Octavian enabled the long, nonviolent time of the Pax Romana, (Latin for Roman peace) by changing Rome from a frail, collapsing republican government to a powerful empire. He is known as the first, and one of the greatest, Roman Emperors ever. Octavian was born on September 23, 63 BC, and died in 14 AD. Born with the name Gaius Octavius Thurinus, he was adopted posthumously by his great-uncle Gaius Julius Caesar via his will, and then was named Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus. This happened in 44 BC when his great uncle, Julius Caesar, was assassinated by a group of conspirators. Additionally, he received the name “Augustus” a term meaning “the revered one” from the Roman Senate in 27 BC. Because of the various names he had, it is common to call him Octavius while referring to the events that between 63 and 44 BC, Octavian when referring to events between 44 and 27 BC, and Augustus when referring to events after 27 BC. Octavian is arguably the single most important figure in Roman history. Ever since he was a young boy, he was destined to become the next great leader. For example, Octavian along with his friend Marcus Agrippa went to visit the Sibyl of Cumae (oracle). When the Sibyl saw him, she bowed at his feet and said that he would be the next great leader. He did not believe her at the time, but just a few years later Julius Caesar would be dead and he would have power. Over the course of his long and spectacular career as “Principate,” he put an end to the collapse of the Republic, and established a system that would stand in the Roman government for three centuries.
Octavian was the great nephew of Julius Caesar, and because of this relationship he had strong political connections in Rome. Caesar favored...
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...4 AD, one month away from his 76th birthday. Augustus’s ultimate legacy was the peace and prosperity the empire was to enjoy for the next two centuries under the system he started. Augustus’s patience and his tact all played a part in re-establishing Rome and directing the future of the empire down many lasting paths.
Works Cited
http://www.unrv.com/early-empire/augustus-empire.php
http://www.roman-empire.net/emperors/augustus.html
http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/augustusbio/a/Augustus.htm
http://library.thinkquest.org/26907/emperors/augustus.htm
http://www.roman-empire.net/emperors/augustus-index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus
http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/95sep/augustus.html
http://www.historyinfilm.com/claudius/overview.htm
http://janusquirinus.org/essays/Augustus1.html
Book source “Augustus and the Greek World” by G.W Bowersox
Augustus was born on 23rd of September 63 B.C., he was born during the civil war when he, unfortunately, lost his father who was a Roman Politic. Luckily he was adopted by his uncle Julius Caesar was a Roman general and politician at the time. Caesar was in desperate need of an heir to take his place in becoming the Empire of Rome. At the age of 19, Augustus great-uncle was slain by his own advisors, which influenced Augustus to engage in Roman politics. Before Augustus became the emperor of Rome it was ruled by the Republican government, which was one of the reasons why Augustus lost his great uncle Caesar to conspiracy in the government. So in order to keep from being assassinated like his great uncle, Augustus brought an end to the Republic rule and felt that it was best for the Roman Empire to give all of the supreme power to the Emperor, in the imperial palace. He made a partnership with a general name Marc Antony to avenge his great-uncle's death, they defeated enemies of Rome. Both Marc Antony and Augustus were the most powerful and successful men in Rome divided the empire amongst each other, Augustus kept the west and Antony took control of the east Egypt. Octavius took the name Augustus in 27 B.C. when he discovered the participate (princess Latin word
Augustus was the basis for the time of the Principate period, which is a period where the rulers of the new found monarchy attempted to incorporate aspects of the Roman Republic within the powerful empire. Augustus tried his best to maintain conservative forms of government. Augustus’s sole ambition was to remove the hatred and chaos that had resulted from the civil wars. Thankful for Augustus working to restore power back to the Roman senate in his new reforms, the grateful Senate granted him the name Augustus meaning sacred. January, 27 BC, Octavian humbly resigned his powers within Rome, However Augustus received them back from the Senate shortly after. Augustus’s military genius marked the start of a dynasty which saw an extensive expansion of the Roman
On 44 BC, Caesar was assassinated, and his will revealed that Caesar had adopted his great-nephew Octavius as his son, making him the heir to the thrown. This meant that Octavian’s name was to be changed to Gaius Julius Caesar. When Octavian returned to Rome, he found it being led by Mark Antony and Aemilius Lepidus. Octavian failed to convince Marc Antony to hand over Caesar’s assets and documents, however he was recruited into the senate and when Antony left Rome to take command in northern Italy, Octavian made war on Antony who was defeated and fled to Gaul. Now the senate had lost control over Octavian who marched on Rome and forced the senate to accept him as consul. Three months later, he completely cut off the senates’ power.
Before the rise of the Roman Empire, there had been a civil war between Octavian and Marcus Antonius. The two had been close allies before the dispute, which had lasted over twenty years in the Roman State1. The civil war could have been avoided due to the errors made by both parties. Mark Antony abused his power as consul; it is also assumed that he had committed adultery. Octavian exploited Mark Antony of his crimes and made him an enemy of the state.
In the early first century AD, the Roman Empire was subject to autocratic rule and the old Republic was long dead. Augustus had been ruling for forty years and most of that time he was loved and praised by the Senate and the people of Rome. Throughout his reign, Augustus had the one lingering problem of finding a successor to take over the role of Emperor. He had chosen 3 different heirs in his time of rule; however, they all passed before they had the chance to inherit Augustus’ esteemed power. His fourth choice, Tiberius, was the one to succeed Augustus.
When Caesar died, Octavius stepped up to claim his inheritance as his successor. At the time, no one knew anything about him other than the fact that he declared that he was Caesar’s heir. Also, to avoid confusion with a different person, he chang...
In 27 BC, Augustus became the first emperor of Rome, thus creating a strong leader figure, which could shape and mold the Republic system into what was best for the empire or themselves. During the reign of the emperors, the political policies for Rome would vary according to, which emperor was in power. Not only were politics shaky, but also there never was a clear-cut method of succession for the man who controlled those politics. Rome had created the position of emperor in hopes that men like Augustus would continue to lead her into prosperity, however the office of emperor struggled in attempting to find great men to lead Rome. The office never truly evolved into something greater than when it had been created, but rather the office varied according to the personality of the man in the position.
...the Pax Romana, a time of peace and prosperity in Roman history that lasted over 200 years. He did however, fool the people of Rome. He ruled as type of despot, hiding behind the illusion of a false republic. Augustus was careful to not raise the eyebrows of the citizens. With the senate was still intact, Augustus seemed to have somebody to prevent him from becoming too powerful. However, the power of the senate was weak compared to his, and he had the power to do what he wanted. This type of power, placed in the hands of an individual, would be passed on to other emperors after Augustus, some of whom would abuse that power. Rome would see the repeat of many of its former problems, and much blood would be spilled trying to prevent one person from having too much power; the Roman were back to back to where they started before 509 B.C., only they weren’t aware of it.
Brutus, the Noblest Roman of them All. By definition, noble is having moral character, courage, generosity, honor and bravery to do what is right. It is finding the truth and reason in everything that happens around you. Many of the characters in Julius Caesar have a selfish goal: to gain more power and wealth.
Most notably, two of his generals, Antony and Lepidus, were members of the second triumvirate. Some of his assassins even rose to prominence serving under him, like Decimus Brutus . And of course, Octavian could begin his rise to power because Caesar adopted him posthumously in his will. Even though a dead man could not adopt someone, Gaius Octavius changed his name and became Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, and his position as Caesar 's son was incredibly important for him in the coming civil
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.
Octavian was a tough man from the start. When he found out that Julius Caesar was murdered, he didn't hesitate to claim his position as Rome's ruler. He immediately left his place of study at Dalmatia, and hurried back to Rome. His family wasn’t too happy about him wanting to rule. They were afraid that he would meet an early demise just as his uncle had. (Sizgorich) Being 18, most would shy away from the experienced commander Mark Antony, but he met Antony head on. Octavian was fearless. The trouble began when Mark Antony was expecting to become the successor to Caesar, but instead Octavian was. This angered Mark and he didn't give up any of Caesar's inheritance, causing Caesar to have to pay for things out of pocket. (Grant) Changing his name to Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, Octavian was able to win the support of many of Julius Caesar’s veterans. (Sizgorich) Caesar also si...
Octavian, or Caesar Augustus, was an effective ruler, implementing reforms that positively affected virtually all areas of life throughout the Empire. Social, economic, and political tensions that had led to so much violence in earlier years were calmed by Augustus's policies. Corruption and abuses of the people were also given attention by the Emperor. The borders of the Roman Empire grew dramatically under Augustus's rule, adding material wealth and manpower to Rome's already significant resources.
Gaius Julius Caesar, born 100 B.C.E. in Rome to the impoverished patrician Julian Clan, knew controversy at an early age. Nephew to Populare Gaius Marius, he was earmarked by the Optimate dictator Sulla for prosciption after his refusal to divorce his Populare wife, Cinna. Fleeing Rome, and not returning until after Sulla’s resignation in 78 B.C.E, upon his return he gained a position as a pontificate, an important Roman priesthood. Slowly but surely throughout his lifetime he worked his way up the political ladder, eventually becoming Consul, and finally Dictator Perpeteus – Dictator for life. One of the most influential political and military leaders of all time, Caesar was also a highly intelligent man and an exceptional orator. However, acquiring this absolute power was no mean feat, and Caesar had well equipped himself through previous expeditions with all the resources necessary to gain power in Ancient Rome.
Caesar was born into a traditional influential and respected family. It is this influence that he used to make his way to the top of the Roman leadership. His use in warfare and military conquests are legendary although he had at first concentrated in pursuing political actions. He won the first elections in his political career at the early forties. He was el...