ABSTRACT
Antonius had many good qualities as a soldier and politician. His shrewdness and diplomacy helped to avoid serious trouble in the hours and days immediately following Caesar's assassination. Antonius hastened north and trapped Decimus Brutus in Mutina. The three enemy armies finally forced Antonius to abandon the siege of Mutina but could not prevent his retreat across the Alps into southern Gaul. In 37 BC, Antonius sent another of his commanders to pacify Armenia, on Parthia's northern flank. Antonius' strengthened ties to Cleopatra in 37 had greatly bolstered his position in the reorganized East as he prepared for his major invasion of Parthia. While Octavia dutifully looked after his interests in Rome, Antonius spent the winter of 33 and 32 with Cleopatra in Ephesus to reinforce his position in the East. After 30 BC, the institutional forms of the Roman Republic, with its diffusion of powers among the citizen assemblies, collegiate magistracies, and senate of aristocratic equals, would still remain.
