by Peake, R. W.
Author’s Note
What would become the second part of this portion of Titus' story was essentially just the second half of what is now Marching With Caesar-Antony and Cleopatra: Part I-Antony, until neither my editor nor my group of advance readers could find a part of the book they thought could be excluded, except for one minor episode in Parthia. Naturally, as the author I'm not very objective in such matters, so I had to disqualify myself. Consequently, it's somewhat difficult for me to view these Historical Notes as a separate piece and not just a continuation of the notes I wrote for what is now Part I-Antony.
However, this second part is much more focused on Cleopatra, and her influence on Marcus Antonius, so there are a couple of points I would like to make concerning how historically accurate this might be.
In terms of the events that the star-crossed lovers engineered, participated in or were victims of circumstance, there is a substantial record that has been accepted as historical fact. As in all cases such as this, it's less that we absolutely believe the events occurred as the surviving record indicates than it is that to date nothing has been found that would refute the commonly accepted view. For the most part, Cleopatra's physical presence at the various locations in the book hews as close to the record as I can get. Where matters get complicated is in trying to discern fact from fiction about Cleopatra, the woman and queen. It's a truism that history is written by the winners, but I'm inclined to argue that Octavian's smear campaign against Cleopatra still ranks as the most successful in history. The Cleopatra of the "historical record" is a figure that is viewed through the lens that was ground by Octavian and his supporters, and I don't think any facet of her life was left untouched.
That makes my goal of historical accuracy somewhat difficult, and I confess that I might have chosen the easy way out in Titus' adoption of at least a partial view of Cleopatra as orchestrated by the Princeps. But I do have some sympathy for Cleopatra's plight as the ruler of a much weaker country, trying desperately to maintain at least a semblance of autonomy from Rome, and how incredibly demanding and dangerous such a balancing act might have been. Perhaps it's also because I was raised by a single mom that I hold a soft spot in my heart for the Egyptian queen and Pharaoh, looking for a way to protect her child. Of all the fascinating "what-ifs", one that intrigues me a great deal is what a world with a fully grown son of Caesar would have looked like. Ultimately, however, I do believe that Cleopatra wasn't content with coexistence with Rome, and that she harbored her own ambitions in regards to seeing Egypt in the ascendance again. Because of that, she is ultimately going to be viewed as an enemy by a man like Titus Pullus, who is Roman through and through.
Finally, there is the topic of the 10th Legion's "betrayal" of Octavian by supposedly choosing to march for Antonius. And just looking at the historical record, it would certainly seem that the 10th betrayed Octavian, if only because of his attitude and treatment of the Legion after Actium. At that point in time, the 10th Legion was arguably the best known and most celebrated of the Legions of Rome, and the name of the 10th Equestris was undoubtedly worth some sort of advantage against any potential enemies. Yet Octavian disbanded the 10th Equestris, and it was never referred to in this manner again, at least in the records that we have found. So clearly they did something to deserve his censure? I don't believe this, for the simple reason that the more I have learned about Octavian, particularly in this, the early stages of a long career, the less I admire the man. He clearly had a vindictive, petty streak that he indulged on numerous occasions, and I believe that timing also had something to do with his actions. He had just returned from Egypt, where he had been outsmarted by Cleopatra, who he clearly despised. For someone with as much pride as Octavian, who always believed, because he usually was, the smartest guy in the room, that had to enrage him. More than anything, however, is that it would be next to impossible to convince me that when the 10th, along with all the other Legions, were divided up between the victors of Philippi, the men of the Legions were asked their opinion about who they wanted to serve with and where they wanted to go. No, I am convinced that the respective Primi Pili of each Legion were given orders, that they saluted and replied with the only response that would have been acceptable, a simple "Yes sir."
When conducting my research, I never found any real description or explanation of what happened at Actium as far as which Legions boarded ships and which didn't. Titus' leadership of the 10th Legion into a mutiny against Marcus Antonius is, of course, fictional. However, I would like to think that if it's not likely to be similar to what actually took place, it is at the very least plausible. For whatever reason, the evidence suggests that the 10th Equestris that had been part of Antonius' army didn't board those ships that escaped Actium and ultimately sailed to Alexandria for the final showdown. Hopefully you like my version of how it happened as much as I do!
