The War That Made the Roman Empire: Antony, Cleopatra, and Octavian at Actium

(Paperback)

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A splendid (The Wall Street Journal) account of one of historys most important and yet little-known wars, the campaign culminating in the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, whose outcome determined the future of the Roman Empire.

Following Caesars assassination and Mark Antonys defeat of the conspirators who killed Caesar, two powerful men remained in RomeAntony and Caesars chosen heir, young Octavian, the future Augustus. When Antony fell in love with the most powerful woman in the world, Egypts ruler Cleopatra, and thwarted Octavians ambition to rule the empire, another civil war broke out. In 31 BC one of the largest naval battles in the ancient world took placemore than 600 ships, almost 200,000 men, and one womanthe Battle of Actium. Octavian prevailed over Antony and Cleopatra, who subsequently killed themselves.

The Battle of Actium had great consequences for the empire. Had Antony and Cleopatra won, the empires capital might have moved from Rome to Alexandria, Cleopatras capital, and Latin might have become the empires second language after Greek, which was spoken throughout the eastern Mediterranean, including Egypt.

In this superbly recounted (The National Review) history, Barry Strauss, ancient history authority, describes this consequential battle with the drama and expertise that it deserves. The War That Made the Roman Empire is essential history that features three of the greatest figures of the ancient world.

Reviews

Actium was one of the most important battles in history, and Barry Strauss brings this stunning maritime collision vividly to life. -- Admiral James Stavridis, USN (Ret) 16th Supreme Allied Commander at NATO and author of Sea Power: The History and Geopolitics of the World's Oceans
"The victory at Actium, Mr. Strauss argues in this splendid book, allowed Augustus to build an empire that lasted for nearly 500 years. The price was the destruction of the man who dared to oppose him, along with the woman for whom he had
risked everything." -- Arthur Herman * The Wall Street Journal *
"Barry Strauss has the rare ability of being able to bring ancient history to life in a way that is both profoundly learned and highly readable. . . . [Although ] most readers will know the outcome of one of historys most famous battles, Strauss somehow manages to maintain the suspense and tension until its end. . . . Superbly recounted." -- Andrew Roberts * The National Review *
[Strauss] is both a first-rate scholar who knows and understands his subject thoroughly and a fluent communicator. . . . Asplendid account of those dramatic events and people who may not have been all that nice but were certainly never dull. -- Adrian Goldsworthy * The New Criterion *
"A master historian of the ancient worlds wars turns his attention to the battle that laid the foundations for the Roman Empire. . . . Few historians can bring such a battle alive better than Strauss. . . . It must now be considered the most up-to-date history of its subject." * Kirkus Reviews *
"A grandiose love affair, doomed lovers, a trio of titanic rivals, deadly political intrigue, culminating in a seismic battle at seahistorian Barry Strauss is the perfect narrator for this epic episode in ancient empire-building." -- Adrienne Mayor, author of Gods and Robots: Myths, Machines, and Ancient Dreams of Technology
"Barry Strauss pulls off the historians hat trick with his new book,The War That Made the Roman Empire. One, he tells the amazing true story as it truly happened; two, he brings the true historical characters vividly to life; and three, he puts it all within the Big Picture and tells us what it means.You feelas if youre present at the events as they unfold, yet at the same time youre getting the global contour and context of this drama as it affects, and has affected, our own time.The War That Made the Roman Empireis Strauss at the top of his game." -- Steven Pressfield, bestselling author of Gates of Fire and A Man at Arms

Author Bio

Barry Strauss is a professor of history and classics at Cornell University, The Corliss Page Dean Fellow at the Hoover Institution, and a leading expert on ancient military history. He has written or edited several books, includingThe Battle of Salamis,The Trojan War,The Spartacus War,Masters of Command,The Death of Caesar, andTen Caesars. Visit BarryStrauss.com.