Who is the Roman general in Antony and Cleopatra?

The Roman general in Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra is Mark Antony. Based on Plutarch’s Life of Antony, the tragedy dramatizes the final period of Antony’s career, when his political and military power collided with his relationship with Cleopatra VII of Egypt.

Antony was a leading supporter and general of Julius Caesar. After Caesar’s assassination in 44 BC, Antony joined Octavian and Lepidus in the Second Triumvirate. The alliance defeated Caesar’s assassins at Philippi in 42 BC, after which Antony controlled Rome’s eastern territories and became closely connected with Cleopatra.

The play’s political conflict intensifies as Antony’s alliance with Octavian breaks down. Antony marries Octavian’s sister, Octavia, for political reasons, but returns to Cleopatra in Alexandria. Their forces are defeated at the naval Battle of Actium in 31 BC, and both Antony and Cleopatra die by suicide in Egypt in 30 BC.

Octavius is Antony’s principal Roman rival, later known as Augustus. Julius Caesar is an important figure in the background, but he is already dead when most of the play’s central action unfolds.