He wasn’t really Julius Caesar’s right-hand man
You've probably seen references to Mark Antony as Caesar's right-hand man if you've read anything at all about him. While he enjoyed bragging about this alleged fact, the truth was quite different. One of the interesting facts about Mark Antony we gathered, he wasn’t really Julius Caesar’s right-hand man. Although he was also a good administrator and politician, Antony's greatest strength was in the military, where he excelled as a commander. Loyalty, however, was not one of his qualities.
While serving Caesar, Antony was an excellent military leader, but his master was never able to fully trust him because of his poor performance as an administrator. While Caesar was abroad in Egypt, Antony was appointed governor of Italy, but he made such a mess of the job that his master returned home to remove him from office.
The possibility that Titus Labienus served as Caesar's genuine right-hand man is growing. One of his top lieutenants in Gaul, Labienus, carried out his duties as the Tribune of the Plebs in a way that delighted his master. In the capacity of administrator, Antony was completely ineffective, whereas Labienus thrived and rose to prominence as a powerful political figure. In the end, Labienus turned on Caesar by fighting for Pompey in the Civil War. Caesar learnt his lesson and never again put such a great deal of faith in one of his troops. He made sure other people held key posts going forward, but none had the notoriety Labienus had.
The way Antony treated his commander changed, and Caesar swiftly started to have doubts about his aide. Perhaps for this reason, Antony never informed Caesar that he had been contacted by spies. He declined to participate in the assassination of Caesar, yet his inactivity condemned his master to death. Antony may not have taken action since he knew he would become the head of the Caesarian faction given that he would be the most senior lieutenant still alive in the case of Caesar's demise and that his leader's factions would undoubtedly react.
