Octavian: The Boy Who Would Become Emperor

Octavian was born in Rome in 63 BC. He took the name Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus in 44 BC, after his great uncle, Julius Caesar, was murdered. Caesar adopted Octavian in his will and made the 19 year old youth his heir. Octavian returned to Rome from Apollonia, in what is now Albania, to claim his inheritance.

Octavian saw his ascension to authority as a right, an inheritance from Caesar. Mark Antony too had designs on holding absolute power in Rome.

Octavian began by allying himself with the senatorial party in order to crush Mark Antony, whom, with the assistance of the two consuls, Hirtius and Pansa, he defeated at Mutina (43). But the death of both consuls in action gave Octavian command of all their troops, who compelled the Senate to give him the consulship.

He could now afford a reconciliation with Antony. The latter had been joined by M. Aemilius Lepidus, and towards the end of that year (27 November) the three formed a five-year coalition, known to history as the second triumvirate, dividing among themselves the western provinces and leaving Brutus and Cassius in possession of the eastern for the time being.

Proscriptions followed, in which more than 200 knights and senators, among them Cicero perished. What was left of the republican party joined Brutus and Cassius, or Sextus Pompeius.

Octavian began at once to consolidate his power. In 40 B.c. he suppressed an uprising in Italy led by Antony's wife, Fulvia, and brother, Lucius. Four years later, by defeating Pompey's son Sextus, Octavian gained control of the western Mediterranean. Lepidus, whose African province was threatened by Octavian's southward advance, contested Octavian's claim to Sicily and was removed from his command. Octavian was now unchallenged master in the West.

Meanwhile, in the East, Antony, whose wife, Fulvia, had died, had fallen under the spell of Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt. During a brief return to Italy, however, Antony renewed his alliance with Octavian and bound it by his marriage to Octavian's sister, Octavia.

In spite of the marriage to Octavia, Antony married Cleopatra in 36 B.C. following his return to the east. After a disastrous campaign beyond the Euphrates, in which he lost 20,000 men, Antony further angered Octavian by divorcing Octavia and by making Cleopatra a gift of Rome's eastern possessions.

The triumvirate was scheduled to end in 33 B.c., and, at that time, Octavian's prestige was such that he could rule alone. Instead of renewing the triumvirate, Octavian used the popular hostility toward Antony to have him deprived of his powers by the senate.

In 31 the excesses of Antony, and the discovery of evidence proving the Egyptian queen's dangerous ambitions, led to a declaration of war on Cleopatra. by declaring war on Cleopatra, Octavian began to remove the last barrier between him and attainment of his inheritance from Caesar. On 21 December 31 BC Octavian's fleet, commanded by Agrippa, encountered the enemy off Actium in Acarnania. Antony's fleet was annihilated and his land forces surrendered.

Octavian then placed Egypt under his personal administration and returned to Rome in triumph.

War finally broke out and Antony was defeated at Actium in Greece in 31 BC, leaving Octavian as sole ruler of the Roman Empire. His claim to sole power was recognised by the Roman Senate.

Octavian, who still wielded the extraordinary powers that the senate had permitted him in pursuing Mark Antony, increased his popularity by his generous treatment of his enemies, by land grants and bonuses to all veterans, and by such reforms as a fairer tax system. In 27 BC , Octavian appeared before the senate, volunteering to renounce his powers and to restore the Roman Republic, Instead of grasping the opportunity to strip Octavian of power, the senate heaped new honors on him. As the chief of the armies, he held the title of imperator meaning "commander" As proconsul Octavian controlled the Roman provinces where armed force was still required. He was proclaimed princeps meaning "first citizen" and was also called Augustus ("the revered").

Four years later, Augustus resigned as consul, a post he had held from year to year. The senate then extended his power by giving Augustus fuller control of the provinces and of civil affairs in italy and in the city of Rome. He was responsible for the protection of Roman citizens and for management of the all-important grain supply. He was also put in charge of the public morals, and he proved a strict guardian. In 12 BC he became the pontifex maximus, the religious leader of Rome.

These legally granted powers gave Augustus the status of an emperor, but in deference to the republican sentiments of the Romans he used the more modest title princeps . Throughout his reign he sustained the illusion that Rome was not a monarchy and that he and the senate were equally powerful. Taxes paid into a military treasury kept others from using the armed forces to gain power. While tightening his hold on the government of Rome, Augustus used his authority to restore order and firm control throughout the Roman world. After Agrippa conquered northern Spain Augustan began to establish cities in the Iberian Peninsula.

Rome entered a period of significant Roman literature and art. Virgil, Horace, Livy, and Ovid produced their great writings. Architecture also reached a new height, and Augustus was responsible for the rebuilding of much of Rome. The Ara Pacis (altar of peace) was built in honor of the peace that Augustus gave Rome. The reign of Augustus became known as the Augustan age. And with it the birth of an empire.