Master of Rome

Master of Rome is an alternate history scenario. It shows Mark Antony's decisive victory in the Battle of Actium on September 2 31 BC, which resulted in the death of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, the man responsible for the victories of Octavian, Mark Antony's rival in the Final War of the Roman Republic. Antony proclaims himself Emperor of Rome, and a different Roman Empire appears.

Background
The Final War of the Roman Republic was a civil war fought between the forces of Mark Antony and Octavian, beginning in 32 BC. In 31 BC, Antony led a naval force to the Ionian Sea, near the Roman colony of Actium in Greece. Octavian's fleet, under Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, met Antony's fleet outside the Gulf of Actium on September 2 31 BC.

Point of Divergence
Prior to the Battle of Actium, in OTL, Antony's general, Quintus Dellius, defected to Octavian with Antony's war plans. However, in this scenario, Antony was informed of Dellius' intention and sent 15 soldiers to intercept Dellius, who was captured and brought to Antony before he could find Octavian. Antony immediately ordered the execution of Dellius.

On September 2, the battle began. Octavian's Liburnian vessels faced a big challenge from Antony's quinqueremes. While some Liburnian vessels were sunk, Antony's inexperience in a naval theater let both sides to battle with no decisive result until the afternoon, when Antony successfully gained an advantage over the enemy fleet. His warships put Octavian's fleet into total disarray. Agrippa saw this and tried to advance towards Antony, but his ship was exposed to a direct assault after some ships which protected it were sunk.

Antony moved forward as his ship became closer and closer to Agrippa's ship. Finally, Antony's ship was close enough to Agrippa's for Antony and his soldiers to jump to Agrippa's ship. Agrippa's soldiers were killed on board or thrown off the ship by Antony's soldiers. Within a short time, Antony and Agrippa were involved in a duel. Agrippa was defeated, and the injured commander was left to fate, being thrown overboard to the Ionian Sea. The Battle of Actium ended with a decisive victory for Antony.

First Emperor
Antony mobilized his troops to Italy, capturing few settlements loyal to Octavian before besieging Rome on November 15. As the siege progressed, the city ran out of food. Finally, Octavian led his soldiers to attack Antony outside the walls of Rome on December 3. Octavian was killed, and Antony entered the city, as the winner of the Roman Republic's last civil war.

On December 4, a day after capturing Rome, Antony officially dissolved the Senate and proclaimed himself Augustus, effectively becoming the first ruler of a Roman Empire.