7 The 100 Most Influential World Leaders of All Time 7Mark Antony eventually became the heir apparent of
Caesar’s authority—or so it seemed. Caesar’s great-
nephew and personal heir, Octavian, was a sickly boy
who seemed easily controlled. Antony, now controller of
Rome’s eastern territories, summoned Cleopatra to
Tarsus, in Asia Minor, to answer charges that she had
aided his enemies in the aftermath of Caesar’s assassina-
tion. She entered the city by sailing up the Cydnus River
in a barge while dressed as the goddess Isis. Antony, who
equated himself with the god Dionysus, was captivated.
Forgetting his wife, Fulvia, Antony returned to Alexandria
with Cleopatra, where they formed a society of “inimi-
table livers,” whose members lived what some historians
have interpreted as a life of debauchery and folly and
others have interpreted as lives dedicated to the cult of
the mystical god Dionysus.
In 40 Cleopatra gave birth to twins, whom she named
Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene. Antony had
already left Alexandria to return to Italy, where he was
forced to conclude a temporary settlement with Octavian,
who, during Antony’s absence, had become more of a
threat. As part of this settlement, he married Octavian’s
sister, Octavia (Fulvia having died). Three years later
Antony was convinced that he and Octavian could never
come to terms. His marriage to Octavia now an irrele-
vance, he returned to the east and reunited with Cleopatra.
Antony needed Cleopatra’s financial support for a military
campaign in Parthia. In return, Cleopatra requested the
recovery of much of Egypt’s eastern empire, including
large portions of Syria and Lebanon, and even the rich bal-
sam groves of Jericho.
The Parthian campaign was a costly failure.
Nevertheless, in 34, Antony celebrated a triumphant
return to Alexandria, followed by a celebration known