David Keys: Secrets of horrific battle with Cleopatra that gave birth to Roman Empire
Archaeologists and
historians are shedding extraordinary new light on one of the most important
events in human history – the horrific battle which gave birth to the Roman Empire. A detailed study of a
unique victory monument, overlooking the sea in northwest Greece, is revealing some
of the long-lost secrets of that crucial military engagement – a great sea
battle, fought between Julius Caesar’s
adoptive son and heir, Octavian (who became Rome’s first emperor) and Egypt’s
Queen
Cleopatra(and her Roman lover, Mark Antony). The remains of the victory monument still survive adjacent to Nicopolis – the largest ancient ruined city in Greece.
Cleopatra(and her Roman lover, Mark Antony). The remains of the victory monument still survive adjacent to Nicopolis – the largest ancient ruined city in Greece.
Octavian (who received
the title Augustus when he became Rome’s first emperor) won that crucial naval
clash of arms in 31BC – and, now, more than 2,000 years later, detailed
analysis of his great victory monument, overlooking the battle site near the
ancient Greek religious sanctuary of Actium, is helping scholars to more fully
understand how his world-changing victory was achieved. It’s always been
thought that many of Cleopatra and Mark Antony’s ships were bigger than
Octavian’s – and were therefore less manoeuvrable.
But now crucial
archaeological data obtained from the victory monument excavations over recent
years has provided the first archaeological confirmation that some of Cleopatra
and Mark Antony’s ships were indeed unusually large. This would have given
Octavian – who had smaller, faster vessels – a history-changing
advantage. The evidence is also allowing archaeologists to begin to work out
the military rationale behind Octavian’s battle tactics. The crucial data is
from a series of around 35 niches set into the front of Octavian’s great
victory monument. It’s known, in part from a first century AD Roman poem,
that the niches were made to hold the great bronze marine battering rams from
some of Mark Antony and Cleopatra’s most important warships.
Octavian captured 350
of their vessels – and chose the rams of just 35 of them as war trophies for
permanent display in his monument to his enemies’ defeat. The analysis of the
niches (some of which were only excavated in the past two years) has revealed
that they are all of different dimensions and had therefore been made to hold
specific enemy rams of different shapes and sizes... read more:
