Marcus Titius - Career Under Mark Antony

Career Under Mark Antony

Probably under the influence of Munatius Plancus his nephew Titius soon became a follower of Mark Antony. In 36 BC Titius took part as Quaestor in the campaign of Antony against Parthia. After the Romans tried in vain to capture Phraaspa, the capital of Media Atropatene, they withdrew to Armenia, but on their way they were often attacked by the Parthian army. At one of these attacks Titius tried in vain to stop the Tribune Flavius Gallus pursuing the enemy. The army of Gallus was soon surrounded and only saved by Antony when he arrived with the main forces.

In the meantime Sextus Pompey had escaped to Lesbos Island after his final defeat by Octavian (at the end of 36 BC). On the Greek isle he raised a new army and fleet. After the return from the Parthian war Antony learnt of the arrival of Pompey and received his envoys to negotiate about an alliance. But the triumvir was mistrustful and instructed Titius to advance with an army and a fleet against Pompey and if necessary to fight against him. But if Pompey would be willing to submit he should be escorted by Titius to Alexandria. But in the meantime Pompey had landed in northwestern Asia Minor at the beginning of 35 BC without resistance by Gaius Furnius, the governor of the Roman province Asia, because Furnius did not have enough forces and did not know the orders of Antony. So Pompey could capture Lampsacus, Nicaea and Nicomedia but then Titius arrived from Syria with an army and 120 ships. The fleet of Titius was reinforced by 70 ships that arrived from Sicily where they had supported the fleet of Octavian in his battle against Pompey in the previous years. The headquarters of the ships of Titius now was Proconnesus.

Because Titius declined negotiations and had much more ships Sextus Pompey burnt his fleet, integrated its crew within his land forces and wanted to march through Bithynia to Armenia. He was pursued by the armies of Titius, Furnius and Amyntas, the king of Galatia. Pompey was able to inflict losses on his enemies by an assault but soon his situation became quite desperate. He asked the friend of his father, Furnius, for negotiations and offered his surrender if Furnius would accompany him to Antony. But Furnius referred him to Titius, apparently because he was not entitled to conclude an agreement; so it seems that Titius was the supreme commander of the army and therefore since the beginning of 35 BC the new governor of Asia. Pompey declined to surrender to Titius because he had once pardoned him as prisoner and therefore considered him ungrateful. At night Pompey tried to reach the coast with lightly armed troops and to burn the ships of Titius. But his halfbrother Marcus Aemilius Scaurus betrayed the plan so that Amyntas and his 1500 horsemen were able to catch him up near Midaeion in Phrygia and capture him. Pompey was taken to Milet and there executed in the summer of 35 BC at the order of Titius.

If Titius decided this execution on his own or by the order of Antony or Munatius Plancus is uncertain and was already disputed in ancient times. The Roman historian Cassius Dio asserts that Antony ordered the death sentence in a first letter addressed to Titius but canceled this order in a second letter. Nevertheless Pompey was executed either because Titius complied with the letter with the death sentence intentionally or because he mistook it for the second letter. The second possibility is improbable in view of the conditions of the ancient postal system. According to the military historian Appian Titius executed Pompey either because he was angry about a former insult or at the instructions of Antony. In the latter case it was possibly not the triumvir himself but Munatius Plancus who gave the order. The reason was that Antony did not want to appear as the person mainly responsible because his lover, the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra VII, was well-disposed towards Pompey and because of his reputation. In spite of the contradictory sources it seems quite certain that the death sentence was imposed with the knowledge and the agreement of Antony.

Probably Titius held the office of a Pontiff since 34 BC.

In 33 BC the imminent clash of the triumvirs over the sole rule in the whole Roman Empire became apparent. At the beginning of the war preparations Antony assembled his troops in Ephesus (winter 33/32 BC). There Titius together with his uncle Munatius Plancus, Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and other leading followers of Antony tried in vain to persuade the triumvir to send Cleopatra back to Egypt. Soon Antony moved the headquarters to Samos Island. Apparently Titius accompanied his commander-in-chief to this island because there was found an inscription dedicated to him.