through Armenia into Media Atropatene in the hope of surprising
the enemy. However, having met with a repulse in his siege of the fortress
Phraata (or Praaspa), he was forced to retreat. He was vigorously pursued
by the Parthians, but by skilful generalship managed to conduct the bulk
of his army back to Armenia. Still he lost over 20,000 of his troops, and
his reputation suffered severely from the complete failure of the
undertaking. And so he prepared once more to take the offensive. As he
attributed the failure of the late expedition to the disloyalty of the
king of Armenia, Antony marched against him, treacherously took him
prisoner and occupied his kingdom (34 B. C.). Thereupon he entered into an
alliance with the king of Media Atropatene, a vassal of Parthia, and
formed ambitious projects for the conquest of the eastern provinces of the
empires of Alexander the great and the Seleucids. But these plans could
only be executed with the help of the military resources of Italy and the
western provinces that were now completely in the hands of Octavian. In
view of the jealousy existing between the two triumvirs it was not likely
that Octavian would willingly provide Antony with the means to increase
his power, and so the latter was prepared to resort to force to make good
his claim upon Italy.

*Antony and Cleopatra.* Another factor in the quarrel was Antony's
connection with Cleopatra. While in Antioch in 36 B. C. he openly married
Cleopatra, and in the next year refused his legal wife, Octavia,
permission to join him. This was equivalent to publicly renouncing his
friendship with Octavian. Although it cannot be said that Antony had
become a mere tool of Cleopatra, he was completely won over to her plans
for the future of Egypt; namely, that since Egypt must sooner or later be
incorporated in the Roman empire, this should be brought about by her
union with the ruler of the Romans. Consequently, since her marriage with
Antony she actively supported his ambition to be the successor of Julius
Caesar. Their aims were clearly revealed by a pageant staged in Alexandria
in 34 B. C., in which Antony and Cleopatra appeared as the god Dionysus
and the goddess Isis, seated on golden thrones. In an address to the
assembled public Antony proclaimed Cleopatra "queen of queens," and ruler
of Egypt, Cyprus, Crete and Coele-Syria; joint ruler with her was Ptolemy
Caesarion, the son she had borne to Caesar. The two young sons of Antony