Control of the Caesarian party was disputed between Mark Antony
and Caesar's nephew Octavian. Octavian wanted revenge for
Caesar's death, while Antony favoured reconciliation.
Eventually, however, Octavian persuaded Antony to take the field
and together they defeated the army of Caesar's assasins Brutus
and Cassius at Philippi in 42 BC. Antony and Octavian agreed to
divide effective power between them, Octavian taking the western
provinces, and Antony the east, with a smaller third share for
their Lepidus. This became known as the Second Triumvirate.
Octavian spent the following years building up and consolidating
his position in the west. In 38 BC, he launched a determined
campaign to capture Sicily from Sextus Pompey, son of Pompey the
Great, who had turned the island into a staging ground from
which to harrass Rome's grain supplies. It took two years to win
and Octavian was then faced with the task of neutralizing
Lepidus when the latter attempted to stage a coup against him.
Once Octavian had consolidated