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| © Copyright Peter Crawford 2016 |
Imperātor Caesar Dīvī Fīlius Augustus; (23 September 63 BC – 19 August 14 AD) was the founder of the Roman Principate, ruling from 27 BC until his death in AD 14.
He was born Gaius Octavius into an old and wealthy equestrian branch of the plebeian Octavii family.
His maternal great-uncle Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC (see previous article), and Octavian was named in Caesar's will as his adopted son and his heir.
His maternal great-uncle Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC (see previous article), and Octavian was named in Caesar's will as his adopted son and his heir.
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| Marcus Lepidus |
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| Mark Antony |
He, Mark Antony, and Marcus Lepidus formed the Second Triumvirate, to defeat the assassins of Caesar.
Following their victory at Philippi, the Triumvirate divided the Roman Republic among themselves, and ruled as military dictators.
The Triumvirate was eventually torn apart under the competing ambitions of its members.
Lepidus was driven into exile, and stripped of his position, and Antony committed suicide following his defeat at the Battle of Actium by Octavian in 31 BC.
After the demise of the Second Triumvirate, Augustus restored the 'outward facade' of the free Republic, with governmental power vested in the Roman Senate, the executive magistrates, and the legislative assemblies.
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| Caesar Augustus |
By law, Augustus held a collection of powers granted to him for life by the Senate, including supreme military command, and those of Tribune and Censor.
It took several years for Augustus to develop the framework within which a formally republican state could be led under his sole rule.
He rejected monarchical titles, and instead called himself Princeps Civitatis ("First Citizen of the State").
The resulting constitutional framework became known as the Principate.
The reign of Augustus initiated an era of relative peace known as the Pax Romana (The Roman Peace).
The reign of Augustus initiated an era of relative peace known as the Pax Romana (The Roman Peace).
The Roman world was largely free from large-scale conflict for more than two centuries, despite continuous wars of imperial expansion on the Empire's frontiers and one year-long civil war over the imperial succession.
Augustus dramatically enlarged the Empire, annexing Egypt, Dalmatia, Pannonia, Noricum, and Raetia; expanding possessions in Africa; expanding into Germania; and completing the conquest of Hispania.
Beyond the frontiers, he secured the Empire with a buffer region of client states and made peace with the Parthian Empire through diplomacy.
Beyond the frontiers, he secured the Empire with a buffer region of client states and made peace with the Parthian Empire through diplomacy.
He reformed the Roman system of taxation, developed networks of roads with an official courier system, established a standing army, established the Praetorian Guard, created official police and fire-fighting services for Rome, and rebuilt much of the city during his reign.
Augustus died in AD 14 at the age of 75.
Augustus died in AD 14 at the age of 75.
He may have died from natural causes, although there were rumors that his wife Livia poisoned him.
He was succeeded as Emperor by his adopted son (also stepson and former son-in-law) Tiberius.
WHO WAS AUGUSTUS ?
People quite often become confused regarding this individual's identity, as he had a number of names, some of which were really titles (which later became names), and some names which he held in common with, and some which he usurped from, his great uncle Gaius Julius Caesar.
He was succeeded as Emperor by his adopted son (also stepson and former son-in-law) Tiberius.
WHO WAS AUGUSTUS ?
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| Gaius Julius Caesar |
At birth, he was named Gaius Octavius after his biological father.
Historians typically refer to him simply as Octavius (or Octavian - which can be another point of confusion)) between his birth in 63 until his adoption by Julius Caesar in 44 BC (after Julius Caesar's death).
Upon his adoption, he took Caesar's name and became Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus in accordance with Roman adoption naming standards.
He quickly dropped "Octavianus" from his name, and his contemporaries typically referred to him as "Caesar" during this period; - historians, however, refer to him as Octavian between 44 BC and 27 BC.
In 42 BC, Octavian began the Temple of Divus Iulius (Temple of the Divine Julius), or Temple of the Comet Star, and added 'Divi Filius' (Son of the Divine) to his name, in order to strengthen his political ties to Caesar's former soldiers by following the deification of Caesar, becoming Gaius Julius Caesar Divi Filius.
In 38 BC, Octavian replaced his praenomen "Gaius" and nomen "Julius" with 'Imperator', the title by which troops hailed their leader after military success, officially becoming Imperator Caesar Divi Filius.
In 27 BC, following his defeat of Mark Antony and Cleopatra, the Roman Senate voted new titles for him, officially becoming Imperator Caesar Divi Filius Augustus.
It is the events of 27 BC from which he obtained his traditional name of Augustus, which historians use in reference from 27 BC until his death in AD 14.
BIOGRAPHY
While his paternal family was from the town of Velletri, approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) from Rome, Augustus was born in the city of Rome on 23 September 63 BC.
He was born at Ox Head, a small property on the Palatine Hill, very close to the Roman Forum.
He was given the name Gaius Octavius Thurinus, his cognomen possibly commemorating his father's victory at Thurii over a rebellious band of slaves.
Due to the crowded nature of Rome at the time, Octavius was taken to his father's home village at Velletri to be raised.
Octavius only mentions his father's equestrian family briefly in his memoirs.
His paternal great-grandfather Gaius Octavius was a military tribune in Sicily during the Second Punic War.
His grandfather had served in several local political offices.
His father, also named Gaius Octavius, had been governor of Macedonia.
His mother, Atia, was the niece of Julius Caesar.
In 59 BC, when he was four years old, his father died.
His mother married a former governor of Syria, Lucius Marcius Philippus.
Philippus claimed descent from Alexander the Great, and was elected consul in 56 BC.
Philippus never had much of an interest in young Octavius.
Because of this, Octavius was raised by his grandmother (and Julius Caesar's sister), Julia Caesaris.
In 52 or 51 BC, Julia Caesaris died.
Octavius delivered the funeral oration for his grandmother.
From this point, his mother and stepfather took a more active role in raising him.
He donned the toga virilis four years later, and was elected to the College of Pontiffs in 47 BC.
The following year he was put in charge of the Greek games that were staged in honor of the Temple of Venus Genetrix, built by Julius Caesar.
According to Nicolaus of Damascus, Octavius wished to join Caesar's staff for his campaign in Africa, but gave way when his mother protested.
In 46 BC, she consented for him to join Caesar in Hispania, where he planned to fight the forces of Pompey, Caesar's late enemy, but Octavius fell ill and was unable to travel.
When he had recovered, he sailed to the front, but was shipwrecked; after coming ashore with a handful of companions, he crossed hostile territory to Caesar's camp, which impressed his great-uncle considerably.
Velleius Paterculus reports that after that time, Caesar allowed the young man to share his carriage.
When back in Rome, Caesar deposited a new will with the Vestal Virgins, naming Octavius as the prime beneficiary.
HEIR to GAIUS JULIUS CAESAR
BIOGRAPHY
He was born at Ox Head, a small property on the Palatine Hill, very close to the Roman Forum.
He was given the name Gaius Octavius Thurinus, his cognomen possibly commemorating his father's victory at Thurii over a rebellious band of slaves.
Due to the crowded nature of Rome at the time, Octavius was taken to his father's home village at Velletri to be raised.
Octavius only mentions his father's equestrian family briefly in his memoirs.
His paternal great-grandfather Gaius Octavius was a military tribune in Sicily during the Second Punic War.
His grandfather had served in several local political offices.
His father, also named Gaius Octavius, had been governor of Macedonia.
His mother, Atia, was the niece of Julius Caesar.
In 59 BC, when he was four years old, his father died.
His mother married a former governor of Syria, Lucius Marcius Philippus.
Philippus claimed descent from Alexander the Great, and was elected consul in 56 BC.
Philippus never had much of an interest in young Octavius.
Because of this, Octavius was raised by his grandmother (and Julius Caesar's sister), Julia Caesaris.
In 52 or 51 BC, Julia Caesaris died.
Octavius delivered the funeral oration for his grandmother.
From this point, his mother and stepfather took a more active role in raising him.
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| Gaius Octavius Thurinus |
The following year he was put in charge of the Greek games that were staged in honor of the Temple of Venus Genetrix, built by Julius Caesar.
According to Nicolaus of Damascus, Octavius wished to join Caesar's staff for his campaign in Africa, but gave way when his mother protested.
In 46 BC, she consented for him to join Caesar in Hispania, where he planned to fight the forces of Pompey, Caesar's late enemy, but Octavius fell ill and was unable to travel.
When he had recovered, he sailed to the front, but was shipwrecked; after coming ashore with a handful of companions, he crossed hostile territory to Caesar's camp, which impressed his great-uncle considerably.
Velleius Paterculus reports that after that time, Caesar allowed the young man to share his carriage.
When back in Rome, Caesar deposited a new will with the Vestal Virgins, naming Octavius as the prime beneficiary.
HEIR to GAIUS JULIUS CAESAR
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| The Ides of March (15 March) 44 BC. |
Octavius was studying and undergoing military training in Apollonia, Illyria, when Julius Caesar was killed on the Ides of March (15 March) 44 BC.
He rejected the advice of some army officers to take refuge with the troops in Macedonia and sailed to Italy to ascertain whether he had any potential political fortunes or security.
Gaius Julius Caesar had no living legitimate children under Roman law, (if Caesarion - by Cleopatra - was his legitimate son, then it was only by Egyptian law), and so had adopted Octavius, his grand-nephew, making him his main heir.
Mark Antony later charged that Octavian had earned his adoption by Caesar through sexual favors, (this was possible, but unlikely), and Suetonius describes Antony's accusation as political slander.
After landing at Lupiae near Brundisium, Octavius learned the contents of Caesar's will, and only then did he decide to become Caesar's political heir as well as heir to two-thirds of his estate.
Upon his adoption, Octavius assumed his great-uncle's name Gaius Julius Caesar.
Roman citizens adopted into a new family usually retained their old nomen in cognomen form (e.g., Octavianus for one who had been an Octavius, Aemilianus for one who had been an Aemilius, etc.), however, though some of his contemporaries did, there is no evidence that Octavius ever himself officially used the name Octavianus, as it would have made his modest origins too obvious.
Historians usually refer to the new Caesar as Octavian during the time between his adoption and his assumption of the name Augustus in 27 BC, in order to avoid confusing the dead dictator with his heir.
Octavian could not rely on his limited funds to make a successful entry into the upper echelons of the Roman political hierarchy so, after a warm welcome by Caesar's soldiers at Brundisium, Octavian demanded a portion of the funds that were allotted by Caesar for the intended war against Parthia in the Middle East.
Octavian could not rely on his limited funds to make a successful entry into the upper echelons of the Roman political hierarchy so, after a warm welcome by Caesar's soldiers at Brundisium, Octavian demanded a portion of the funds that were allotted by Caesar for the intended war against Parthia in the Middle East.
This amounted to 700 million sesterces stored at Brundisium, the staging ground in Italy for military operations in the east.
A later senatorial investigation into the disappearance of the public funds took no action against Octavian, since he subsequently used that money to raise troops against the Senate's arch enemy Mark Antony.
Octavian made another bold move in 44 BC when, without official permission, he appropriated the annual tribute that had been sent from Rome's Near Eastern province to Italy.
Octavian began to bolster his personal forces with Caesar's veteran legionaries, and with troops designated for the Parthian war, gathering support by emphasizing his status as heir to Caesar.
On his march to Rome through Italy, Octavian's presence and newly acquired funds attracted many, winning over Caesar's former veterans stationed in Campania.
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| Roman Legionaries |
Arriving in Rome on 6 May 44 BC, Octavian found consul Mark Antony, Caesar's former colleague, in an uneasy truce with the dictator's assassins.
They had been granted a general amnesty on 17 March, yet Antony succeeded in driving most of them out of Rome.
This was due to his "inflammatory" eulogy (paraphrased in Shakespeare's 'Julius Caesar')given at Caesar's funeral, mounting public opinion against the assassins.
Mark Antony was amassing political support, but Octavian still had opportunity to rival him as the leading member of the faction supporting Caesar.
Mark Antony had lost the support of many Romans and supporters of Caesar when he initially opposed the motion to elevate Caesar to divine status.
Octavian failed to persuade Antony to relinquish Caesar's money to him.
During the summer, he managed to win support from Caesarian sympathizers, however, who saw the younger heir as the lesser evil, and hoped to manipulate him, or to bear with him during their efforts to get rid of Antony.
Octavian began to make common cause with the Optimates, the former enemies of Caesar.
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| Marcus Tullius Cicero |
With opinion in Rome turning against him, and his year of consular power nearing its end, Antony attempted to pass laws that would lend him control over Cisalpine Gaul, which had been assigned as part of his province, from Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus, one of Caesar's assassins.
Octavian meanwhile built up a private army in Italy by recruiting Caesarian veterans and, on 28 November, he won over two of Antony's legions with the enticing offer of monetary gain.
In the face of Octavian's large and capable force, Antony saw the danger of staying in Rome and, to the relief of the Senate, he fled to Cisalpine Gaul, which was to be handed to him on 1 January.
CONFLICT with MARK ANTONY
Decimus Brutus refused to give up Cisalpine Gaul, so Antony besieged him at Mutina.
Antony rejected the resolutions passed by the Senate to stop the violence, as the Senate had no army of its own to challenge him.
This provided an opportunity for Octavian, who already was known to have armed forces.
Cicero also defended Octavian against Antony's taunts about Octavian's lack of noble lineage and aping of Julius Caesar's name, stating "we have no more brilliant example of traditional piety among our youth."
At the urging of Cicero, the Senate inducted Octavian as senator on 1 January 43 BC, yet he also was given the power to vote alongside the former consuls.
In addition, Octavian was granted 'Propraetor Imperium' (commanding power), which legalized his command of troops, sending him to relieve the siege along with Hirtius and Pansa (the consuls for 43 BC).
In April 43 BC, Antony's forces were defeated at the battles of Forum Gallorum and Mutina, forcing Antony to retreat to Transalpine Gaul.
Both consuls were killed, however, leaving Octavian in sole command of their armies.
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| Aemilius Lepidus |
The senate heaped many more rewards on Decimus Brutus than on Octavian for defeating Antony, then attempted to give command of the consular legions to Decimus Brutus - yet Octavian decided not to cooperate.
Instead, Octavian stayed in the Po Valley, and refused to aid any further offensive against Antony.
In July, an embassy of centurions sent by Octavian entered Rome and demanded that he receive the consulship left vacant by Hirtius and Pansa.
Octavian also demanded that the decree should be rescinded which declared Antony a public enemy.
When this was refused, he marched on the city with eight legions.
He encountered no military opposition in Rome, and on 19 August 43 BC was elected consul with his relative Quintus Pedius as co-consul.
Meanwhile, Antony formed an alliance with Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, another leading Caesarian.
SECOND TRIUMVIRATE
SECOND TRIUMVIRATE
In a meeting near Bologna in October 43 BC, Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus formed a junta called the Second Triumvirate.
This explicit arrogation of special powers lasting five years was then supported by law passed by the plebs, unlike the unofficial First Triumvirate formed by Pompey, Julius Caesar, and Marcus Licinius Crassus.
The triumvirs then set in motion proscriptions in which 300 senators and 2,000 equites allegedly were branded as outlaws, and deprived of their property and, for those who failed to escape, their lives.
The estimation that 300 senators were proscribed was presented by Appian, although his earlier contemporary Livy asserted that only 130 senators had been proscribed.
This decree, issued by the triumvirate, was motivated in part by a need to raise money to pay the salaries of their troops for the upcoming conflict against Caesar's assassins, Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus.
Rewards for their arrest gave incentive for Romans to capture those proscribed, while the assets and properties of those arrested were seized by the triumvirs.
Contemporary Roman historians provide conflicting reports as to which triumvir was more responsible for the proscriptions and killing, however, the sources agree that enacting the proscriptions was a means by all three factions to eliminate political enemies.
Marcus Velleius Paterculus asserted that Octavian tried to avoid proscribing officials whereas Lepidus and Antony were to blame for initiating them.
Cassius Dio defended Octavian as trying to spare as many as possible, whereas Antony and Lepidus, being older and involved in politics longer, had many more enemies to deal with.
On 1 January 42 BC, the Senate posthumously recognized Julius Caesar as a divinity of the Roman state, - Divus Iulius.
Octavian was able to further his cause by emphasizing the fact that he was 'Divi filius', "Son of the God".
Antony and Octavian then sent 28 legions by sea to face the armies of Brutus and Cassius, who had built their base of power in Greece.
After two battles at Philippi in Macedonia in October 42, the Caesarian army was victorious and Brutus and Cassius committed suicide.
Mark Antony later used the examples of these battles as a means to belittle Octavian, as both battles were decisively won with the use of Antony's forces.
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| Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa |
In addition to claiming responsibility for both victories, Antony also branded Octavian as a coward for handing over his direct military control to Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa instead.
After Philippi, a new territorial arrangement was made among the members of the Second Triumvirate.
Gaul and the provinces of Hispania and Italia were placed in the hands of Octavian.
Antony traveled east to Egypt where he allied himself with Queen Cleopatra VII, the former lover of Julius Caesar and mother of Caesar's infant son Caesarion.
Lepidus was left with the province of Africa, stymied by Antony, who conceded Hispania to Octavian instead.
Octavian was left to decide where in Italy to settle the tens of thousands of veterans of the Macedonian campaign, whom the triumvirs had promised to discharge.
The tens of thousands who had fought on the republican side with Brutus and Cassius could easily ally with a political opponent of Octavian if not appeased, and they also required land.
There was no more government-controlled land to allot as settlements for their soldiers, so Octavian had to choose one of two options: alienating many Roman citizens by confiscating their land, or alienating many Roman soldiers who could mount a considerable opposition against him in the Roman heartland. Octavian chose the former.
There were as many as eighteen Roman towns affected by the new settlements, with entire populations driven out or at least given partial evictions.
DIVORCE and REBELLION
There was widespread dissatisfaction with Octavian over these settlements of his soldiers, and this encouraged many to rally at the side of Lucius Antonius, who was brother of Mark Antony and supported by a majority in the Senate.
Meanwhile, Octavian asked for a divorce from Clodia Pulchra, the daughter of Fulvia (Mark Antony's wife), and her first husband Publius Clodius Pulcher.
He returned Clodia to her mother, claiming that their marriage had never been consummated (?).
Fulvia decided to take action.
Together with Lucius Antonius, she raised an army in Italy to fight for Antony's rights against Octavian.
Lucius and Fulvia took a political and martial gamble in opposing Octavian, however, since the Roman army still depended on the triumvirs for their salaries.
Lucius and his allies ended up in a defensive siege at Perusia (modern Perugia), where Octavian forced them into surrender in early 40 BC.
Lucius and his army were spared, due to his kinship with Antony, the strongman of the East, while Fulvia was exiled to Sicyon.
Octavian showed no mercy, however, for the mass of allies loyal to Lucius; on 15 March, the anniversary of Julius Caesar's assassination, he had 300 Roman senators and equestrians executed for allying with Lucius.
Perusia also was pillaged and burned as a warning for others.
This bloody event sullied Octavian's reputation and was criticized by many, such as Augustan poet Sextus Propertius.
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| Pompey Magnus |
He was established in Sicily and Sardinia as part of an agreement reached with the Second Triumvirate in 39 BC.
Both Antony and Octavian were vying for an alliance with Pompeius, who was a member of the republican party, ironically, not the Caesarian faction.
Octavian succeeded in a temporary alliance in 40 BC when he married Scribonia, a daughter of Lucius Scribonius Libo who was a follower of Sextus Pompeius as well as his father-in-law.
Scribonia gave birth to Octavian's only natural child, Julia, who was born the same day that he divorced her to marry Livia Drusilla, little more than a year after their marriage.
While in Egypt, Antony had been engaged in an affair with Cleopatra, and had fathered three children with her.
Aware of his deteriorating relationship with Octavian, Antony left Cleopatra; he sailed to Italy in 40 BC with a large force to oppose Octavian, laying siege to Brundisium.
This new conflict proved untenable for both Octavian and Antony, however.
Their centurions, who had become important figures politically, refused to fight due to their Caesarian cause, while the legions under their command followed suit.
Meanwhile, in Sicyon, Antony's wife Fulvia died of a sudden illness while Antony was en route to meet her.
Fulvia's death and the mutiny of their centurions allowed the two remaining triumvirs to effect a reconciliation.
In the autumn of 40, Octavian and Antony approved the Treaty of Brundisium, by which Lepidus would remain in Africa, Antony in the East, Octavian in the West.
The Italian peninsula was left open to all for the recruitment of soldiers, but in reality, this provision was useless for Antony in the East.
To further cement relations of alliance with Mark Antony, Octavian gave his sister, Octavia Minor, in marriage to Antony in late 40 BC.
During their marriage, Octavia gave birth to two daughters (known as Antonia Major and Antonia Minor).
WAR with POMPEIUS
Sextus Pompeius threatened Octavian in Italy by denying shipments of grain through the Mediterranean to the peninsula.
Pompeius' own son was put in charge as naval commander in the effort to cause widespread famine in Italy.
Pompeius' control over the sea prompted him to take on the name Neptuni filius, "son of Neptune" (seriously ?).
A temporary peace agreement was reached in 39 BC with the treaty of Misenum; the blockade on Italy was lifted once Octavian granted Pompeius Sardinia, Corsica, Sicily, and the Peloponnese, and ensured him a future position as consul for 35 BC.
The territorial agreement between the triumvirate and Sextus Pompeius began to crumble once Octavian divorced Scribonia and married Livia on 17 January 38 BC.
One of Pompeius' naval commanders betrayed him, and handed over Corsica and Sardinia to Octavian.
Octavian lacked the resources to confront Pompeius alone, however, so an agreement was reached with the Second Triumvirate's extension for another five-year period beginning in 37 BC.
In supporting Octavian, Antony expected to gain support for his own campaign against Parthia, desiring to avenge Rome's defeat at Carrhae in 53 BC.
In an agreement reached at Tarentum, Antony provided 120 ships for Octavian to use against Pompeius, while Octavian was to send 20,000 legionaries to Antony for use against Parthia.
Octavian sent only a tenth of those promised, however, which Antony viewed as an intentional provocation.
Octavian and Lepidus launched a joint operation against Sextus in Sicily in 36 BC.
Despite setbacks for Octavian, the naval fleet of Sextus Pompeius was almost entirely destroyed on 3 September by general Agrippa at the naval Battle of Naulochus.
Sextus fled to the east with his remaining forces, where he was captured and executed in Miletus by one of Antony's generals the following year.
As Lepidus and Octavian accepted the surrender of Pompeius' troops, Lepidus attempted to claim Sicily for himself, ordering Octavian to leave.
Lepidus' troops deserted him, however, and defected to Octavian since they were weary of fighting - (by this time almost everybody was wearying of all the fighting) - and were enticed by Octavian's promises of money.
Lepidus surrendered to Octavian, and was permitted to retain the office of pontifex maximus (head of the college of priests), but was ejected from the Triumvirate, his public career at an end, and effectively was exiled to a villa at Cape Circei in Italy.
The Roman dominions were now divided between Octavian in the West and Antony in the East.
Octavian ensured Rome's citizens of their rights to property in order to maintain peace and stability in his portion of the Empire.
This time, he settled his discharged soldiers outside of Italy, while also returning 30,000 slaves to their former Roman owners - slaves who had fled to join Pompeius' army and navy.
Octavian had the Senate grant him, his wife, and his sister tribunal immunity, or 'sacrosanctitas', in order to ensure his own safety, and that of Livia and Octavia, once he returned to Rome.
WAR with MARK ANTONY and CLEOPATRA
Meanwhile, Antony's campaign turned disastrous against Parthia, tarnishing his image as a leader, and the mere 2,000 legionaries sent by Octavian to Antony were hardly enough to replenish his forces.
On the other hand, Cleopatra could restore his army to full strength; he already was engaged in a romantic affair with her, so he decided to send Octavia back to Rome.
Octavian used this to spread propaganda implying that Antony was becoming less than Roman because he rejected a legitimate Roman spouse for an "Oriental paramour".
In 36 BC, Octavian used a political ploy to make himself look less autocratic and Antony more the villain by proclaiming that the civil wars were coming to an end, and that he would step down as triumvir - if only Antony would do the same.
Antony, of course, refused.
Roman troops captured the Kingdom of Armenia in 34 BC, and Antony made his son Alexander Helios the ruler of Armenia.
He also awarded the title "Queen of Kings" to Cleopatra, and 'King of Kings' to Caesarion - acts that Octavian used to convince the Roman Senate that Antony had ambitions to diminish the preeminence of Rome.
Octavian became consul once again on 1 January 33 BC, and he opened the following session in the Senate with a vehement attack on Antony's grants of titles and territories to his relatives and to his queen (the Donations of Alexandria).
The breach between Antony and Octavian prompted a large portion of the Senators, as well as both of that year's consuls, to leave Rome and defect to Antony.
However, Octavian received two key deserters from Antony in the autumn of 32 BC: Munatius Plancus and Marcus Titius.
These defectors gave Octavian the information that he needed to confirm with the Senate all the accusations that he made against Antony.
Octavian forcibly entered the temple of the Vestal Virgins and seized Antony's secret will, which he promptly publicized.
The will would have given away Roman-conquered territories as kingdoms for his sons to rule, and designated Alexandria as the site for a tomb for him and his queen.
In late 32 BC, the Senate officially revoked Antony's powers as consul and declared war on Cleopatra's regime in Egypt.
In early 31 BC, Antony and Cleopatra were temporarily stationed in Greece when Octavian gained a preliminary victory: the navy successfully ferried troops across the Adriatic Sea under the command of Agrippa.
Agrippa cut off Antony and Cleopatra's main force from their supply routes at sea, while Octavian landed on the mainland opposite the island of Corcyra (modern Corfu) and marched south.
Trapped on land and sea, deserters of Antony's army fled to Octavian's side daily while Octavian's forces were comfortable enough to make preparations.
Antony's fleet sailed through the bay of Actium on the western coast of Greece in a desperate attempt to break free of the naval blockade.
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| The Battle of Actium |
Antony and his remaining forces were spared only due to a last-ditch effort by Cleopatra's fleet that had been waiting nearby.
Octavian pursued them, and defeated their forces in Alexandria on 1 August 30 BC - after which Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide.
Antony fell on his own sword, and was taken by his soldiers back to Alexandria where he died in Cleopatra's arms.
Cleopatra died soon after, reputedly by the venomous bite of an asp or by poison.
Octavian had exploited his position as Caesar's heir to further his own political career, and he was well aware of the dangers in allowing another person to do so the same.
He, therefore, followed the advice of Arius Didymus that "two Caesars are one too many", ordering young Caesarion (17) to be killed (Julius Caesar's son by Cleopatra), while sparing Cleopatra's children by Antony, with the exception of Antony's older son.
Octavian had previously shown little mercy to surrendered enemies, and acted in ways that had proven unpopular with the Roman people, yet he was given credit for pardoning many of his opponents after the Battle of Actium.
PAX ROMANA
And so the seemingly endless civil wars that had almost ruined the Roman Republic and its Empire came to an end, with Octavian as the most powerful military and political leader in Rome.
The task that then faced Octavian was to prevent a further outbreak of conflict.
Still Roman politics and politicians were divided.
Some supported the Republic ,and others a form of Caeserism (autocracy).
Octavian's task was to reconcile the two factions by carefully wrapping and disguising his own autocracy, (the Principate), within the folds of the Roman Republic.
to continue the story of Octavian and the Roman Principate go to:
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| © Copyright Peter Crawford 2016 |
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| © Copyright Peter Crawford 2016 |
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