Augustus Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (Octavian as he was called until the adoption by
Caesar, later called Augustus Caesar) was born 23 September, 63 BC. Augustus was the
grand-nephew of Julius Caesar and later became his heir after he learned that his
grand-uncle had adopted him. Augustus Caesar was with out a doubt the greatest political
leader in the Roman Empire. He made Rome what think of it as and what we study today.
Octavian’s first public appearance was in 51 BC when he delivered his
grandmother’s eulogy. In 48 BC he started his political career when he was elected to
pontifical college. In 45 BC he went with Caesar to Spain and in 44 BC when Caesar was
killed he discovered he had been adopted by him. Upon this happening Octavian gathered
support and troops and went to Rome to make his adoption official. When he got to
Rome, Marc Antony, Lepidus, and himself formed the Second Triumvirate. This was
where the three rulers joined forces and destroyed anyone who stood in their way and the
land they acquired was given to deserving soldiers. They fight the battle of Phillipi and in
the Perusine war. They divided the empire between themselves with Antony getting the
rich East, Lepidus getting the West and Octavian receiving Italy. After this in 39 B.C.
Augustus marries Scribonia, who gives him his only child, Julia. The next year he marries
Livia the wife of Claudius Nero but she dies in 29 BC
Eventually Lepidus was forced into retirement so Octavian received the western
lands. Both of the lands swore allegiance to him and Octavian began to focus on Antony
and the rest of the Roman Empire. In 31 BC the Battle of Actium occurred. This was one
of the most important naval battles in the Roma...
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...tion. His reign starts a two
hundred-year period of peace known as the Pax Romana. The political system he
established endured essentially no change for three centuries. The modern world honors
him with our calendar by the naming of the eighth month after him. The only thing that
saved the destruction of the Roman Empire was the emergence of a brilliant political
leader, Octavian Augustus Caesar, first emperor of the Roman Empire.
Bibliography:
Walworth, Nancy Zinsser. Augustus Caesar. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1989.
Scarre, Chris. Chronicle of the Roman Emperors. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1995.
Eark, Donald. The Age of Augustus. New York: Crown Publishers Inc., 1968
Warry, John. Warfare in the Classical World. New York: St. Martin’s Press Inc., 1980
Fagan, Garret G. “AUGUSTUS (31 B.C. - 14 A.D.).” N.d.
(11 December 2001)
Augustus was born in Rome on September 23, 63 B.C. He was originally named Gaius Octavianus, but when his great-uncle, Julius Caesar, was murdered, he took his name. Augustus’ real father died when his son was only four. Augustus was adopted in Julius Caesar’s will and was left to be his heir at the age of eighteen. Caesar was very fond of his grand-nephew and he sent him to the College of Pontifices at the age of sixteen. When Caesar was assassinated, Augustus was in Illyria, where he was sent to serve. It was only when he returned to Italy that he learned he was his great-uncle’s heir.
Augustus Caesar was very ambitious leader. He is best known for bringing peace to Rome. Augustus was considered the first great roman emperor, because He didn’t care about wealth and fortune. Augustus cared about the people of Rome. He was a great military leader and was successful in most of his missions. He showed people that being a good ruler requires a lot of hard work and dedication. He was a very generous man. Augustus was greatly admired by the Roman people.
Julius Caesar elected himself as the dictator of Rome. He became a favorite to many of the people of the lower classes. Unlike many leaders, Caesar valued the poor. Most people agreed with his decisions, but some of the higher classes’ did not. On March 15 44 BCE, now called the Ides of March, a few of Caesars’ closest peers decided to murder Caesar. Marcus Brutus killed Julius Caesar, on March 15.
Caesar came from an old patrician family, where he received an education, and began his journey into a political career (Hart 337). He started just as any man would trying to make something of himself and not die the same way he was born, average. Without having conquered Gaul and crossed the Rubicon he would just be another politician in a corrupted government. “Julius Caesar reached a mature age without achieving astonishing success (qtd. Hart 7). Unlike rulers like Alexander The Great, Caesar was into his 50’s with nothing to show for it. The most influential people are usually geniuses or prodigies that can’t help but make a difference in the world. Unlike people like Einstein who mastered Calculus before he was 15 he was just a white sheep amongst others.
In the year 31 B.C. Cleopatra and Antony combined their armies to defeat Octavian along Greek’s west coast. The damage would be so costly for the Egyptians that Antony and Cleopatra had to flee back to
In 40 BC, stated by the Treaty of Brundisium. The Roman Empire was to be divided between Marc Antony and Octavian, Marc Antony taking the east and Octavian taking the west. Eventually, Octavian became angry with Antony, and read his will to the public, which promised large inheritances to his children but also said that if he die, his body be moved to Egypt.
In 79 BC Caesar saved the life of a citizen in battle for which he was presented the civic crown (oak leaves). Caesar was sent on a mission to the embassy to Nicomedes, by his general to obtain a fleet of ships and he was successful. Caesar was known as a powerful speaker, so when the dictator Sulla died in 78, Caesar returned back to Rome and started a career as a lawyer. Caesar advanced within the Roman political system. In 69 BC, he became the financial advisor. In 65 BC, he became an assistant to the tribune. In 62 BC, he became a commander of an army. Once finished with the army, he became the Roman province of Spain’s Governor. Once Caesar completed his term as governor, he returned to Rome and was elected into consulship. A year after joining the consulship, Caesar became the Roman Gaul Governor. He held this term for eight years. While in the office of Governor, Caesar added France and Belgium to the Roman Empire making Rome safe from the possibility of Gallic invasions.
Octavian's rise to power began during Julius Caesar's lifetime. “In 47 B.C. he went to Hispania (modern-day Spain) to fight alongside Caesar. He was shipwrecked along the way, and had to cross enemy territory to reach his great-uncle; an act that impressed Caesar enough to name Octavius his heir and successor in his will.”(Augustus). By the time of Caesar's assassination, Octavian defeated the conspirators who murdered Caesar in a series of battles and divided Rome's lands among them. This lead to the establishment of The Second Triumvirate, in which they shared the power among the divided territories with Mark Antony in charge of Egypt and East, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus with Africa and Octavian the West. Over time, the alliance that formed fell apart. Lepidus was old, and his lands were rapidly annexed by Octavian. Meanwhile, Mark Antony had a scandalous romantic and political affair with Cleopatra in Egypt. Octavian attained Roman support against Mark Antony by claiming that he had gone against Roman values by mar...
He would conquer smaller enemies and tax them and make alliances with larger ones, creating a flow of money into Rome while sustaining trade. He stretched trade all the way to the outskirts of China, importing many luxury items and grains. He then created a form of currency to create an organized and smooth way to trade throughout the Empire. The expansion of trade very positively affected the economy, boosting it dramatically in the right direction. This is exactly what the Roman people needed after the disastrous Roman Civil
27 BC, The First Settlement ~ on the 13th of January, Octavian transferred the power of the state to the Senate and people of Rome. In doing this he was handing back the unofficial powers that he had held during the civil war. (Antiquity 2 Interpreting The Past) The accounts of ancient sources differ in relation to the time span of this event. Dio Cassius implies that this happened in one step early in the year. “I lay down my office in its entirety and return to you all authority absolute – authority over the army, the laws and the provinces – not only those territories which you entrusted to me, but those which I later secured for you.” (Roman History, A...
He first looked to the triumvirate, who had been granted full emergency powers in 43BC because Rome was considered to be in need of repair. This did not mean the abolition of the senate, its assemblies and magistracies were all kept functioning, but could only advise the triumvirate, and could be overruled by them at any time. Octavian held on to the full emergency powers at the end of the battle of Actium and then set out to resolve the problem of the "state of emergency."
To obtain distinction for himself and his family, Caesar sought election to public office. In 86 BC, Caesar was appointed flamen dialis with the help of his uncle by marriage, Gaius Marius. (Sahlman). In 84 BC Caesar married Cornelia, daughter of Lucious Cornelius Cinna. (Sahlman). In 82 BC Caesar was ordered to divorce his wife by Lucious Cornelius Sulla, an enemy of the radicals. (Sahlman). Caesar traveled to Rhodes in 78 BC to study rhetoric and did not return until 73 BC. (Sahlman). During his journey to Rhodes pirates managed to capture him. Caesar convinced his captors to raise his ransom, which increased his prestige. He then raised a naval force, overcame his captors, and had them crucified. In 69 or 68 BC Caesar was elected quaestor. (Sahlman). His wife died shortly thereafter.
At the age of 15 Caesar became head of his family when his father died in 85bc. His family wanted him to pursue a religious career as the priest of Jupiter but Caesar had other plans. He wanted to dive head long into a political career. He took maters into his own hands when in 84bc he married Cornelia the daughter of one of Rome’s stronger leaders at the time, Cornelius Cinna (Schlesinger 30).
After he returned to Rome in 80 B.C. Caesar was presented with the oak wreath for his inordinate courage in the captivating of a Greek city (Julius Caesar, 1994). He continued his honorable work as a soldier in the military in 78 B.C., where he wanted to become a great leader. Julius Caesar headed back to Rome in 77 B.C. when he heard of Sulla’s; his overall goal for returning was to further prepare for his political career. Caesar never gave up on being a priest, in 73 B.C., the college of priests in Rome reached out to him letting Caesar know that he had been co-opted into the college. After hearing about of this, Caesar was devoted to his political career (Julius Caesar, 1994). Later that year was when Rome designated Caesar as one of the 24 military tribunes (Julius Caesar, 1994). Cornelia who was Caesar's first wife died in 69 B.C., after being unmarried for only two years, Caesar married the granddaughter of Sulla; Pompeia. To further his political career, Caesar was elected as Curule Aedile along with Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus in 65 B.C. (Julius Caesar, 1994). After using a substantial amount bribery, in 63 B.C. Caesar was voted Pontifex Maximus (head of the college of the priest). During the period of time where “Caesar was chosen to hold the positions of a tribune and
A tribe Celts in Switzerland were under siege from one of the other tribes to the east, as a result they moved west into what is now France. At this time, France was part of the Roman Empire, and Julius Caesar did not approve of the tribe squatting on his lands. He did, however, offer the Celts protection if they went back to Switzerland and became a independent state of the Empire. The Celts agreed, and became Roman citizens with their own govern...