Following Caesar's death, Augustus assembled an army and went to battle with Mark Antony, Caesar's former deputy who saw himself as the conqueror's political heir as well. Augustus marched to Rome after winning his first battle against Antony and was chosen consul, the highest office in the Roman Republic. He then formed the Second Triumvirate, in which he, Antony, and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus agreed to divide Rome's territory among themselves. They linked together to beat Caesar's assassins as one of their first orders of business.
Meanwhile, Antony married
Augustus' sister and Augustus married Antony's stepdaughter to cement the alliance. However, neither the marriage nor the trio lasted. The final break came in 32 B.C. when Augustus used an illicitly obtained copy of Antony's will to rail against him and his high-profile mistress, the Egyptian queen Cleopatra. Augustus blockaded Antony's force off the western coast of Greece during the civil war that ensued. Even though Antony and Cleopatra escaped to Egypt, the majority of their army surrendered, and they both committed suicide as Augustus approached them. To add salt to injury, Augustus ordered the assassination of Antony's heir, as well as a boy Cleopatra had with Caesar.
