Download Octavian arrived to find his enemies all but eliminated. He closed the

The Tyrant is Dead
It turned out that they had no real plans. They thought the Republic would
revive of itself when the tyrant was removed; that the Senate would pick up
the reigns and lead once again. Instead, they found that they had created a
vacuum at the very center of power and they themselves had no idea how to
fill it.
Brutus, Cassius, and the other conspirators were as guilty as the rest of the
Senate of a lack of leadership and vision. They were adventurers in their own
right, but without real talent.
Senators hid in their homes, timid and uncertain. Caesar was dead -- who would be next? All feared
that Caesar's partisans, even his veterans, would exact a terrible vengeance, and all wished to
distance themselves from the assassination.
Many of them, moreover, were Caesar's creatures. If Caesar's men did not take vengeance, then
surely the conspirators would come after them, seeking to root out his supporters. The streets of
Rome emptied.
The conspirators were baffled by the response, and they began to worry. Perhaps things might not
turn out well after all. Fearful, they withdrew to the Capitol under the guard of their gladiators.
Antony Moves to the Fore
Caesar was dead and no one knew what to do, except Marc Antony. He had been playing politics on
his friends behalf for years and he knew the temper of both the Senate and the people. On his own
authority he called the Senate into session. He asked that the conspirators be pardoned and that his
friend be granted a public funeral.
Both moves were brilliant. Antony was in no position to prosecute Brutus and Cassius. Had he tried,
he would have precipitated a bloody civil war. So instead, he pardoned them, and in so doing he
quite disarmed the fears that Antony would avenge Caesar's death in a bloodbath.
The second move was even cleverer. Caesar's funeral would be the perfect opportunity for rousing
the rabble of Rome. The senators knew this, of course, so Antony promised that he would do nothing
of the sort. He would, he said, speak no ill of the conspirators and would not eulogize Caesar. He
merely wanted his friend to have the respect due him as a great public figure. Reassured, the Senate
agreed.
They played directly into Antony's hands. In a single move, Antony had seized effective leadership of
the state and needed only to conduct himself well to make it permanent.
The funeral was a great success. Antony displayed Caesar's body, still wrapped in its blood-stained
toga, the knife holes visible. He made a moving speech, memorably wrought by Shakespeare.
Unknown to the Senate, Antony had seized Caesar's will and he read it to the crowd. Among the
provisions was the creation of a number of gardens in the city for the poor, and a grant of money to
every Roman citizen in gratitude for their loyalty to him. Not exactly the last wishes of a cruel tyrant.
The infuriated mob rioted. Brutus and Cassius feared for their lives and chose to flee Rome. They
wandered Italy, forlorn and friendless, unable to understand what they did wrong. Eventually they
went to Greece, where they were better received.
Antony ruled wisely over the course of the summer, but his vanity and greed began to show. He
spent money profligately and embezzled shamelessly to finance his excesses. He treated the Senate
with contempt and made even more enemies than he had before.
Octavian
Into the tense weeks after the murder came a new figure—Octavius, Caesar's
adopted son. He was 18 at the time of his father's death, and was in Greece.
He was urged by his friends to go to Rome to protect his interests.
What he found out was that he was Caesar's chief heir. Antony, being
Caesar's long-time friend and colleague, naturally expected to find himself in
that role. Finding instead a mere boy, he was both angry and a little
contemptuous. Octavian, he believed, would be easily handled, and he was
less than courteous.
Octavian, however, was a very serious and very determined young man. The will named him and he
was determined to receive his due. When he saw Antony at his revels, paid for by state funds, he was
offended and angry. When he insisted on his rights, Antony became angry in his turn. By the summer
of 44, the two were already at loggerheads.
By the autumn, Octavian felt genuinely threatened by Antony. In October, he took a desperate
gamble: on his own authority and completely without any legal standing, he issued to call to arms to
his father's veterans. This was a critical moment for the young man. He was banking everything on
the power of a mere name -- Julius Caesar. And it worked. The veterans turned out in great numbers
and Octavian had his army.
Cicero, ever the hopeful manipulator, had now cast Octavian in the role of champion of the Republic
and Antony the great villian (Antony was, after all, Caesar's old friend, and Cicero hated Julius
Caesar). Cicero, like Antony, believed he could steer the young Octavian along chosen paths.
So Cicero appealed to Octavian to save the Republic and the Senate declared Antony an outlaw in
February 43. Antony withdrew to Gaul and gathered to himself 22 legions, a formidable force. He reentered Italy in the summer of 43.
Meanwhile, over the winter, the Senate had managed to anger Octavian. Most senators did not really
like him because he simply refused to play the role of pawn. He had his own course in mind and
would cooperate with the Senate only so long as it served his purpose.
So, with Antony coming from the north, Octavian struck first against the Senate. He occupied Rome
with his army and forced the Senate to revoke the amnesty for Brutus and Cassius -- one of his goals
was to avenge his father's murder. He then turned his attention to his father's friend.
The Second Triumvirate
Octavian went to Antony and persuaded him to join forces rather than
fight. Lepidus, a wealthy and powerful man in his own right, served as a
third, and the Second Triumvirate was created. The critical relationship,
though, was between Octavian and Antony, and this was sealed by a
marriage: Marc Antony married Octavian's sister, Octavia.
The three men then turned to the Senate and forced the passage of a law
granting all three of them consular power for five years. Lepidus received
Spain as his area of command, Antony received Gaul, and Octavian received Africa and Sicily, but
none of them were required to reside in their provinces. In effect, the three of them now shared
supreme power in Rome.
With the Second Triumvirate, Republican government was thrown permanently out of gear. The
triumvirs appointed magistrates at will. They again packed the Senate with their own men. They had
full control of armies and treasury, and followed their own foreign policy. Octavian instituted
another round of proscriptions, and about 2,300 died or were exiled.
The Second Triumvirate Dissolves
Almost immediately, Octavian and Antony began to squeeze out Lepidus. They garnered the lion's
share of territories and honors and offices, effectively dividing the Empire between them. Octavian
got the West while Antony got the East.
There followed an interlude of peace, at least among the triumvirs. Neither liked or trusted the other;
conflicts were usually resolved by Octavian giving way in order to prevent open war. The
Triumvirate was renewed in 38 for five more years, though Lepidus got little by the arrangement.
Octavian was inclined to avoid conflict among the triumvirs in part because he was not ready to test
his strength, but also in part because he was preoccupied with rebellions elsewhere. Most notably,
Sextus Pompeius, Pompey's son, fomented a major revolt in Spain. It took Octavian four years to
bring him down (40-36). Sextus Pompeius might fairly be called the last real Republic commander,
and his death closed another door on the Republic.
All during these years, Octavian steadily gained power. In 35, Lepidus, dissatisfied, rebelled. He was
defeated and forced into retirement. This left only Antony with whom to share power.
And Octavian had plenty of power by 35. As a result of the years of campaigning since Philippi, he
could command 45 legions and 500 warships, a force significantly larger than Antony's. But Antony
wasn't worried, for he had a powerful ally, one that, he believed, would guarantee victory: Egypt.
Antony and Cleopatra
The ruler of Egypt was the proud and ambitious Cleopatra. Antony fell in
love with her after returning from a disastrous campaign in Parthia (36-35).
He was openly her consort and she had a child by him. Antony was still
officially married to Octavia ( Octavian’s sister).
Romans tolerated the sins of her great men, but Antony and Cleopatra went
too far. Cleopatra, after all, was pharoah. Rumors began: Egypt hoped to
annex Rome; Antony would make Cleopatra Queen of Rome. When Antony
made her heirs the heirs to Rome as well, the fears deepened. Then, after
years of neglect, Antony repudiated Octavia, clearing the way for him to marry Cleopatra.
Octavian was, in personal and family matters, quite a conservative man. Antony's treatment of his
sister offended him terribly. He disliked Antony's profligacy and shared Roman suspicion of his
intentions regarding Egypt. Always before, when Antony had grown too outrageous, Octavian had
compromised for the sake of unity. These latest excesses were too much, however.
The Triumvirate lapsed in 32, and neither man bothered to try to renew it. Both sides positioned
themselves for battle.
Actium
Octavian sought the help of the Senate, only to be
met with obstructionism and outright treachery.
Furious, he drove both consuls and the Senate from
Rome. The remarkable thing about this act is that
few in Rome really objected. The Republic was truly
dead, and the real question was whether Octavian
or Antony would rule.
The Senate fled to Antony, who was in command of
forces in Greece. As at Pharsalus and Philippi, the
climactic battle for the control of Rome would be
found on Greek soil. The name of the town was
Actium. The year was 31.
Antony was overmatched. Octavian had more men and a better army. But Cleopatra had assured him
that her navy would win the sea battle and give Antony the upper hand.
The battle itself was not at all inspired. The Egyptians bungled and allowed themselves to get
trapped in the harbor at Actium. Once that happened, all was lost. Antony and Cleopatra fled,
leaving both army and navy, which were crushed piecemeal.
Octavian immediately set out in pursuit. There followed a dramatic chase, with Octavian's forces
sometimes only hours behind. When Antony and Cleopatra realized that the Egyptian army would
not be able to stop Octavian, and that no help would arrive from elsewhere, they separately
committed suicide.
Octavian arrived to find his enemies all but eliminated. He closed the books by hunting down
Cleopatra's children and having them killed. With that act, the last pharoahs of Egypt disappeared,
after 4,000 years of rule.
The only ruler of Egypt now was Octavian. He took personal possession of the country, not turning it
over to the Senate as had been done with past conquests. Octavian literally owned Egypt. Its wealth
flowed into his private treasury, and the wealth of the Ptolemies was legendary.
In a single year, 31 BC, Octavian had made himself the most powerful man in Rome by far. He had 60
legions at his command and entire nations for his pocketbook. No one even remotely approached his
position. Most of the senators were dead. The consuls were dead. The Republic was dead.
Why Did the Republic Fail?
The causes are myriad and complex, but there are several important factors that are prominent.
One was the failure of the Senate. The Republic was, in its essence, the Senate, and in the crisis of the
late Republic, the Senate proved itself unworthy. In the face of need for radical reform, it proved too
conservative and unwilling to change. The example of citizenship for the Italian allies illustrates this.
Moreover, the Senate proved unable to provide great leaders when they were needed. The great
figures of the late Republic were men who went outside the Senate for their careers. To set against
them, one can find only Cicero, and he came much too late.
Also, the Senate failed to follow a consistent course. Opportunism and self-interest dominated, and as
a body the Senate proved unable or unwilling to place the interests of the Republic foremost.
The crisis that put the Senate to the test, however, was not of the Senate's making. There were flaws
in the Roman state, flaws that, once exposed, could neither be repaired nor hidden again.
Most notably, Rome was not protected against military dictatorship. Once the army got involved
with politics, as an instrument for political ends, no one was able to get it out again. In the end, the
army alone dicated the course of Roman politics, and that spelled the Republic's doom.
Connected with this was the use of political violence. Roman law and politics was unable to deal with
the political gangs, the assassinations, the terrorism, the proscriptions. Starting with Tiberius
Gracchus, the story of the Roman Revolution is in part the narration of the increasing reliance on
force to achieve political ends. The end of that narrative covers a quarter century of almost unbroken
civil war. Few political structures could survive that.