Essay on The Rise and Reign of Emperor Augustus

Octavius was born into a family with few connections. He was a sickly child; he was small in stature, with bad teeth and spots covering his body, with many birthmarks on his chest and belly. Octavius was the great nephew of Julius Caesar; Julius Caesar won the civil war in 46 B.C, and was named dictator of Rome Julius then said to the people “I came, I saw, I conquered”. Julius needed and heir to succeed him. Having no children he adopted Octavius. His name was then changed to Gaius Julius Caesar. Octavius did not learn of this until the assassination of Julius Caesar, and it wasn’t until the reading of Julius’ will that everyone learned that Octavius was now the successor to Julius, and the power he had was going to Octavius.

When Augustus was born he was very lucky because according to Augustus: the Life of Rome’s First Emperor

Compare the following descriptions of Augustus’ rise to power, one by Augustus himself and one by Tacitus (the second-century historian), and discuss their historical validity.

Octavian, the heir to Rome’s previous leader Julius Caesar, was given the title of Augustus, meaning “Revered One” in 27 B.C. He took power of Rome in 43 B.C and formed the Second Triumvirate which consisted of Marc Antony, Lepidus, and himself. Octavian and Marc Antony quickly shut Lepidus out of power and then later had a civil war over control of Rome which Octavian won. Octavian was humble and generous to the Roman citizens, he kept peace, and restored damages in Rome. Due to his effective leadership qualities, Octavian earned his new title of Augustus.

First, Octavian appears to be a very strong individual. Octavian was the adopted son of Julius Caesar. Just being the adopted

Gaius Octavius Thurinus is a adopted son of Julius Caesar, He is the first true emperor of the Roman Empire, he was believed to be one of the most important emperor of Roma. In 43 EBC, Octavian gathered his army to kill the senate who planned the assassinate targeting Julius Caesar, his adoptive father. Then, he defeat Mark Antony and Cleopatra who was his allies but later betrayed him. Thus , he ended the war continued for decades and brought the great peace to Rome, In 29 EBC Octavian declared the pax romana, also know as the Roman peace. In 27 BCE, he was bestowed the title of Augustus by the Roman senate which was actually reestablished by Augustus himself. In order to remind the Romans the emperor’s power, Augustus ordered sculptor to sculpt the idealized form of him and send those sculptures to every provinces (Module 5 Session 6). The Augustus of Prima Porta is a great example of them.

While Octavius became popular with the populace, Antony was falling back into destation. Morey (1901), stated that Octavius did not do anything but bided his time waiting for Antony to slip up. Romans have suspected that Antony was making treasonable acts with his army and frequent visits to Egypt meeting Cleopatra. This was deemed true as the Romans saw this as treason and demanded Octavius to war with Antony. Octavius appealed to the Romans that they should war against Cleopatra than Antony. Instead of the foreign war against Egypt, this was a civil war against Antony. Antony knew what this war was directed at, so he separated himself from Octavius and declared himself an enemy of Rome (Morey, 1901).

Octavian’s family begged him to stay where he was and renounce his inheritance because they thought the assassins of Caesar were very strong. Octavian did not take his families advice, and in a tremendously daring act he announced that he was going to Rome to claim what was his and avenge Caesar’s death. Instead he went directly to Brundisium and gathered the large amount of troops located there. To make sure that people knew who he was, he called himself “Caesar.” This identified him fully with his adoptive father, and gave him legitimacy. He switched from the unknown Octavian to Caesar, or son of Caesar. Because of this, many of the soldiers from Brundisium joined his cause, and the army grew in size and skill. Octavian tried to make friends with the leaders of the Roman army, but Mark Antony and Lepidus opposed Octavian’s claim to power

Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian hereinafter referred to “Augustus”, was given the title of imperium by age of 19, to gain this, he amassed a private army and marched on the Senate in Revenge for his adopted father’s murder. Augustus developed a peaceful and cultural Ancient Rome . In contrast, both Caesar and Sulla before him, were appointed to dictator under the Lex Valeria (Valerian law) , both had ultimate goals of monarchy, but where Caesar, used the people to ascertain if this would be accepted , Sulla ruled with an iron fist.

     Upon the defeat and death of Antony, Octavian proclaimed the restoration of the Republic of Rome. However, he had no intention of stepping down as leader. In 27 BC Octavian placed the republic at the disposal of the Senate and the Roman people. Octavian’s position was now legitimized by the Senate’s request that he command and lead Rome. He was given the military command, known as Imperium for ten years. This office included the administration of Roman provinces that required the presence of the army. The official name of Octavian became Imperator Caesar Augustus From that time would be known as Augustus, which means “the Exalted”.

The Roman lower classes became enraged that a small group of Senators had assassinated Julius Caesar. Mark Antony twisted the dagger of grief of the Roman mob ever so slightly to cause fury among them and threatened to unleash them on the Optimates. But Caesar had named his grandnephew Gaius Octavius, his sole heir. Octavius became Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus or Octavian, the son of the great Caesar. Octavian, who was only 18 when his granduncle died, proved to have considerable political skills, and while Antony dealt with Decimus Brutus in the first round of the new civil wars, Octavian consolidated his tenuous

Here is a story about one ruler of Rome and how he became to be a Ruler. Augustus was born in Rome on September 23, 63 BC. He then died on August 19, 14 AD in Nola, Italy. Augustus was best known for being the first Roman Emperor and establishing the Roman Empire. His birth name was Gaius Octavius Thurinus, but people called him Octavian until later in life. Augustus’s mother was related to Julius Caesar. When Augustus became a man he got involved in the politics of Rome and also wanted to join his uncle Caesar in battle. Since Julius was impressed with young Augustus he hired his fortune and name to Augustus. After Julius’s death Augustus found out that he had been adopted by his Uncle Caesar. Augustus was then elected to position of consul.

Augustus' familial ties with Caesar are perhaps most important in his ascension to power. While just a boy he had no public image or standing therefore he had no power according to Roman culture. He was not recognized as anyone of importance in the eyes of the senate or citizenry of The Republic. However when taken under the wing of Caesar, one of the most powerful and loved men in all of Rome, he marches with him in the victory parades of Caesar's military conquest of Africa, Rome's newest conquest which included Egypt and it's infamous Queen Cleopatra. He also accompanied Caesar into battle in his final conquest of Spain. These events placed Octavius into the spotlight of public life where according to the Roman ideologies of courage, bravery, strength, loyalty, military conquest, glory and honor he won their praise and acceptance. He was also a noted scholar, tactician and aristocrat; a gifted orator, he embodied everything it meant to be a citizen of Rome, honorable, courageous, brilliant and cunning.

The Romans were on one of the greatest people of all. They had power, wealth, and even a half of the world. They built one of the strongest and vast empire that world has ever seen. They came from nothing to something awesome. It started of as a city and ended up being one of the greatest empire of all. This essay is going to focus on the Roman Empire from the rise to the fall and the government, architecture, mythology, Family Structure, and Food of the Romans.

The peace between Antony and Octavius did not last. Cleopatra, the Egyptian queen, started to influence Antony, and this was alarming to most Romans. They feared that she wanted the Roman Empire. Antony did not help the situation when he sent home his second wife Octavia, the sister of Octavius, which was seen as a personal attack. This confirmed Cleopatra as his wife, which Octavius used against him. Octavius made the smart move of waiting for the triumviral powers to expire. He then moved his attention to the military and gained the needed funds for the war against Antony. Octavius was supported by his lifelong friend, Agrippa. Agrippa helped Octavius with his military actions and with gaining political support. He was a great asset to Octavius and was loyal to him until the end. These actions and preparations helped Octavius gain the public support of Rome, while also turning it against Antony. Antony controlled around 30 legions and 500 ships. This led to the naval battle of Actium, against the smaller forces of Octavius. As Octavius took his time chasing them, he was surprised at the little resistance. Antony risked a battle, but his soldiers deserted in droves. His end was now inevitable. Not only his own end, but also Cleopatra’s. (Southern 2001, 99). They both committed suicide and Octavius was victorious and annexed Egypt into the Roman Empire.