Download Fall of the Republic

Fall of the Republic
2nd Triumvirate – Principate of Augustus
Assassination and Aftermath
Caesar was assassinated by a
senatorial conspiracy on March
15 of 44 BC. He was dictator at
the time.
Mark Antony promised to cooperate with
the conspiracy, but gives an inflammatory
address at Caesar’s funeral. Riots begin
and the conspirators are forced to flee
Rome. No one is able to assume political
dominance in Rome, although Antony
tries.
Octavian
Gaius Octavius was Caesar’s greatnephew, an 18-year-old in Apollonia in
Macedonia. His companions tried to
convince him to stay safely in
Macedonia, but he returned to Italy to
see if he could gain some power in the
crisis there.
On returning to Italy, he discovered he had been adopted by Caesar in his will. He
changed his name to Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, and began working to regain
some of Caesar’s power, which set him at odds with Antony.
Antony, Cicero, and the Senate
Antony was working to take over Caesar’s veteran troops and establish dominance
over the Senate as the new Caesar. Cicero led a political party which opposed him. In a
series of 14 famous speeches known as the Philippics, he attacked Antony as a private
nuisance and a public enemy.
When Octavian appeared as a rival to Antony, Cicero allied with him, seeing his
popularity with the troops as a counter to his enemy. There were tensions,
however, especially around a remark by Cicero that Octavian was ‘laudandus,
ornandus, tollendus.’
The Second Triumvirate
Octavian accompanied an army led by the Roman consuls to drive Antony out of
Cisalpine Gaul, where he had established a base. At Mutina, the senatorial army was
victorious, but both consuls were killed. Octavian requested that he be elected
consul, but Cicero and the Senate refused.
Octavian realized that he might have more advantages teaming up with Antony. He,
Antony, and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, who had troops in Spain, formed the Second
Triumvirate, which was ratified by the Senate as the governing body. Enemies of the
triumvirate, including Cicero, were put to death.
Battle of Philippi
Some of the conspirators, especially Brutus and Cassius, had gone to the East for safety.
They gathered troops, preparing for the inevitable move by politicians like Antony and
Octavian, who claimed to be loyal to Caesar’s memory, to punish them for his murder.
Octavian and Antony led
an army with a core of
Caesar’s veterans to meet
them near the town of
Philippi in Macedonia.
The battle was fought in
two stages. In the first,
Antony defeated Cassius,
who committed suicide,
but Brutus’s army overran
Octavian’s. Brutus then
committed suicide as
well, and his army fell
apart.
Aftermath of the Battle
Because Antony had won the battle, he took the popular job of going east to
fight a war against the Parthians. Octavian was left to go back to Rome to settle
the continuing political and economic troubles, and find land for the soldiers.
However, Antony’s war did not go well, and Octavian did an excellent job of
consolidating power in Rome. He defeated Sextus Pompeius, who had become
a pirate, and eventually dealt with Lepidus, who felt he was losing power and
opposed him. Octavian sent Lepidus into retirement, seizing his power and
offices for himself.
Octavian and Antony drew apart.
Antony’s wife was killed in a revolt.
Octavian arranged for Antony to marry
his sister Octavia, but he sent her back
to Rome and began a famous affair
with Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt.
Agrippa and Maecenas
One of Octavian’s advantages was his ability to maintain friendships with
other very capable people who did not mind him taking the credit for their
work. Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa was a talented military commander who
usually handled Octavian’s troops for him. Gaius Cilnius Maecenas, a
descendant of Etruscan kings, was a talented diplomat and a patron of artists.
Battles of Actium and Alexandria
Octavian was able to spin Antony’s
Egyptian attachments as treasonous,
and gathered an army of Romans to
go east to meet him. Actium (31 BC)
was a siege that became a sea battle.
Antony and Cleopatra had an
enormous but undermanned fleet,
and lost the initiative to Octavian’s
lighter, better-handling ships.
Antony’s navy attempted to
break out through Octavian’s
fleet, but at a critical point in
the battle, Cleopatra ran, and
Antony followed, leaving much
of his fleet and most of his army
in Octavian’s hands. They
returned to Alexandria, where
each committed suicide to avoid
being captured.
Augustus and the Principate
The Senate realized that Octavian was both an opportunity and a threat. In 27 BC, he
officially handed control back to the Senate, but was voted many powers and the new
title ‘Augustus.’
Augustus is careful to always present himself as reforming the Republican
constitution, but the Senate takes no action without his approval and that of his army.