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Why did Mark Antony celebrate a triumph in Alexandria after his campaign in Armenia?

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Mark Antony marble bust — Mark Antony Mark Antony, detail of a marble bust; in the Vatican Museum.

In 34 BCE, Mark Antony celebrated a triumph in Alexandria following his military expedition to Armenia.12

Antony chose to hold this celebration in Alexandria rather than Rome to solidify his political and military base in Egypt, where he had increasingly aligned himself with Cleopatra. By staging the event in his headquarters, he emphasized his independence and his vision of an eastern-centered power structure.12

For many Romans, this act was viewed through the lens of Octavian's propaganda as an impious parody of the traditional Roman triumph. The celebration was immediately followed by the "Donations of Alexandria," a ceremony where Antony and Cleopatra distributed Roman territories to their children, further fueling the narrative in Rome that Antony intended to abandon Roman traditions and transfer the capital to Egypt.213