g a landing in Italy presented itself and both the fleet and
the army went into winter quarters in the gulf of Ambracia (32-1 B. C.).
In the spring of 31 B. C. Octavian with 80,000 men and 400 warships
crossed over to Epirus and took up a position facing his opponents who had
taken their station in the bay of Actium at the entrance to the gulf of
Ambracia. His most capable general was Agrippa. Owing to discord which had
arisen between Cleopatra and his Roman officers, Antony remained inactive
while detachments of Octavian's forces won over important points in
Greece. Antony began to suffer from a shortage of supplies and some of his
influential followers deserted to the opposite camp. At length he risked a
naval battle, in the course of which Cleopatra and the Egyptian squadron
set sail for Egypt and Antony followed her. His fleet was defeated and his
army, which attempted to retreat to Macedonia, was forced to surrender.
There is little doubt that Cleopatra had for some time been contemplating
treachery to Antony, and her desertion was probably based on the
calculation that if Octavian should prove victorious she would be able to
claim credit for her services, while if Antony should be the victor, she
was confident of obtaining pardon for her conduct. Probably she did not
anticipate that Antony would join her in flight. At any rate, when Antony
abandoned his still undefeated fleet and army he sealed both his fate and
hers. The victor advanced slowly eastwards and in the summer of 30 B. C.
began his invasion of Egypt. Antony's attempts at defense were unavailing;
his troops went over to Octavian who occupied Alexandria. In despair he
committed suicide. For a time Cleopatra, who had frustrated Antony's last
attempt at resistance, hoped to win over Octavian as she had won Caesar
and Antony, so that she might save at least Egypt for her dynasty. But
finding her efforts unavailing, she poisoned herself rather than grace
Octavian's triumph. The kingdom of Egypt was added to the Roman empire,
not as a province but as part of an estate to be directly administered by
the ruler of the Roman world who took his place as the heir of the
Pharaohs and the Ptolemies. The treasures of Egypt reimbursed Octavian for
the expenses of his late campaigns. After reestablishing the old provinces
and client kingdoms in the East, Octavian returned to Rome in 29 B. C.,
where he celebrated a three-day triumph over the non-Roman peoples of
Europe, Asi