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World History / Textbooks / Boundless World History I: Ancient-1600 / The Roman World / The Roman Empire
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Augustus Caesar and the Early Principate
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Augustus rose to power after Julius Caesar's assassination through a series of
tactical political and military maneuvers, and established himself as the first emperor
of Rome after the defeat of Mark Antony.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES [ edit ]
Describe the political climate in which Augustus rose to power
Explain the key features of Augustus' reign and the reason for its success
KEY POINTS [ edit ]
Following the assassination of his maternal great-uncle Julius Caesar in 44 BCE, Caesar's will named Octavian
as his adopted son and heir when Octavian was only 19 years old.
By ingratiating himself with his father's legions, Octavian was able to fulfill the military demands of the Roman
Senate. He quickly gained both power and prestige, and formed the Second Triumvirate with Antony and
Lepidus in 43 BCE.
By 31 BCE, Octavian had emerged as the sole ruler of Rome upon the defeat of the two other triumvirs.
After the demise of the Second Triumvirate, Augustus restored the outward facade of the free Republic, with
governmental power vested in the Roman Senate, the executive magistrates, and the legislative assemblies. In
reality, however, he retained his autocratic power over the Republic as a military dictator.
Augustus rejected monarchical titles, and instead called himself princeps civitatis ("First Citizen"), thereby
distancing himself from any possible notion of monarchy or kingship.
Through his reign, Augustus secured peace for the Empire, reformed the Roman system of taxation, developed
networks of roads with an official courier system, established a standing army and the Praetorian Guard,
created official police and fire-fighting services, and rebuilt much of the city.
TERMS [ edit ]
Mark Antony
Julius Caesar's right hand man, and a member of the Second Triumvirate. He was eventually defeated by
Octavian at the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE.
Augustus
founder of the Roman Empire, often called Octavian during his early years and rise to power.
princeps civitatis
"First Citizen," a title designated by Augustus to describe his new position as sole ruler of the Roman Empire.
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FULL TEXT [ edit ]
Augustus is regarded by many scholars as the
founder of the Roman Empire and its first Emperor.
He ruled from 27 BCE until his death in 14 CE.
Rise to Power
Born Gaius Octavius, Octavian was from an old and
wealthy equestrian branch of the plebeian Octavii
family. Following the assassination of his maternal
great-uncle Julius Caesar in 44 BCE, Caesar's will
named Octavian as his adopted son and heir when
Octavian was only 19 years old. The young Octavian
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quickly took advantage of the situation and
ingratiated himself with both the Roman people and his adoptive father's legions, thereby elevating his status
and importance within Rome.
Despite earlier alliances with Mark Antony, Julius Caesar's Master of the Horse and right hand man, Octavian
eventually allied himself with the senate, and notably, Cicero. He further established himself both politically
and militarily in the following months, and was declared a senator and granted the power of military
command, imperium, in 43 BCE. He defeated and forced Antony to retreat to Transalpine Gaul, and was
further able to leverage his successes to obtain the vacant consulships left by the two defeated consuls of that
year.
Octavian eventually reached an uneasy truce with Mark Antony and Marcus Lepidus in October of 43, and
together, the three formed the Second Triumvirate to defeat the assassins of Caesar. Following their victory
against Brutus at Phillipi, the Triumvirate divided the Roman Republic among themselves and ruled as
military dictators.
Relations within the Triumvirate were strained as the various members sought greater political power. Civil
war between Antony and Octavian was averted in 40 BC when Antony married Octavian's sister Octavia
Minor. Despite his marriage, Antony continued his love affair with Cleopatra, further straining political ties to
Rome. With Lepidus expelled in 36 BC, the Triumvirate finally broke up in 33 BC as disagreements between
Octavian and Antony erupted into civil war in 31 BC. The Roman Senate, at Octavian's direction, declared war
on Cleopatra and proclaimed Antony a traitor. Antony was defeated by Octavian at the naval Battle of Actium
the same year. Defeated, Antony fled with Cleopatra back to Egypt where he committed suicide. With Antony
dead, Octavian was left as the undisputed master of the Roman world. Octavian would assume the title
Augustus and would reign as the first Roman Emperor.
The Triumvirate, however, was eventually torn apart under the competing ambitions of its members: Lepidus
was driven into exile and stripped of his position, and Antony committed suicide following his defeat at the
Battle of Actium by Octavian in 31 BCE.
Augustus as Imperator and Princeps
Augustus of Prima Porta
The statue of Augustus of Prima Porta is perhaps one of the best-known images of the Emperor Augustus. It
portrays the emperor as perpetually youthful, and depicts many of the key propaganda messages that
Augustus put forth during his time as emperor.
After the demise of the Second Triumvirate, Augustus restored the outward facade of the free Republic, with
governmental power vested in the Roman Senate, the executive magistrates, and the legislative assemblies. In
reality, however, he retained his autocratic power over the Republic as a military dictator. By law, Augustus
held a collection of powers granted to him for life by the senate, including supreme military command, and
those of tribune and censor. It took several years for Augustus to develop the framework within which a
formally Republican state could be led under his sole rule. He rejected monarchical titles, and instead called
himself princeps civitatis ("First Citizen"). The resulting constitutional framework became known as the
Principate, the first phase of the Roman Empire.
The reign of Augustus initiated an era of relative peace known as the Pax Romana (The Roman Peace).
Despite continuous wars of imperial expansion on the Empire's frontiers and one year-long civil war over the
imperial succession, the Roman world was largely free from large-scale conflict for more than two centuries.
Augustus dramatically enlarged the Empire, annexing Egypt, Dalmatia, Pannonia, Noricum, and Raetia,
expanded possessions in Africa, expanded into Germania, and completed the conquest of Hispania.Beyond
the frontiers, he secured the Empire with a buffer region of client states, and made peace with the
troublesome Parthian Empire through diplomacy. He reformed the Roman system of taxation, developed
networks of roads with an official courier system, established a standing army, established the Praetorian
Guard, created official police and fire-fighting services for Rome, and rebuilt much of the city during his reign.
Augustus died in 14 CE at the age of 75. He may have died from natural causes, although there were
unconfirmed rumors that his wife Livia poisoned him. He was succeeded as Emperor by his adopted son (also
stepson and former son-in-law), Tiberius.
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Boundless World History I: Ancient-1600
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ASSIGN THE RELATED QUIZ
The Roman Empire
Overview of This Quiz
15 questions • created by Boundless
PREV CONCEPT
4 questions for use in quizzes have been written about this concept below
, , , and
NEXT CONCEPT
Which of the following statements most accurately summarizes Octavian's rise to
power?
He was ruthless militarily and overpowered his enemies with brute force., He won the love of
the people and used them to manipulate his political enemies., He used his family wealth to
buy the senate and other important men in Rome., and He made shrewd alliances and quickly
garnered both power and the trust of the senate.
Whom of the following was NOT a member of the Second Triumvirate?
Octavian, Lepidus, Marc Antony, and Cicero
Which of the following groups did the young Octavian ingratiate himself with to gain
political power?
His adoptive father's legions., The senate., The people of Rome., and All of these answers.
KEY TERM REFERENCE
Cicero
— Appears in this related concepts: Art and Literature in the Roman Republic, Julius
Caesar: Rome's First Emperor?, and Education and Humanism
Julius Caesar
—
Pax Romana
— Appears in this related concepts: The Julio-Claudians and The Pax Romana
Roman Senate
— Appears in this related concepts: The Golden Age of Rome and Diocletian
and the Tetrarchy
Rome
— Appears in this related concepts: Architecture of Rome, The Founding of Rome, and
The Seven Kings
dictator
— Appears in this related concept: Athens
plebeian
— Appears in this related concepts: Ostia, The Political Structure of the Republic, and
Crises in the Late First Century B.C.E.
standing army
— Appears in this related concepts: Organization, Trade, and Religion in the
Maurya Empire and The Rise and Fall of the Qin Dynasty
SOURCES
Boundless vets and curates high-quality, openly licensed content from around the Internet. This
particular resource used the following sources:
"Statue-Augustus."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus#mediaviewer/File:Statue-Augustus.jpg
Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0.
"Augustus."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus
Wikipedia CC BY-SA.
"Mark Antony."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Antony
Wikipedia CC BY-SA.
"Boundless."
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CITE THIS SOURCE
Source: Boundless. “Augustus Caesar and the Early Principate.” Boundless World History I: Ancient-1600. Boundless, 28
May. 2015. Retrieved 28 May. 2015 from https://www.boundless.com/world-history/textbooks/boundless-world-history-iancient-1600-textbook/the-roman-world-5/the-roman-empire-33/augustus-caesar-and-the-early-principate-128-13193/
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