This Day in Ancient History - September 2:
At Actium, Octavian (the future Emperor Augustus), supported by his military leader Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, defeated his fairly-matched rival, Mark Antony, supported by the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra, on September 2, 31 B.C. Later, Cleopatra killed herself. Rome took over Egypt. Octavian and Antony had been two of the three Romans of the second triumvirate. The third man, Lepidus, had been retired earlier. With the defeat of Antony, Octavian emerged as the top man of the Roman Empire, or princeps in Latin. Our word 'prince' comes from it.
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Thanks to the Egyptian spoils of war, Rome’s interest rate went from 12% to 4% from all the new money Augustus put into circulation, business boomed, and infrastructure was added.
the descendants of the romans who ousted the macedonians from greece still live near actium. They also still speak the language their ancestors spoke. They call themselves the romagnae (romainye). I have been compiling a study on their language and culture. There is even a saying among them when someone looks sad – you look like you have just lost all of your ships. Reminds me of the losing side in the battle of actium watching from the hills overlooking the action.