 After the Triumvirate had defeated Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus at the Battle of Philippi (42 BC) and Lepidus was expelled from the Triumvirate (36 BC), Octavian and Antony were left as the two most powerful men in the Roman world.Octavian took control of the west, including Hispania, Gaul, Italia, and Africa.Antony received control of the east, including Graecia, Asia, Syria and Aegyptus.