Lily Lamb

Latin 1
Professor Cian
10-16-17

Augustus Caesar: First Emperor of Rome

Augustus Caesar was a very influential man in the development of Ancient Rome.

He was the first Roman emperor and under his influence many positive improvements

occurred. During his 45 years as emperor he created establishments, ended wars, and

expanded the boundaries of the Roman empire. Augustus may often be confused with, or

even overshadowed by, his great-uncle Julius Caesar. They were not, however, the same

person. Augustus was his own person and did many great things for the Romans. (1, 3, 4)

Augustus Caesar was not always known as Augustus Caesar. In Nola, Italy on

September 23, 63 B.C., the future emperor was born under the name Gaius Octavius. The

earliest experience with politics that Gaius had was his father. His father was the first in

his family to become a senator; from this position he was elected to be a praetor which

was the second most powerful position in the political hierarchy of Rome. Gaius was,

from a very early age, raised in the full bustle of Roman life. The person behind his social

upbringing was none other than his legendary great-uncle Julius Caesar. Caesar made

himself such a prominent part of Gaius’s life largely because he had no son of his own. It

was the tradition of the time that when such events occurred, the person in search of an

heir would choose his next closest male relative to be his successor; and this is exactly

what Julius Caesar did. Gaius was brought along to a multitude of different social
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gatherings by his great-uncle, thus he was known to the public and seen to be following

Caesar’s success from a very early age. (2, 3)

Being the all-powerful dictator of Rome, Julius Caesar quite naturally acquired

many enemies for himself. Two such enemies, Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius

Longinus, finally decided that they’d had enough of the man and assassinated him. After

Caesar’s assassination it was announced in his will, that Caesar had adopted Gaius as his

son and principal heir. Against his family’s urgings, Gaius, at only age 18, traveled to

Rome to take over the money and position that, his now father, had left him. In honor of

the late ruler, and in hoping that he could receive some of his fame and popularity, Gaius

changed his name to be: Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, or Octavian, for short. Problems

arose when Octavian arrived in Rome. (2, 4)

As it turned out, the late Caesar’s right-hand-man felt that he should have been

made the rightful heir of Caesar’s possessions and power. The interference of this right-

hand, called Marcus Antonius (or Mark Antony), greatly inflicted on what Octavian

could inherit at first. Since Antony was overseeing Julius’s money and possessions,

Octavian faced problems in acquiring these. Antony and Octavian faced off in a bid for

power. The Senate and the people of Rome favored Octavian as he was related to the late

leader in a more direct way than Mark Antony. Antony could recognize his failing

support and fled from Rome. The Senate’s trust in Octavian allowed him to manipulate

the people to his needs and acquire a power nearly miraculous for his young age. He was
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soon both a senator and in control of the Roman Armies. Octavian had a certain military

prowess and this combined with the faith of the Army to his late adoptive father, enabled

him to achieve great things through his command of the troops. Octavian could use this

advantage to right revenge on Antony. He returned to Rome expecting to be celebrated

and bestowed with great power, but, in stark contrast, he found that there was still much

to do before he could be completely trusted and revered by the Roman public. (3, 4)

In his seek for power, and in a surprising turn of events, Octavian came to work

with his enemy, Marcus Antony. Together with another man named Marcus Aemilius

Lepidus, they formed the Second Triumvirate. A powerful trio, they worked together to

pick-off political opponents and bring a true end to the rogue senators who were behind

the death of Julius Caesar. However, once all other enemies were defeated, conflicts and

tensions were found within their bonds and they turned against each other. Lepidus was

quickly defeated and exiled, but Antony was far more skilled and ambitious. Conflicts

raged between Antony and Octavian as Antony tried to claim the Roman Empire for

himself and his lover, Cleopatra. A multitude of battles raged between the two until

Antony’s forces were defeated at the Battle of Actium. Antony and Cleopatra themselves

escaped, only to together commit suicide. Octavian gained control of Egypt and all of

Cleopatra’s treasures. With this treasure, and with all his enemies defeated, Octavian

instated himself as the emperor and supreme leader of Rome. Thus, officially ending the

Roman Republic that his adoptive father had started to plot against. (2, 3, 4)

As emperor, Octavian brought about numerous positive changes. Rome was

brought to a period full of great power, military success, and monumental moments in
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politics under his rule. In honor of this success his name was changed to Augustus by the

Senate. It is under this name, that Augustus Caesar has been written into history. (2, 3)
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Works Cited
1.) roman-empire.net/
2.) brittanica.com/
3.) thoughtco.com
4.) study.com