Download He was probably the greatest general of Roman history His soldiers

Rome was in a dangerous place in
the 70s BC
•Generals and politicians wanted
to increase their power
•The unemployed rioted
•People flooded into the city
Cicero, a gifted philosopher and
orator (public speaker) called on
Romans to make Rome a better
place
•He wanted to limit the power of
the generals and restore the
checks and balances
•He was unsuccessful
He was probably the greatest
general of Roman history
His soldiers respected him because he
treated them well
Between 58 and 50 BC he conquered
nearly all of Gaul and part of Britain
Caesar’s military success gave him
political power
He was also a skilled speaker
He had powerful friends in Pompey
and Crassus
Together, they fought against the
senate
Eventually, Caesar’s power made his
friends jealous
In 50 BC Pompey’s allies in the
senate ordered Caesar to give up his
legions and return to Rome
In 49 BC Caesar “crossed the
Rubicon,” which led to civil war
Upon getting to Rome, he forced the
Senate to name him dictator
Many resented this and feared he
was trying to become a king
On March 15, 44 BC, a group of
Senators, including Brutus, killed
him in the Senate house
Caesar’s murderers were forced to
flee for their lives
Two leaders emerged to take control
•One was Marc Anthony, a former
assistant of Caesar
•The other was Caesar’s nephew,
Octavian, later called Augustus
In 43 BC, Antony and Octavian
defeated Caesar’s killers at Philippi
Antony went to Egypt, met
Cleopatra, and divorced his wife,
Octavian’s sister
This behavior led to civil war in 31
BC
Octavian’s fleet defeated Antony’s at
Actium
As a result, Antony and Cleopatra
fled to Egypt and committed suicide
Octavian became Rome’s sole ruler
In 27 BC Octavian announced that
he was giving up his power to the
Senate
But, in reality, he kept most of it
He took the title of princeps, first
citizen
The Senate gave him the title
Augustus, “revered one”
Modern historians consider this to
mark the end of the Roman
Republic…
…and the beginning of the Roman
Empire