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Octavian was the son of Julius Caesar’s niece. The first eighteen years of Octavian’s
life were unremarkable, but a surprise in Julius Caesar’s will eventually resulted
in him becoming Caesar Augustus, the ruler who transformed Rome into the greatest empire
of the ancient world. Julius Caesar was so popular with the Roman
people that the Senate named him dictator for life. For five hundred years, the Roman
government relied on two consuls serving one-year terms and taking advice from the Senate. But
as dictator, Julius Caesar ruled without considering Roman tradition or having to consult the Senate.
Finally, in 44BCE, a group of enraged senators stabbed the dictator to death.
Caesar’s will decreed that Octavian would be his heir and was to be treated as his adopted
son. Caesar’s decision made Octavian one of the richest men in Rome. It also provided
Octavian with something even more valuable: the right to call himself Caesar.
Two months after Julius Caesar’s ***, Octavian came to Rome to claim his inheritance,
but Marc Antony dismissed the young man. Octavian spent the next several months gaining support
with the Roman people. He also raised an army. Soldiers throughout the empire were loyal—not
to Rome—but to the name Caesar. By the end of 44BCE, both Marc Antony and Octavian commanded
armies, but the two men avoided civil war by making a deal.
In 43BCE, Octavian joined Antony and another general named Lepidus in a partnership historians
call the Second Triumvirate. The triumvirate raised money by branding more than 300 wealthy
Romans as enemies. They seized the property of the newly designated outlaws and offered
rewards to anyone who would kill them. The enemies of Octavian and Marc Antony who could
not escape from Rome were killed. Octavian and Antony forced Lepidus into retirement
in 36BCE. Five years later, Octavian became the sole ruler of Rome upon the death of Marc
Antony. Octavian earned the loyalty of the Roman soldiers
by providing the men with land. The soldiers retired, but because Octavian was Caesar,
he knew he could count on their support if the Senate challenged his authority.
Octavian lived a modest life to avoid the fate of Julius Caesar. He lived in a small
house and traveled without bodyguards. Unlike Julius Caesar, Octavian was respectful to
the senators. Later in his career, Octavian allowed other men to serve as consuls, but
the Senate knew that Octavian controlled the military, so he was the actual ruler of the
Roman Empire. In 27BCE, Octavian arranged for the Senate
to grant him the honorific title Augustus, which means “respected one.” During his
rule, the Roman people knew Octavian only as Caesar, but historians, to avoid confusion
with his famous granduncle, generally refer him as Octavian before 27BCE and Caesar Augustus
after that. Caesar Augustus ruled for 41 years, a period
that saw Rome develop into a military empire, so historians consider him to be the first
Roman Emperor. He restored peace and order to Rome after years of civil war, made sure
the lands throughout the empire were well run and that taxes were fair. He built roads
and bridges, government buildings and massive public baths. “I left Rome a city of marble,”
Caesar said, “though I found it a city of bricks.”
The armies of Caesar Augustus conquered most of Western Europe, North Africa and the Middle
East. The Romans claimed all of the land surrounding the enormous Mediterranean Sea, which they
nicknamed “a Roman lake.” Rome’s army was so powerful that it protected
citizens from attack from the tribes who lived beyond the empire. Historian Edward Gibbon
later described the two hundred-years of peace that began with the rule of Caesar Augustus
as the Pax Romana, or the “Peace of Rome.”