The Second Triumverate

After Julius Caesar was murdered there were basically three groups vying for power. The Republicans lead by Brutus and Cassius were opposed by Mark Antony who saw himself as the political inheritor from Caesar, and the teenager Octavian the who had just been named in Caesars will as his adopted son and inheritor of this estate. All three powers fought against one at different times until Mark Antony and Octavian finally forged an alliance to defeat the Republicans to avenge Caesars murder and then form the second triumvirate (with Lepidus who was by far the lesser of the three). After a lot of maneuvering and plots Antony and Octavian eventually decided to really try and form an alliance to rule Rome and Mark Antony married Octavian’s sister Octavia. It was a lavish wedding and Antony had a coin struck with his and his new wife’s heads. This is the first time that we know about where a woman appeared on a Roman coin.

(Book – Augustus: The Life of Rome’s First Emperor – Anthony Everitt)

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