The End for Antony
Marcus Agrippa set up a naval blockade around Antony’s camp at Actium and waited for famine, plague, desertions, and infighting wreak their havoc. Antony and Cleopatra decided to retreat, but the heavier ships got entangled with Agrippa’s while their lighter ships escaped. With no commander, those ships were eventually forced to surrender, while Antony and Cleopatra returned to Egypt. This victory was so complete that Antony was permanently defeated and there was no immediate need to chase him down. Octavian turned his attention instead to Italy, where legions were mutinying over land and money.

Finally, in 30 Octavian went to Egpyt- he needed money. Antony’s troops hardly resisted and Alexandria surrendered. Antony committed suicide, and a few days later Cleopatra did as well, rather than be used in Octavian’s triumphal parade. Octavian took Egypt under control as his own province. No Senator was allowed to enter it without his express permission, and it became the breadbasket of the Empire. Octavian was the sole ruler of the empire now.

The Death of the Republic
On the outside, the Republic still looked the same. The offices of consul, aedile, praetor, and quaestor still stood, the citizen assemblies still met and the tribunes still held some power, but in fact all the power was concentrated in the hands of Octavian. The fall in retrospect should not be seen as surprising, and it could only have been avoided early on by modifying the way that the government operate. Competition had increased to intolerable levels due to the increase in the number of lower positions such as aedileships while the number of consuls each year remained the same, and Sulla and Caesar had both already proven that ambitious military men could seize control of the Republic. Therefore, the drive for glory that had led to the great Roman expansion during the early years was turned inward upon itself as the best generals fought for the conquest of their own state.