Download Octavian

“Veni, Vidi, Vici“
I came, I saw, I conquered
And then
I died!
• Caesar is dead and Rome is in
Chaos!!!
• Julius Caesar’s BFF; Caesar was
his mother’s cousin
Me you
• Takes the consulship
fools!
• Asked for conspirators to be
pardoned (Brutus & Cassius)
• Public funeral for Caesar and
read will
• Gardens in the city left to poor
• Granted money to every Roman
citizen
No, no,
• Mob went wild
no…NOT
ME!!!
• Julius Caesar’s great
nephew
– Adopted posthumously
through Caesar’s will
• 18 years old and in
Greece at the time of
Caesar’s death
• Finds out he is Caesar’s
chief heir
Dude!
Hmmmm…this is
even BETTER! I can
manipulate him!
What?!? How dare he
make that pipsqueak
his heir…
• Claimed what was his
• Issued a call to arms of his
father’s veteran’s; soldiers
came to his aid
• Antony fled to Gaul to round
up legions
• Senate thought they could
control Octavian too
– Make him a senator
– Octavian smarter than senate!
• Octavian struck first against
the Senate:
– Occupied Rome with his
army
– Forced them to revoke
amnesty for Brutus and
Cassius
• Then strikes against Antony
in Gaul and defeats him
• Negotiates alliance
– Pulled-in Lepidus, a wealthy
Roman
• Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus
– Sealed the deal with marriage: Antony married
Octavian’s sister
• Turned attention to Senate
– Forced the Senate to grant all three men consular
positions for five years
• Antony -Gaul
• Lepidus- Spain
• Octavian- Africa and Sicily
• Instituted a round of proscriptions - 2,300 fled
or died
– Eliminate political enemies and strip them of their
property
– Octavian and Antony went to Greece to hunt down Brutus &
Cassius
• Met at Philippi; Octavian and Antony won
• Brutus and Cassius committed suicide
• Almost immediately, squeezed out Lepidus
– Octavian controls the west (Hispania, Gaul, Italia, & Africa)
– Antony controls the east (Greece, Asia, Syria & Egypt)
• Renewed triumvirate for another 5 years
• In 35 Lepidus rebelled
– Put down and forced
into retirement…then
he dies
• Tensions rise between
Octavian & Antony
• Octavian commanded
45 legions and 500
warships
• Antony had less, but
not worried because he
had something else…
•Antony thought Egypt would
guarantee a victory
And…
Oh no, I’m still
married to Octavia.
• Cupid hit Antony and
Cleopatra with his arrow.
•One of the greatest love
stories in history.
• Antony went too far…Rumors flying:
– Starting a second Senate in Egypt
– Declared Caesarion as Caesar's legal heir
– Gave most of Rome’s eastern lands to Cleopatra
• Arabia, Cyprus (copper mines), Sinai (turquoise
mines), Armenia, North Africa (grain), ports of
Phoenicia
– Left his possessions to his children by Cleopatra
– Wanted to be buried in Alexandria
– Married Cleopatra in 32 BC before he divorced
Octavia
• Note: All scenes featured in the following clip
are from the 1963 film Cleopatra starring
Elizabeth Taylor…
• Rome & Octavian FURIOUS!
– Senate declares war on Cleopatra
– Antony stripped of all his official power and
labeled him as an outlaw and a traitor
It’s clear that Mark
Antony is whipped.
No chance we can
tolerate a man
who lets a woman
tell him what to
do!
Yes dear…
See that…I want
it…all of it!
As you wish…
Let’s Get Ready to Rumble
• Both positioned self for battle
 Octavian sought Senate support only to end
up chasing away consuls and Senate
oFew in Rome objected
oRepublic truly dead
Senate went to Antony in Greece
•
• Antony less men and weaker army, but
Cleopatra promised Egyptian navy and
a naval victory
• Egyptians allowed themselves to get
trapped in the harbor at Actium
• Antony and Cleopatra fled; Octavian
chased them
• Eventually, Antony and Cleopatra
committed suicide when it was
hopeless
• Octavian hunted down all of Cleopatra’s
children and killed them
I hope that
chick was
worth it!
• The last Egyptian pharaoh was now dead
• Octavian took control of all Egypt
– Personal possession; didn’t turn over to the
Senate like before
– Egypt’s wealth went into his own personal
treasury