during herod's early years as king, mark antony's relationship with cleopatra allowed the egyptian queen to keep taking small parts of herod's kingdom. when octavian defeated antony and cleopatra at the battle of actium in 31 bc, herod made a new alliance with octavian. he gained a reputation for his harsh taxes but was able to keep the peace in the region. he sent expensive gifts to rome but did not have to pay tribute. by 30 bc, he had regained all the territory cleopatra and the hasmoneans had taken. he expanded his rule into northern galilee and resettled several areas. by giving extravagant gifts to athens and supporting the olympic games he increased the status of judea in the mediterranean world.