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Augustus
By Vickie Chao
For ancient Rome, 27 B.C. was a defining moment. That year, the Roman Republic
ceased to exist. In its place, the Roman Empire was born, and Augustus was its first
emperor.
Augustus' rise to power was, in many ways, a stroke of luck, for he had a powerful
great uncle. That great uncle of his was none other than Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar
took Augustus (whose real name was Gaius Octavius) under his wing and gave the
young lad plenty of opportunities to shine. On every occasion, Augustus always did
exceedingly well. He never let his great uncle down. Impressed by the boy's potential,
Julius Caesar secretly changed his will. In it, he adopted Augustus as his son and
named him his successor. Not long afterwards, on March 15, 44 B.C., a group of
senators conspired to assassinate Julius Caesar. They coldheartedly stabbed him to
death and laid his listless body at the footsteps of Pompey's statue. Later, when this
one-time dictator's will was revealed, everybody was caught by surprise. They had no
idea that Julius Caesar had appointed Augustus, who was only about 18 years old then,
as his heir apparent. Right away, the already chaotic Roman Republic became even
more divided. Despite the mounting pressures, Augustus refused to back down and
quickly gathered enough support from his great uncle's troops.
In the midst of this power struggle, Augustus, whose official name was now Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus
(Octavian), was more or less considered a minor player. Nobody took him seriously because of his young age.
At the time, Mark Antony and Cicero were both vying for the control of the Roman Republic. Cicero, an
outstanding orator, befriended Augustus under a false pretense. On one hand, he bestowed flowery compliments
to the young upstart. On the other hand, he ridiculed him behind his back. When Augustus learned of the man's
true intention, he forged an alliance with Mark Antony, Julius Caesar's second-in-command. The two, together
with Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, reached a five-year agreement and formed the so-called Second Triumvirate in
November 43 B.C. Immediately after the ink was dry, the trio unleashed a ruthless campaign of proscription. In
all, there were some 300 senators and 2,000 noblemen proscribed or condemned as public enemies. By the time
that this bloody, cruel purge ended, most of the dissidents were killed and their properties confiscated. Among
the victims, Cicero fared the worst. He was caught and slain near Caieta on December 7, 43 B.C. Upon his death,
his head and hands were brought back to Rome and displayed on the speaker's platform at the Forum. Mark
Antony's new third wife, Fulvia, allegedly pulled out Cicero's tongue and jabbed it repeatedly with a hairpin, in
final defiance against the man's power of speech.
Like so many political alliances in history, the Second Triumvirate stood on rather shaky ground. When the
deal was struck, Mark Antony, Augustus, and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus had a common goal -- to avenge the
death of Julius Caesar. Once that was achieved, there was not much bound to uphold the relationship. With Mark
Antony and Augustus disliking each other more and more, the threat of a civil war began to loom. (For the most
part, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus did not side with either man. His influence had been significantly reduced over
the years. He died peacefully in 13 B.C.) The final straw came after Mark Antony decided to leave his fourth
wife, Octavia (Augustus' sister), in 37 B.C., so he could go back to Egypt and be with Cleopatra. Four years later,
shortly after the second term of the Second Triumvirate expired, Mark Antony officially divorced Octavia. He
also set up a will to appoint Cleopatra and Julius Caesar's son, Caesarion, the rightful heir of Julius Caesar and to
express his desire to be buried with this Egyptian beauty upon his death. When Augustus got wind of this
document, he seized it and used it as the proof that Mark Antony no longer cared about Rome and Roman
traditions. His tactic set off a public outcry against Mark Antony and Cleopatra. Knowing that singling out Mark
Antony would trigger a civil war and could swing the public opinion, Augustus persuaded the Senate to declare
war on Cleopatra alone in 32 B.C. The two sides clashed at Actium; almost immediately, it became apparent that
Augustus had the upper hand. In haste, Mark Antony and Cleopatra fled from the battleground and returned to
Egypt. They committed suicide there.
Now with victory firmly in his hands, Augustus took over Egypt and declared himself the new pharaoh. One
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of his first orders was to have Caesarion executed so that there would be nobody else who could have any
hereditary claims to Julius Caesar. Upon removing this final obstacle, Augustus could at last rest assured that his
years of struggle were not wasted. From the time that he learned of Julius Caesar's will, he had often been
ignored and undermined. Yet, eventually, he was the one who prevailed. At the age of thirty-three, Augustus
defeated every opponent and united the Roman Republic. Such accomplishments were simply unthinkable. Had
Julius Caesar been alive then, he would have surely been very impressed!
As the most powerful man in the whole Roman world, Augustus knew that he must not rush to consolidate his
position and accept every honor bestowed upon him. This very mistake cost Julius Caesar's dear life, and he had
no intention of following suit. Hence, instead of declaring himself an emperor right away, he served as a consul
for several years. In January 27 B.C., he announced to the Senate that he wanted to relinquish his power and
retire from public life. When the word got out, the general public respected and supported him even more than
they already had. And the elite became convinced that he truly understood and honored the ideals of the Roman
Republic. As the concerns from all sides grew increasingly loud, the Senate swiftly rejected Augustus' proposal
and asked him to stay. To placate him, they gave him the title of Augustus, meaning majestic or venerable. From
that point on, this title became synonymous with his name. Everybody called him either Caesar Augustus or,
simply, Augustus. By now, Augustus was indeed an emperor, all but in name. Once again, he got what he
wanted. In reality, he did not want to retire at all. He merely used that to sway public opinion so he could strike a
deal with the Senate. That agreement was called the First Settlement.
Four years later, in 23 B.C., Augustus and the Senate reached yet another compromise or the Second
Settlement. This time around, the Senate bestowed on him one more title, Princeps (meaning the first citizen),
and granted him additional privileges. Up until his death on August 19, 14 A.D., Augustus wielded absolute
control over the entire Roman Empire. Though he was never made a king during his lifetime, he acted the part in
every conceivable way. According to legends, his last words were " Acta est fabula" -- The play is over!
Augustus
Questions
1. Which of the following about Augustus is correct?
A. He never publicly declared himself the emperor of the Roman Empire.
B. He earned the title of Princeps when he was 33 years old.
C. His birth name was Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus.
D. He defeated and killed Mark Antony in 37 B.C.
2. Which of the following events took place first?
A. Cleopatra committed suicide.
B. Cicero died.
C. The Second Triumvirate was renewed for another five years.
D. Octavian earned the title of Augustus.
3. Which of the following about the Second Triumvirate is NOT correct?
A. It was an agreement among Augustus, Cicero, and Mark Antony.
B. Many senators and elites were proscribed because of this agreement.
C. It was a five-year agreement.
D. It was originally formed in November 43 B.C.
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4. Which of the following was a name never used by Augustus?
A. Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus
B. Julius Caesar
C. Gaius Octavius
D. Caesar Augustus
5. Which of the following about Augustus is true?
A. He was assassinated by a group of senators.
B. He was Caesarion's half-brother.
C. His title Princeps meant the first emperor.
D. Julius Caesar secretly adopted him.
6. Which of the following about Julius Caesar is true?
A. He died without a will.
B. He died on August 19, 14 A.D.
C. He was also known as Caesar Augustus.
D. He was the biological father of Caesarion.
7. When did the Roman Empire replace the Roman Republic?
A. 23 B.C.
B. 14 A.D.
C. 27 B.C.
D. 30 B.C.
8. Which of the following about Mark Antony is true?
A. He said Caesarion was the rightful heir of Julius Caesar.
B. He was the biological father of Caesarion.
C. He died in the battle of Actium.
D. He married Octavian's daughter, Octavia.
9. When did Augustus unite the Roman Republic?
A. 27 B.C.
B. 43 B.C.
C. 23 B.C.
D. 30 B.C.
10. What was the relationship between Julius Caesar and Augustus?
A. Augustus was Julius Caesar's great uncle.
B. Augustus was Julius Caesar's appointed successor.
C. Julius Caesar was Augustus' most trusted general.
D. Julius Caesar was Augustus' archenemy.