Antonius and the Reasons for the Failure of his Policies in the East

A Historical Study

Abstract

This study which is entitled (Antonius and the Reasons for the Failure of his Policies in the East) deals with the Roman leader Antonius taking control of the eastern part of the Roman state, especially after the division of the Roman states between him, Octavian, and Lepidus within the formation of the triumvirate (tripartite authority). The research is mainly concerned with Antonius's policies in the eastern part of the Roman State, whether related to his military campaigns against the Parthian Kingdom and Armenia, or relevant to the political and military problems that resulted from them. Antonius tried to cover these measures with other diplomatic or military procedures. The Eastern issue was not limited to these policies, but the issue of Egypt, especially its Ptolemaic queen Cleopatra, was one of the important issues if not the most, where his emotional relationship which formed the most prominent topics that relate to the issue of the Roman political and ideological interests. The study attempts to take an analytical and critical approach to these events through Roman sources and modern references. The Books and studies that address the campaigns and policies carried out by the Roman commander were conducted through narrating the events without delving deep into analyzing some of the opinions of Roman historians. Some researchers have examined the context of the events without analyzing or criticizing the opinions of some accounts presented by Roman historians who took the traditional side of the Roman point of view of those events.