- After Julius Caesar's death in 44 BC, civil war broke out between the assassins (republicans like Brutus and Cassius) and the Caesarians, led by Mark Antony and Octavian
- Mark Antony, who was one of the best generals of his age and loved by his men, overcame the last republicans in 42 BC at Philippi, and started to reorganise the eastern half of the Roman empire while Octavian accepted the west.
Relations between the two men:
- Never friendly, but nevertheless worked together
- Mark Antony married Octavian's sister Octavia Minor, but married Cleopatra in Egypt
Declaration of War:
- This was the excuse that Octavian needed to declare war. In previous years he had annexed Dalmatia, which would offer him a land road from Italy and Gaul to the Balkans; and was almost certainly a preliminary to a war against Antony
Initial Plans:
- In 32 BC, Cleopatra and Antony started to sail to the northwest, where they wintered in Ephesus, to proceed to Greece and Epirus
- Antony's plan was to cross to Italy, but his advance was halted by Octavian
- Octavian's army now marched to the south and established a bridgehead at the Gulf of Ambracia, immediately north of the entrance
Numbers Per Side:
- Antony and Cleopatra had 230 vessels and 50,000 sailors. Their army could have been up to 23 legions
- Octavian had about 100 ships and 24 legions
- Agrippa had 300 war galleys
Agrippa manoeuvred to cut off Antony's line of communication and made it difficult to supply his army
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