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Page 131
Brutus had been a friend of Caesar. After Pompey’s defeat at Pharsalus, Caesar
had pardoned him and rewarded him with the governorship of Gaul two years
later. Some accounts of the assassination report that when Caesar saw Brutus was
among those who had stabbed him, he said in surprise, “You, too, Brutus?”
After Caesar
After Caesar’s death, two of his supporters took the lead in the struggle
against Brutus and Cassius. The first was Mark Antony, a well-known general
who had served as consul with Caesar some years earlier. The second was Caesar’s
18-year-old adopted son, Ocatavian.
Caesar Augustus
After the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra, Octavian became the sole ruler of
Rome. Four years later, a grateful Senate awarded him the honorary title of
Augustus, meaning sacred. While Octavian, now Augustus Caesar, was careful to
retain the structures of the republican government, he was actually given much
History and Geography: World
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II. Ancient Rome
more power than office-holders in the old republic would have had, and his
tenure is considered the beginning of the Roman Empire and of 200 years of
peace known as the Pax Romana.
Under Augustus, the Senate was continued, but much of its power was
assumed by the emperor. It no longer chose who would rule; it only confirmed
the reigning emperor’s choice of successor (or the military’s candidate in the years
when the army held power).
Among the reforms that Augustus Caesar instituted were creation of a civil
service, establishment of a postal system, introduction of new coins for money
transactions, and reform of the census in order to make the tax system more equitable. He set up what may have been the world’s first fire department. He also had
roads constructed throughout the empire to allow for communication between
Rome and the provinces. You may have heard the expression “all roads lead to
Rome.” This was literally true of the road system Augustus worked to create.
Teaching Idea
Divide the class into groups and allow
them to conduct more in-depth
research about one of the famous historical figures discussed. Give them the
opportunity to draw a detailed portrait
of the figure and present an oral report
to the class on this famous person.
Augustus also worked to revitalize Roman religion. He promoted religious
festivals and encouraged worship of the Roman gods as a way of building loyalty
to the state. Augustus funded the renovation and construction of ornate religious
temples, as well as civic buildings. Augustus is said to have boasted that he
“found Rome brick and left it marble.”
Last but not least, Augustus was a great patron of the arts. It was during his
reign that Virgil wrote the Aeneid, mentioned on p. 125. This epic poem was
meant to glorify Augustus and Rome. Other writers also flourished during the
reign of Augustus, including Horace, Livy, and Ovid.
money on extravagant palaces and items for personal use. Others were obsessed
with themselves, or paranoid about possible enemies. Many had blood on their
hands.
The emperor who came after Marcus Aurelius, Commodus, was one of the
bad emperors. Although trained by Marcus Aurelius, Commodus turned out to be
a megalomaniac, a person obsessed with himself. He demanded that the Senate
recognize him as the reincarnation of the god Hercules and renamed Rome after
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