Now that war had begun, the forces of Antony and Cleopatra, plus their Roman supporters and a third of the Senate, began to gather at Ephesus. Monarchs arrived from the East, bringing troops and ships with them. Antony and Cleopatra thought they were ready to fight, but problems occurred in the army. Many were discouraged and some fell sick. Some soldiers resented Cleopatra so much, that they formed their own army and joined forces with Octavian. Antony had to do something. Finally Cleopatra convinced him to wait it out and hope for a sea battle.
Shortly after noon on September 2nd, 31 B.C., Octavian met in one of the most famous battles in history, the Battle of Actinium. In this particular battle, Antony had larger ships, but Octavian had more. Cleopatra and her treasure ships stayed in the background the entire battle while Antony's 70 ships attacked. Antony?hips carried sails, a sign that if they should lose, they were going to flee. At the end of the day, the situation worsened. Cleopatra?hips fled towards Egypt. When Antony saw his wife leaving he got discouraged and fled the battle. When he returned to Egypt, he learned that his army had lost the battle. Later, his whole army deserted him. This event made Antony think Cleopatra had betrayed him. Scared that Antony would try to hurt her, she locked herself in her mausoleum and ordered her servants to tell Antony she was dead.
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