The Mediterranean world was not big enough for both Octavian and Marc Antony. Political allies in the Second Triumvirate, the two most powerful Romans had broken up with Octavian taking the western half of the Roman Empire and Antony taking the east. Antony made his capital Alexandria, Egypt where he fell under the seductive powers of Cleopatra. Things came to a head in 31 B.C. when the two leaders met off the coast of Greece. Octavian’s fleet blockaded Antony’s. On Sept. 2, Marc Antony tried to break out. It was a desperation move because the morale in his fleet and army was low. He had 250 galleys and Octavian had 400. Antony’s ships were larger and basically ram-proof. Octavian’s were smaller, but more maneuverable. His big advantage was his best friend Marcus Agrippa. Octavian was not a great military leader, but Agrippa was. And a military innovator. In 36 B.C., Agrippa oversaw the invention of the harpax. It was a combination harpoon/grappling hook that was fired by a ballista. The “grabber” was attached to a rope. It would grapple an enemy ship and then the ship could be reeled in like a fish. It could then be boarded. (The idea was similar to the corvus Rome used to win the First Punic War.) It helped him win the Battle of Naulochus. At Actium, it was the deciding factor. As it became apparent that Octavian was winning, Cleopatra escaped with her fleet. When Marc Antony saw his lover leaving, he abandoned his fleet to chase her. Naturally, his remaining ships lost any desire to fight on. Octavian was now sole ruler of the Empire and soon would be renamed Augustus. Antony and Cleopatra ended up back in Alexandria where they committed suicide.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpax
https://weaponsandwarfare.com/2016/01/17/the-harpax/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Actium
0 Comments