Download The Fall of the Republic

Civil War
The Fall of the Roman Republic
The Aftermath of Caesar
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We left off with the
assassination of
Caesar – Mark Antony
had claimed the
support of the
Populares, those who
had loved Caesar
He gave a passionate
speech and stirred up a
mob against the
conspirators!
Flight & a New Alliance
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With most Romans up in arms
against them, the conspirators
were forced to leave Rome
and flee to Greece
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Antony prepared to follow the
assassins with an army
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Gaius Octavius, now 20,
returned to Rome after hearing
that he had been named
Caesar’s successor in his will,
and raised an army to avenge
his uncle/adoptive father
Flight & a New Alliance
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Despite some brief disagreements, Mark Antony and Gaius
Octavius had the same goals (at least for now).. Avenging
Caesar
In 43 BCE (within a year of the murder), they had agreed to form
an alliance. Antony, Octavius and his ally, Lepidus, created the
Second Triumvirate – despite the opposition of the senate!
Antony even married Octavia, Octavius’ sister..
The Second Triumvirate
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Created in 43 BCE, the Second Triumvirate, was,
unlike the first, an official institution
A five year term was given to the three co-rulers,
who had no other limits on their power
The next year, 42 BCE, Lepidus was left in control
of Rome and Antony and Octavian set out for
Greece to confront Marcus Brutus and the other
conspirators!
By this time, Brutus and Cassius had taken over
most of the Eastern provinces, including Greece,
Macedonia and Syria
The Meeting at Philippi
• In October, 42 BCE, Antony and
Octavian finally clashed with Brutus
and Cassius at Philippi in Macedonia
• Each side is estimated to have had
about 100,000 soldiers in battle
• The conspirators were hesitant to
go into battle – they were more
inclined to find a defensible position
and try to cut off the triumvirs
communication lines to Italy
The First Battle at Philippi
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The first battle came on October 3rd. Antony, a more
experienced general than Octavian, was able to storm
Cassius’ camp – Cassius suffered 9,000 casuaties
Octavian fared less well. He was surprised by Brutus’
attack and his
army fled. They
suffered 18,000
casualties.
End of the First Battle
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The First Battle was not decisive – a leader from
each side could claim a victory
However, when Cassius (who had lost his conflict)
climbed a hill to look around and see how his
companion Brutus had fared, he couldn’t make out
much due to all the dust.
He assumed that his side had suffered an all around
defeat and he ordered his freedman to kill him so he
wouldn’t be taken prisoner
The conflict clearly wasn’t finished, but Brutus was
now alone, facing Antony and Octavian
The Second Battle at Philippi
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After winning the first battle, Brutus wanted to delay as long
as he could and hope to tire out Antony and Octavian
His soldiers, though, wanted to fight and end the battle, and
Brutus was pushed to attack on October 23, 42 BCE
Aftermath of Philippi
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Brutus’ attack on Antony and Octavian failed. Ranks
broke and Octavian captured the gates to his camp
Brutus fled with a few surviving legions, but fearing
capture or death, he committed suicide
Many other notable figures committed suicide as
well, but a large number of the survivors negotiated
peace with Antony and entered his army
Antony stayed in the East, while Octavian was sent
back to Rome soon after the battle
Division of Provinces
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In 40 BCE, Antony, Octavian and Lepidus
formally divided up the provinces they would
be responsible for governing
Lepidus had very little say at this point – he
was given only Africa
Antony kept control of the East – Greece,
Macedonia, Syria & Asia
Octavian got control of the West – Italy, Gaul
and Hispania
Octavian & Lepidus
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In the West, Octavian had to deal with Sextus
Pompeius, the surviving son of Pompey
Sextus had taken control of Sicily and was engaging
in piracy – endangering the transport of Egyptian
grain to Europe
Lepidus defeated Sextus in Sicily in 36 BCE, and
ignored the fact that Octavian had declared that
surrender would not be allowed (he was still
avenging Caesar in his mind)
Angry about Lepidus’ decision, Octavian bribed
Lepidus’ army to desert and join him. This took away
the little political and military power Lepidus had
Antony in the East
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Antony was campaigning in the East against the Parthians during this
time. He met with Cleopatra, supposedly to determine her loyalties
Cleopatra charmed him and he spent the winter of 41-40 BCE with her
in Egypt – she soon had two children with him
Eventually, he had an Egyptian marriage with her, and a third child
(even though he was already married in Rome to Octavia, Octavian’s
sister!)
Rome turns against Antony
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In 34 BCE, Antony did more to anger Octavian and Rome than just
taking up with the Egyptian queen
He divided up almost all of the Roman East among Cleopatra and
their children
Antony made his children with Cleopatra rulers of Libya, Armenia,
Parthia, & Syria
He also named Caesarion Caesar’s
legitimate son and heir – this
threatened Octavian personally,
since he claimed power largely
through being Caesar’s adopted
son and heir!
Rome turns against Antony
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Then, in 32 BCE, Antony formally divorced and
deserted Octavia, Octavian’s sister – this was yet
another big personal blow to Octavian, his former
ally
Then, a document was discovered in which Antony
asked to be buried in Alexandria – making the
Romans feel like he had chosen to be Egyptian
instead of Roman
Octavian and Antony ended up in a big propaganda
war. Antony was accused of starting wars without
approval, distributing lands that weren’t his to give,
and being completely in Cleopatra’s control
The Last Civil War Begins
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In 32 BCE, the senate took away Antony’s powers
as a triumvir and declared war on Cleopatra, who
was blamed for most of what had gone wrong with
Antony
About a third of the senate left to side with Antony
and Cleopatra, the rest stayed with Octavian
After several skirmishes, the final confrontation
between Antony and Octavian would take place in
September 31 BCE at Actium
The Battle of Actium
• Antony had 230 very large ships heading away from
Greece toward the open sea. Octavian and his general
Marcus Agrippa drew up against him with much smaller
ships, but manned with more experienced and fresh
rowers and soldiers
• Cleopatra’s fleet was supposed to be backing Antony’s
up, but when she saw the battle turning against him she
retreated to open sea and waited.
• Antony managed to escape with a few ships and join
Cleopatra
• Octavian captured and sank every one of Antony’s
ships left behind
Aftermath of Actium
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After Antony’s crushing defeat, most of the rest of
his army deserted
Octavian slowly followed Antony and Cleopatra back
to Egypt, stopping to make sure the Roman
governors and leaders in the East would accept him
as the victor and leader of Rome
In 30 BCE he met Antony in battle outside
Alexandria and before Antony could be captured, he
committed suicide – believing that Cleopatra herself
had already been captured or killed
Octavian Grows Stronger
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Within a couple of weeks, Cleopatra had killed herself as
well
Octavian also had Caesarion killed later that year, to
prevent him from ever making a claim to be Caesar’s
real son and heir
Over the next couple of years, Octavian replaced the
governors of the frontier provinces (where most troops
were stationed) with men loyal to him. He also purged
the senate of those who didn’t support him
Although he left the Republican institutions (senate,
consuls, tribunes, etc) untouched, he had gathered all
the real power in Rome to himself
The Fall of the Republic
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It seemed that the people were
so tired of civil war by this point
that they were ready to give up
republican rule by the senate
and people’s assembly for the
security of one strong ruler
By 27 BCE, the republic had
ended. Octavian made a show
of offering back to the senate
all the power he had gained
and they refused, giving him
the title “Augustus” = revered
one.
He also took the titles princeps
(first citizen) and imperator (a
victorious military commander)
– He had officially become
emperor, ending the Roman
Republic!