Battle of Actium

Octavian's fleet, commanded by Agrippa, confronted the combined naval forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII at Actium. Antony's larger but poorly crewed ships were outmaneuvered by Octavian's lighter, more agile fleet. When Cleopatra's squadron broke through and fled toward Egypt, Antony abandoned his fleet to follow her. The remaining forces surrendered. The victory made Octavian the sole ruler of the Roman world, and Egypt became a Roman province, ending the Ptolemaic dynasty and the last independent kingdom of the ancient Near East.