Actium destroys Antony's political position

After Actium, roughly nineteen legions and twelve thousand cavalry deserted Antony, stripping away the force that had matched Octavian's army. Without the army, consuls, and senators that had sustained his claim, he became a fugitive rather than a rival Roman leader. When the campaign ended the following year, Antony died by suicide after mistakenly believing Cleopatra dead, and Cleopatra later took her own life. Caesarion and Antony's eldest son were killed, while a younger son was spared because he posed no immediate threat. Octavian's gestures toward Antony's veterans, including allowing some legions to march past Antony's tomb, used clemency to reinforce his political security.