Enrich Battle of Actium: fix duplicate title, add Background section, harpax tactic, Agrippa's full name, specific death dates, Caesarion's fate, Cassius Dio footnote

battles/battle-of-actium.md

@@ -1,8 +1,6 @@
 <!-- factbase:450ee0 -->
 # Battle of Actium
 
-# Battle of Actium
-
 ## Overview
 The Battle of Actium (31 BCE) was the decisive naval engagement in which Octavian (later Augustus) defeated the combined forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII, ending the Roman Republic's civil wars and paving the way for the Roman Empire. @t[=31 BCE]
 
@@ -10,23 +8,32 @@ The Battle of Actium (31 BCE) was the decisive naval engagement in which Octavia
 - Date: 2 September 31 BCE @t[=31 BCE]
 - Location: Ionian Sea, near Actium (western Greece)
 - Belligerents: Octavian vs. Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII
-- Commanders: Agrippa (for Octavian), Antony and Cleopatra
+- Commanders: Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (for Octavian), Antony and Cleopatra
 - Result: Decisive victory for Octavian [^1]
 
+## Background
+The battle was the culmination of over a decade of rivalry between Octavian and Antony following the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BCE and the fracture of the Second Triumvirate (43–33 BCE). Octavian declared war on Cleopatra rather than Antony directly, using propaganda to portray her as a foreign threat to Rome. Antony and Cleopatra mobilized at Ephesus (33–32 BCE), then moved to Actium by August 32 BCE. Cleopatra contributed 20,000 talents to the war chest. [^3]
+
 ## The Battle
-- Octavian's fleet: ~400 ships; Antony's fleet: ~230 warships + 60 Egyptian ships
+- Octavian's forces: ~400 ships (light Liburnian vessels) + 80,000 infantry, 12,000 cavalry; Antony's forces: ~480 ships (heavy quinqueremes) + ~60,000–63,000 infantry [^3]
+- Agrippa seized Methone and Leucas in early 31 BCE, cutting off Antony's Egyptian supply lines before the main engagement
 - Antony's forces were weakened by desertion and disease during a prolonged blockade
-- Cleopatra's squadron broke through and fled; Antony followed
-- Remaining fleet surrendered; Antony's legions defected to Octavian
+- Agrippa's Liburnians used the *harpax* — an iron-encased grappling harpoon fired by catapult — to immobilize Antony's larger, slower warships
+- Cleopatra's squadron broke through and fled with the war chests; Antony followed with ~40 ships
+- Remaining fleet surrendered the next morning; Antony's legions defected to Octavian
 
 ## Aftermath
-- Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide in Alexandria (30 BCE) @t[=30 BCE]
-- Egypt became a Roman province (30 BCE) @t[=30 BCE]
+- Antony stabbed himself on 1 August 30 BCE and died in Cleopatra's arms in Alexandria @t[=30 BCE]
+- Cleopatra killed herself on 30 August 30 BCE rather than be paraded in Octavian's triumph @t[=30 BCE] [^1]
+- Octavian ordered the execution of Caesarion (son of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra) [^3]
+- Cleopatra's three children by Antony were taken to Rome and later raised by Octavia
+- Egypt became a Roman province (30 BCE) @t[=30 BCE] [^3]
 - Octavian became sole ruler; Senate granted him the title Augustus (27 BCE) @t[=27 BCE] [^2]
 
 ---
 [^1]: Plutarch, *Life of Antony*
 [^2]: Lange, C.H. *The Battle of Actium 31 BC* (Cambridge, 2022)
+[^3]: Cassius Dio, *Roman History*, Books 50–51 (~229 CE)
 ---
 
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