Battle of Actium

Octavian's fleet, commanded by Marcus Agrippa, defeats the combined naval forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII off the promontory of Actium at the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. When Cleopatra's Egyptian squadron of 60 ships breaks through the center and flees south with the war treasury, Antony abandons his fleet to follow her. The remaining ships surrender or are destroyed within hours, and Antony's 70,000-strong land army capitulates within the week. The decisive engagement ends the Final War of the Roman Republic, eliminates the last challenge to Octavian's supremacy, and sets the stage for his transformation into Augustus — the first Roman Emperor — inaugurating the Pax Romana that would last over two centuries.