Augustus Caesar: The rise of the Roman Empire

546 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: roman and republic empire

Inside the marble-plated building, paintings and an array of ancient works of art adorn the otherwise monotonous walls of this ancient Roman museum. Perfectly handcrafted stone sculptures decorate even the door frames, creating an awe-inspiring sight as visitors come from far and wide to see the history of this vast empire. In the eastern wing of the museum, A group of student photographers gather round the ancient statue of a man who made his mark on history by creating the most fearsome empire in human history, all while setting the course for its inevitable destruction. The statue is of Augustus Caesar, the founder and first emperor of the Roman Empire. A man who, with an incredible lust for power, became the world’s most formidable ruler during his reign…
During his early years, Augustus (then called Octavian), was nothing more than a citizen within the Roman Republic, born into a rich family with close ties to the Roman general Julius Caesar. When Caesar was assassinated by traitors within the senate, Octavian was posthumously adopted as his son. He was only 20 when he formed th...

Show More
Related

  • The Effect Of Emperor Augustus Caesar's Effect On Western Civilization

    702 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Julius Caesar and the Fall of the Roman Republic

    2913 Words  | 6 Pages

    How was it possible that under the dictatorship and after the deification of Julius Caesar the Roman republic fell, when it had been structurally sound for four centuries before? When the republic was established around the end of the 6th century B.C.E., the Romans made clear that they wished to avoid all semblance of the monarchy that had ruled for two centuries before. (T.J. Cornell, The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000-264 BC), London and New York: Routledge, 1995; p. 215) The rule of the Republic was to be split into powers of the senate and consuls, a system that worked for over four centuries. The republic would face problems with the rise of the first triumvirate in 60 B.C.E., involving Julius Caesar, Crassus and Pompey. The triumvirate gained power that was intended to be in the hands of the senate and Roman assembly. This paved way to a situation in which a single man could sweep up the political power that previously belonged to the entire senate. Julius Caesar would use this tactic, following his campaigns of Gaul and Britton, to take sole dictatorship over Rome. While there were previous cases which individuals had been appointed as dictator, usually by the senate to serve for six months in a time of war, Caesar was appointed dictator three separate times.. After declining his first dictatorship, Caesar was awarded two more reigns as dictator for one and ten years, respectively. At this point Caesar was praised by the Roman people for his various military victories and had been awarded several awards and honors by the senate. Having conquered much of the surrounding territories, spanning from northern Africa to Greece, and enacting several reforms, Caesar was in the pro...

    Read More

  • Octavian's Journey to Become Augustus

    603 Words  | 2 Pages

    Octavian was born in Rome on September 23, 63 BC. He was given the name Gaius Octavius, however, he would not keep this name for long. His father, who shared his name, came from a respectable although undistinguished family and was governor of Macedonia. In terms of his rise to power, Octavian’s most important immediate family member was his mother, Atia, who was the niece of Julius Caesar, who would soon be Rome’s greatest and most successful general and Dictator. When Octavian was four years old, his father died so he spent most of his childhood with his stepfather Lucius Marcius Philippus. When he was 15 he was elected to the College of Pontiffs where Caesar requested that Octavius join his staff for hi campaign in Africa. Although he didn’t go to Africa with Caesar, the following year, he attempted to join Caesar in Spain to fight the forces of Pompey, however he fell ill and couldn’t go. When he finally recovered, he sailed to meet Caesar, only to be shipwrecked, however this did not stop Octavius, he traveled across hostile territory to Caesar’s camp, which greatly impressed Caesar. Octavius joined Caesar on the return home in which Caesar secretly changed his will to make Octavian his successor.

    Read More

  • The Rise Of The Roman Republic

    830 Words  | 2 Pages

    Over the span of five-hundred years, the Roman Republic grew to be the most dominant force in the early Western world. As the Republic continued to grow around the year 47 B.C it began to go through some changes with the rise of Julius Caesar and the degeneration of the first triumvirate. Caesar sought to bring Rome to an even greater glory but many in the Senate believed that he had abused his power, viewing his rule more as a dictatorship. The Senate desired that Rome continued to run as a republic. Though Rome continued to be glorified, the rule of Caesar Octavian Augustus finally converted Rome to an Empire after many years of civil war. Examining a few selections from a few ancient authors, insight is provided as to how the republic fell and what the result was because of this.

    Read More

  • Rome in The Age of Augustus

    2200 Words  | 5 Pages

    30 BC ~ Octavian was given the title of Imperator, which was used in the Eastern provinces. Imperium suggests unlimited imperium (or power) (Antiquity 2 Interpreting The Past) This was the first of many titles that were to be given to Octavian after his defeat of Mark Antony in 31 BC at the Battle of Actium. It indicates that the provinces thought Octavian was worthy of being honoured, and that the power he possessed at the time should remain his. Therefore this was the first factor that initiated the rise of Octavian.

    Read More

  • Augustus Caesar: The First Roman Empire

    125 Words  | 1 Pages

    Augustus Caesar (formerly known as Julius' nephew Octavian) was the first Roman emperor, and he both self-consciously and often sagaciously undertook to establish precedents that he believed would be in the long-term interest of both the city of Rome and the Roman empire as a whole. The Roman historian and gossip Suetonius tells us that at his death Augustus left behind three scrolls. Instructions for his funeral, a list of his accomplishments, to be inscribed on bronze tablets and placed at the entry to his mausoleum, and a kind of "state-of-the-empire" document full of information about the number of soldiers in various regions, the money in the various treasuries, and similar vital information, as well as the names of the accountants who

    Read More

  • Adrian Goldsworthy Biography

    538 Words  | 2 Pages

    To begin with, Octavian was born on September 23, 63rd BC in terrible time in Italy. At age four, his biological father Gaius passed away. Around 44th BC Octavian changed his surname to Augustus, which is one of a titled. He was born as a plebeian but transitions into a patrician’s when his Uncle Caesar adopted him. Then, when Augustus was 19 years old, he lost his second father “Caesar” in tragic way. By then, Augustus entered political systems and created rules. He created “Pax Romana” which is basically a peace more likely a two

    Read More

  • Octavian, the Greatest Roman Leader

    1668 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Rise of the Roman Republic

    955 Words  | 2 Pages

    Rome became a powerful empire engulfing much of Europe, North Africa, and parts of Asia and what seemed like this great entity called the Romans were always in the search of more territory and land to conquer and assimilate into their ever growing vast empire. However, this was not always the case, before Rome became one of the greatest empires in all of history, Rome was a republic. They were government consisted of a Senate who much like our country today represented certain classes of the citizens of the Republic. During the growth and rise of the Roman republic conquering neighboring territories and competing for land grabs was not Romans primary objectives. Romans believed in the well being and wealth of Rome, and if that meant the total destruction of a potential adversary, then as history will show that is unfortunately to the detriment of the adversary what happened.

    Read More

  • Julius Caesar: Conqueror, General, Builder, Dictator for Life

    753 Words  | 2 Pages

    Julius Caesar was born on July 12 , 100 BC and died on March 15, 44 BC. Caesar was born into a patrician family. This meant that they were noble and were wealthier than the plebeians, who were the common people. (Julius Caesar -- Britannica School) “H is family traced their lineage back to the goddess Venus.” (Julius Caesar -- Britannica School) His uncles and cousins were all consuls and this put Caesar in a place of more power, but higher expectations. His parents were Gaius Caesar, his father, who died when Caesar was 16, and Aurelia, his mother, who greatly influenced his life. (Julius Caesar -- Britannica School ) “Caesar’s political ambitions developed under these circumstances. From the start he probably aimed at winning office, not just for personal glory but also to achieve the power to save Rome from decay.” (Julius Caesar -- Britannica School) On ce he was travelling to Rhodes and was captured by pirates. His ransom was paid, and then Caesar hunted his captors down and had them crucified. (Julius Caesar -- Britannica School) Then he began to climb the ladder of power in the Roman government and eventually was elected as a consul. While consul, he was sent to govern the province of Gaul and set out to conquer the entirety of Gaul. As this was going on, the senate decided that Caesar had to be put out of power, because there was too much risk of an uprising led by Caesar. ...

    Read More

  • The Rise of Rome

    597 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Roman Republic began in 509 B.C.E. with the overthrow of the Etruscan monarchy. In 27 B.C.E the Roman Empire began with Octavian Caesar becoming the emperor, this ended almost 500 years of republican self-government. There is much debate over why Rome became so powerful so quickly. Many think it had to do with Rome’s military strength. Others think that it was because Rome knew of and controlled most of the trade routes. Still others believed it had to do with the technology that was advanced during the Roman Republic. All of these factors played significant roles, but which one played the most important role?

    Read More

  • Augustus Caesar: The First Emperor Of Rome

    1362 Words  | 3 Pages

    “I found Rome built of bricks; I leave her clothed in marble.” These enduring words are the last spoken by Augustus Caesar, the first emperor of Rome. Before he was deemed Princeps Civitatis-translated to mean first citizen of Rome-he was a leading member of the second triumvirate called Octavian. One of the triumvirate’s other members, Antony, caused a break in this three pronged power when he aided his wife and Queen of Egypt, Cleopatra. When Rome declared war on Egypt, a series of battles ensued and ended with the death of Antony and Cleopatra, and a great victory for Octavian. These wars left Octavian with a new title of Augustus as well as the undisputed dominant power over Rome. Now that he had attained such power, he wanted to maintain

    Read More

  • Gaius Octavius

    1380 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gaius Octavius, or later known as Octavian, was the adopted son of Julius Caesar. He took over after Julius died and the republic fell. He belonged to a successful family. His father was the first of his family to become a senator, his mother was the niece of Julius Caesar. They lived in Velitrae. This shows how little of a political background he came from. He traveled with his uncle/ adopted father and learned the ropes of government. He was 18 when he came to Rome to claim his dictatorship. Mark Antony was chief lieutenant at the time (Grant). Augustus Caesar is often a man mistaken for his adoptive father, Julius Caesar, but this man made a name for himself by becoming the first emperor of Rome. He rebuilt Rome from the crumbling civilization that it was to a thriving empire by reorganizing the government and ending the Roman Republic once and for all.

    Read More

  • The Success Of Augustus Caesar And The Success Of Julius Caesar

    841 Words  | 2 Pages

    Augustus Caesar's success Before there was an Augustus Caesar or even Julius Caesar in charge of Rome, there was the Senate, which held most of the power in the Roman Republic. Around the time of 60 B.C.E. Rome was growing and so was the military and the senate was not able to control them, thus leading to a civil war which consisted of three generals: Julius Cesar, Pompey, and Crassus. Needless to say, Crassus died in battle and the Senate sided with the general Pompey, then told Julius Caesar to leave and disband his army. Julius decided not to do this and instead crossed the Rubicon river and was able to defeat the senate and Pompey making him (Julius) the ruler of the Republic of Rome. Four years later, the Senate finally got tired of Julius Caesar and assassinated him, which made the disorder inside Rome even worse.

    Read More

  • Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus: The Fall Of The Roman Emperor

    1743 Words  | 4 Pages

    Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, born 15 December 37 AD, was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68 AD, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his granduncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54AD following Claudius’ suspicious death. Nero focused much of his attention on diplomacy, trade and enhancing the cultural life of the Empire. When he became emperor, Nero was a young man who enjoyed the theater, music and horse racing. Ancient Historian, Suetonius, stated that “Nero degenerated from the good qualities of his ancestors, yet he reporoduced the vices of each of them, as if tramsitted to him by natural inheritance” (Suetonius, 110 AD). His dominating mother, Agrippina, had already

    Read More

More about Augustus Caesar: The rise of the Roman Empire

Open Document