The Battle of Actium, a naval confrontation between Mark Antony and Octavian, took place on September 2, 31 BC. In perhaps the best remembered battle of the Roman Civil War, Octavian's fleet, commanded by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, defeated Mark Antony's fleet as well as the fleet of his wife Cleopatra, the queen of Egypt. Octavian, later known as Princeps Augustus, went on to become the first Roman Emperor, and the Battle of Actium is often said to mark the beginning of the Roman Empire. Mark Antony and Cleopatra both committed suicide a year after the battle.