- The Battle of Philippi (42 BCE), near Kavala, Greece, was the last battle in the Liberators’ civil war (43-42 BCE) fought by the Second Triumvirate.
- It was fought between Octavian and Mark Anthony against Brutus and Cassius.
Date and Location
- 42 BCE near Philippi, modern Kavala in Greece.
The Reason for the Battle
- After the Assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BCE, his assassins, Brutus and Cassius left Italy and took control of the Eastern Provinces of Greece, Turkey and Syria.
- They collected an army of 17 Legions which they marched into Greece. They also controlled the Republican Fleet.
- Octavian and Mark Anthony left the third Triumvir, Marcus Lepidus, in Italy, and took 19 Legions to Greece.
First Battle of Philippi
- In October, the two armies met on the field near Philippi.
- Brutus pushed Octavian’s army back, but Mark Anthony pushed Cassius’ army back, and when a false rumour reached Cassius that Brutus had failed, he committed suicide.
- Brutus then had to rally Cassius’ soldiers and retreat with them to base camp.
- Octavian and Mark Anthony also withdrew their armies back to camp.
- But during the Battle, Brutus’ Republican Fleet which controlled the coast, had destroyed all supplies trying to reach Octavian and Mark Anthony.
- Brutus’ plan was to sit tight and using Sea power, wait until his enemy ran out of supplies. However, as desertions in his own army rose, his officers pleaded with him to attack.
Second Battle of Philippi
- Finally, after three weeks Brutus attacked on October 23rd.
- The Battle incurred very high casualties as Brutus’ army pressed forward using mostly the sword in hand to hand fighting, and not volleys of javelins or arrows. However, Brutus’ army started to be pushed back.
- When Octavian reached Brutus’ camp, Brutus was unable to reform his routed army and had to flee the battlefield with just four legions.
The Outcome
- Brutus committed suicide and the Second Triumvirate was victorious.
- However, Parthia was now intent on gaining influence in the East:
After Philippi, Parthia again attempted to control Syria and Judaea
- In 40 BCE, the General under Brutus, Quintus Labienus, was given a Parthian Army, and took over Syria and invaded Judaea.
- The Roman Client King, Hyrcanus II, was deposed and a Persian Client King, Antigonus, installed in his place.
Asia Minor invaded by Labienus
- Quintus Labienus then invaded eastern Asia Minor, and the East appeared to have fallen back into the Persian Empire.
- Mark Anthony sent his General Ventidius, who reoccupied Turkey, killed Labienus, and expelled the Persian Army from Syria.
- In 38 BCE, the Persian Army invaded again, but was again expelled by Ventidius.
Judaea and Syria restored to Rome
- In 37 BCE, in Judaea, Antigonus was deposed by Herod, the new Roman Client King. Judaea and Syria were both securely back under Roman control.
- However, by 33 BCE, despite several attempts by Mark Anthony and his Army, Armenia and the surrounding region were lost to Parthian control.
Kavala (Philippi), Greece