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From Republic to Empire
II. Rome Becomes an Empire
A. The First Triumvirate
60 BC - Caesar and two other generals,
Gnaeus Pompey and Licinius Crassus, formed
the First Triumvirate
Julius Caesar
100 - 44 BC
Gnaeus Pompey
106 - 48 BC
Licinius Crassus
115 BC – 53 BC
A. The First Triumvirate
Crassus died; Caesar defeated Pompey in a
civil war; named dictator for life in 44 BC
Julius Caesar and the Crossing of the Rubicon
The Power Vacuum
• The legacy of Julius Caesar’s death was
the political vacuum that was left after the
Ides of March.
• Caesar’s series of dictatorships and the
many titles and honors granted by the
Senate had effectively dismantled the
mechanism of government. Free elections
had not been held since 49BC
• Whoever was to fill the vacuum would
need wealth and a loyal army.
Landless Roman Peasants
Italian Allies
- Served in the armies that
had won an empire
- Wanted farmland and a minimum
standard of living
- Served in the armies that
had won an empire
- Wanted citizenship and equal
Treatment
Senate
- Intense rivalries
-Jealously protected
privileges and power
-Did not address needs for
reform
Roman Plebs
Equites
- Laborers and poor of the capital
- Access to grain and bread at
affordable prices
- Wealthy and distinguished non-senators
- Wanted honors and recognition and did
not want senators to look down on them
B. The Second Triumvirate
43 BC - Octavian, Marc Antony, and Lepidus
seized power; formed the Second Triumvirate
Octavian
63 BC - AD 14
Marc Antony
83 BC – 30 BC
Lepidus
90 BC - 13 BC
B. The Second Triumvirate
Lepidus forced out; Antony and Octavian
each governed half the empire
Octavian and Antony
Heirs apparent?
As individuals what do they have and what do
they lack to take up the fill the shoes of
Caesar?
OCTAVIAN
Sources of power
NAME OF CAESAR:
Patrician birth
Clientale
Loyal army
Wealth?
MARK ANTONY
SOURCES OF POWER
•In possession of CaesarS will
•Consul for 44BC
•Loyalty of veterans
•From the Civil War
B. The Second Triumvirate
31 BC - Civil war between Octavian and Antony;
Octavian defeated Antony and Egypt’s Cleopatra
The Battle of Actium
B. The Second Triumvirate
Cleopatra, Antony committed suicide; Octavian
controlled Rome; republic ended, beginning a
new period in Roman history
Antony and Cleopatra
C. From Octavian to Augustus
27 BC - Senate gave Octavian title of Augustus,
“the revered one”
Birth name:
Gaius Octavius
Thurinus
Name as Emperor:
Gaius Julius Caesar
Augustus