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Augustus

Gaius Octavius Thurinus was born on 23 September 63 BC, in Rome. He was the son of Gaius Octavius and Atia Balba Caesonia.

In 59 BC, when he was 4, his father died. Atia married again, but his new stepfather never showed much interest in him and Octavius was raised by his grandmother, Julia Minor (the sister of Julius Caesar). When she died, Atia took a more active role in raising her son.
In 46 BC, Octavius intended to join Julius Caesar in Hispania, but fell ill and was unable to travel. When recovered, he sailed to meet his great-uncle, but was shipwrecked. After coming ashore, Octavius crossed hostile territory to reach Caesar, which greatly impressed him. When back in Rome, he deposited a new will with the Vestal Virgins, naming Octavius as his heir.

Octavius was studying in Illyricum when Julius Caesar was murdered in the Ides of March 44 BC. After returning to Italy, Octavius learned of the content of Caesar's will and decided to become his political heir. Upon his adoption, Octavius assumed his great-uncle's name, Gaius Julius Caesar. Roman citizens adopted into a new family usually kept their old nomen in cognomen form (a former Octavius would be Octavianus). There is no evidence that Octavius ever used the name Octavianus, but historians refer to him as Octavian to avoid confusing him with his great-uncle.

Octavian didn't have enough funds to enter the upper echelons of the political hierarchy. So, he demanded a portion of the funds Caesar had allotted for a war against Parthia. An investigation into the disappearance of this public money took no action against Octavian because he used it to raise an army against Marcus Antonius (aka Mark Antony).

Octavian started working with the Optimates (Caesar's enemies), and Marcus Tullius Cicero began attacking Antony in a series of speeches, portraying him as a threat to the Republic. Meanwhile, Octavian kept building his army. In face of Octavian's force, Antony saw the danger and fled to Cisalpine Gaul. In April 43 BC, Antony's forces were defeated and he retreated to Transalpine Gaul.


Octavian didn't feel properly rewarded for defeating Antony, so he decided not to cooperate with the Senate. He remained in the Po Valley and refused to take further action against Antony. In July, an embassy entered Rome and demanded that Octavian receive a consulship and that the decree declaring Antony a public enemy should be rescinded. When refused, Octavian marched on Rome with 8 legions. On 19 August 43 BC, he was elected consul.


In October 43 BC, Octavian, Antony and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus formed the Second Triumvirate. They set in motion proscriptions in which 300 senators and 2000 equites were branded as outlaws and deprived of their properties and, if possible, their lives. This decree was motivated by a need to raise money to pay the salaries of the troops for the upcoming conflict against Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus.


Antony and Octavian sent 28 legions to face Brutus and Cassius, who were based in Greece. After two battles at Philippi in October 42 BC, the Caesarean army was victorious, and Brutus and Cassius committed suicide. Antony used these battles to belittle Octavian, as they were decisively won by Antony's forces. He also branded Octavian as a coward for handing the command of his armies to Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. After Philippi, a territorial agreement was made: Gaul, Hispania and Italia went to Octavian, Egypt went to Antony, and Lepidus was left with Africa.


Octavian was left to decide where he should settle the veterans of the Philippi campaign, whom he had promised to discharge. They could easily ally with an opponent if Octavian didn't appease them. He had no choice but to confiscate many citizen's land. This caused a wide dissatisfaction with Octavian and many began to rally to the side of Lucius Antonius (Antony's brother). Meanwhile, Octavian asked for a divorce from his wife, Clodia Pulchra, daughter of Fulvia (Antony's wife). Fulvia decided to act and, with Lucius Antonius, raised an army against Octavian. They ended up in a defensive siege at Perusia, where Octavian forced them to surrender. Lucius was spared and Fulvia was exiled; however, Octavian showed no mercy for their allies - they were executed on the Ides of March 40 BC.


Sextus Pompeius was the son of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (aka Pompey), and he was still a renegade general after his father's defeat. In 39 BC, he was established in Sicily and Sardinia as part of an agreement with the Triumvirate. Both Antony and Octavian were vying for an alliance with him, but Octavian was the successful one. He married Scribonia, daughter of a Pompeius' ally, who gave birth to Octavian's only biological child, Julia.


In the autumn of 40 BC, after reconciling, Octavian and Antony signed the Treaty of Brundisium. To cement this alliance, Octavian gave his sister, Octavia Minor, in marriage to Antony.


Sextus Pompeius threatened Octavian by denying him shipments of grain in the effort of causing famine in Italy. A temporary peace was agreed in 39 BC and the blockade was lifted as soon as Pompeius was granted Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica and the Peloponnese, as well as a future consulship.
The agreement began to crumble when Octavian divorced Scribonia to marry Livia Drusilla on 17 January 38 BC. Pompeius was betrayed and Sardinia and Corsica were handed to Octavian. Lacking the means to confront Pompeius alone, Octavian made an agreement with the Triumvirate: Antony would provide 120 ships to Octavian, and Octavian would sent 20000 legionaries to Antony. Octavian sent only 2000, which Antony saw as a provocation.


In 36 BC, Octavian and Lepidus launched an operation against Pompeius. Despite some setbacks, Pompeius' fleet was almost entirely destroyed. As the triumvirs accepted the surrender, Lepidus tried to take Sicily for himself. He failed and was ejected from the Triumvirate. The Roman dominions were now divided between Antony in the east and Octavian in the west.


Meanwhile, Antony's campaign in Parthia turned disastrous. The legionaries sent by Octavian were hardly enough, but Cleopatra VII could restore his army to full strength. Antony sent his wife home, and Octavian used this to spread propaganda implying that Antony was becoming less Roman because he rejected a Roman wife for an Oriental lover.


Octavian forced the entry of the temple of the Vestal Virgins and seized Antony's will, which he made public. The will would have given away Roman territories for Antony's sons to rule, and designated Alexandria as the site for a tomb for him and Cleopatra. In 32 BC, the Senate revoked Antony's powers and declared war on Cleopatra.


In 31 BC, the lovers were stationed in Greece when Octavian won a preliminary victory - he and Agrippa trapped their forces on land and sea, and deserters from Antony's armies fled to Octavian's side. In a desperate attempt to escape, Antony's fleet sailed through the bay of Actium. It was there that they faced the much larger fleet of Agrippa in the Battle of Actium. Octavian pursued them and defeated them in Alexandria on 1 August 30 BC; Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide. Octavian was now in position to rule the Republic under an unofficial Principate. He had to achieve this through incremental power gains, and he did so by courting the Senate and the people, while upholding the Republican traditions.


The civil war left Rome in a state of lawlessness, but the Republic was not ready to accept Octavian's rule. At the same time, Octavian couldn't give up his authority without causing further wars, and his position demanded that he looked for the well-being of the city and the provinces.
In 27 BC, Octavian made a great show of returning full power to the Senate and relinquishing his control of the provinces and their armies. The Senate would propose again that he assume the command of the provinces. Feigning reluctance, he accepted a 10-year responsibility, becoming the most powerful figure in Rome (even if he still didn't have complete power).


On 16 January 27 BC, the Senate gave Octavian the titles of Augustus and Princeps. He now styled himself Imperator Caesar divi filius Augustus (Commander Caesar son of god Augustus). With this title, he boasted his familial link to Julius Caesar (the god), while the use of Imperator showed a link to the Roman tradition of victory.

In the late spring, Augustus fell ill, and on his deathbed, he made arrangements that would ensure the continuation of the Principate. He only bestowed properties and possessions to his heirs, to avoid an obvious system of imperial inheritance.
Soon after his illness subsided, Augustus gave up his consulship, but wanted to retain his imperium (the ability of an individual to command the military). This led to a compromise between him and the Senate - the Second Settlement. The Second Settlement was completed in part to allay confusion and to formalise Augustus' legal authority to intervene in senatorial provinces, giving him power superior to all others in the Empire.

On 6 March 12 BC, after the death of Lepidus, Augustus became Pontifex Maximus. On 5 February 2 BC, he was given the title of Pater Patriae. Augustus' accumulation of power was now complete.


Augustus promoted the ideal of a superior Roman civilisation with the task of ruling the world. By the end of his reign, Rome had conquered northern Hispania and the Alpine regions of Raetia and Noricum, Illyricum and Panonnia, and had extended the borders of the African province. Judea was added to the province of Syria and Galatia was converted into a province.
However, Rome was not always victorious. One example was the Battle of Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD, where 3 entire legions led by Publius Quinctilus Varus were destroyed by Arminius, leader of the Cherusci and apparent Roman ally. This battle brought the end of Roman expansion into Germany.

The illness of Augustus in 23 BC brought up the problem of succession. Indications pointed to Marcellus, who was married to his daughter Julia Major. When Marcellus died, Julia married Agrippa and had 5 children: Gaius Caesar, Lucius Caesar, Vipsania Julia, Agrippina Major and Postumus Agrippa. Augustus intended to make Gaius and Lucius his heirs, even though he also favoured his stepsons, Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus (not *THAT* Nero) and Tiberius Claudius. When Agrippa died, Julia married Tiberius.
After the deaths of Gaius, Lucius and Drusus, Tiberius was adopted by Augustus and became his heir. Postumus Agrippa was not an option, as he was exiled and disowned in 7 AD.


On 19 August 14 AD, Augustus died. Livia is rumoured to have poisoned his fresh figs. Alternatively, it is possible that Livia did so as a means of assisted suicide rather than murder. Augustus' health had been in decline and he prepared for a smooth transition in power, having settled on Tiberius as his heir. Augustus' famous last words were Have I played the part well? Then applaud as I exit. Publicly, though, his last words were Behold, I found Rome of clay, and leave her to you of marble.

Augustus of Prima Porta
1st century AD

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