar's funeral was held on 20 March. Antony, as Caesar's faithful lieutenant and incumbent consul, was chosen to preside over the ceremony and to recite a [[eulogy]]. In a [[demagogic]] speech, he enumerated the deeds of Caesar and, publicly reading his will, detailed the donations Caesar had left to the Roman people. Antony then seized the blood-stained [[toga]] from Caesar's body and presented it to the crowd. Worked into a fury by the bloody spectacle, the assembly turned into a [[riot]]. Several buildings in the [[Roman Forum|Forum]] and some houses of the conspirators were burned to the ground. Panicked, many of the conspirators fled Italy.<ref>Eck (2003), p. 10</ref> Under the pretext of not being able to guarantee their safety, Antony relieved Brutus and Cassius of their judicial duties in Rome and instead assigned them responsibility for procuring wheat for Rome from Sicily and Asia. Such an assignment, in addition to being unworthy of their rank, would have kept them far from Rome and shifted the balance towards Antony. Refusing such secondary duties, the two traveled to Greece instead. Additionally, Cleopatra left Rome to return to Egypt.

Despite the provisions of Caesar's will, Antony proceeded to act as leader of the Caesarians, including appropriating for himself a portion of Caesar's fortune rightfully belonging to Octavian. Antony enacted the ''[[lex Antonia]]'', which formally abolished the dictatorship, in an attempt to consolidate his support among those who opposed Caesar's dictatorial rule. He also enacted a number of laws he purported to have found in Caesar's papers to ensure his popularity with Caesar's veterans, particularly by providing [[land grants]] to them. Lepidus, with Antony's support, was elected [[pontifex maximus]], succeeding Caesar. To solidify the alliance between Antony and Lepidus, Antony's daughter [[Antonia (wife of Pythodoros)|Antonia Prima]] was engaged to [[Marcus Aemilius Lepidus Minor|Lepidus' homonymous son]]. Surrounding himself with a bodyguard of over six thousand of Caesar's veterans, Antony presented himself as Caesar's true successor, largely ignoring Octavian.<ref>Hinard, 2000, p. 248</ref>

====First conflict with Octavian====
Octavian arrived in Rome in May to claim his inheritance. Although Antony had amassed political support, Octavian still had opportunity to rival him as the leading member of the Caesarian faction. The senate increasingly viewed Antony as a new tyrant; Antony had also lost the support of many supporters of Caesar when he opposed the motion to elevate Caesar to divine status.<ref>Eck, 2003, p. 11.</ref> When Antony refused to relinquish Caesar's vast fortune to him, Octavian borrowed heavily to fulfill the bequests in Caesar's will to the Roman people and to his veterans, as well as to establish his own bodyguard of veterans.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Boatwright |first=Mary |title=The Romans From Village to Empire |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-0199730575 |location=New York |pages=272–273}}</ref> This earned him the support of Caesarian sympathizers who hoped to use him as a means of eliminating Antony.<ref>Syme, 1939, pp. 114–120.</ref> The senate, and Cicero in particular, viewed Antony as the greater danger of the two. By summer 44&nbsp;BC, Antony was in a difficult political position: he could either denounce the ''liberatores'' as murderers and alienate the senate or he could maintain his support for the compromise and risk betraying Caesar's legacy, strengthening Octavian's position. In either case, his situation as ruler of Rome would be weakened. Roman historian [[Cassius Dio]] later recorded that while Antony, as consul, maintained the advantage in the relationship, the general affection of the Roman people was shifting to Octavian due to his status as Caesar's son.<ref>Dio Cassius, ''Roman History'', XLV, 11</ref><ref>Bleicken, 1998, p. 58</ref>

[[File:MarcusAntoniusCVibiusVarus.jpg|thumb|A [[denarius]] of Marcus Antonius struck in 42 BC|311x311px]]
Supporting the senatorial faction against Antony, Octavian, in September 44 BC, encouraged the eminent senator [[Marcus Tullius Cicero]] to attack Antony in a [[Philippicae|series of speeches]] portraying him as a threat to the republic.<ref>Chisholm, 1981, p. 26.</ref><ref>Rowell, 1962, p. 30</ref> Risk of civil war between Antony and Octavian grew. Octavian continued to recruit Caesar's veterans to his side, away from Antony, with two of Antony's legions defecting in November 44 BC. At that time, Octavian, only a [[privatus|private citizen]], lacked legal authority to command the Republic's armies, making his command illegal. With popular opinion in Rome turning against him and his consular term nearing its end, Antony attempted to secure a favorable military assignment to secure an army to protect himself. The senate, as was custom, assigned Antony and Dolabella the provinces of [[Roman Macedonia|Macedonia]] and [[Roman Syria|Syria]], respectively, to govern in 43 BC after their consular terms expired. Antony, however, objected to the assignment, preferring to govern [[Cisalpine Gaul]] which was already controlled by [[Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus]], one of Caesar's assassins.<ref>Eck 2003, pp. 11–12.</ref><ref>Rowell, 1962, p. 21</ref> When Decimus refused to surrender his province, Antony marched north in December 44&nbsp;BC with his remaining soldiers to take the province by force, besieging Decimus at [[Mutina]].<ref>Rowell, 1962, p. 24</ref> The senate, led by a fiery Cicero, denounced Antony's actions and declared him an [[enemy of the state]].

Ratifying Octavian's extraordinary command on 1 January 43 BC, the senate dispatched him along with consuls [[Hirtius]] and [[Gaius Vibius Pansa Caetronianus|Pansa]] to [[War of Mutina|defeat Antony]] and his exhausted five legions.<ref>Eck, 2003, p. 12</ref><ref>Syme, 1939, p. 167</ref> Antony's forces were defeated at the [[Battle of Mutina]] in April 43 BC, forcing Antony to retreat to [[Transalpine Gaul]]. Both consuls were killed, however, leaving Octavian in sole command of their armies, some eight legions.<ref>Syme, 1939, pp. 173–174</ref><ref>Scullard, 1982, p. 157.</ref>