Octavian Augustus Caesar

World History is full of empires and vast of emperors all over the territories and all over the years. The Roman Empire was an empire with many stages, many problems, many people, many enemies, an end and of course, a beginning. Octavian Augustus Caesar, or as he is commonly named, Augustus, was the first emperor of this empire. Augustus’s intelligence, leadership and political ability led a devastated republic to an emerging and brilliant empire. These actions took Octavian Augustus many years and many conflicts, but at the end he left a glorious empire.

The city of Rome saw the birth of one of its most important rulers on September 23, 63 BCE. In those times he was called Gaius Octavius in honor of his dad that was a senator when Octavian was still a little kid. Octavian had an important participation with Rome’s leader of that time, Julius Caesar because of the fact that Octavian’s mother was The Caesar’s niece. The relation between The Caesar and Octavian grew to the point that Julius adopted him as his son and Octavian received the name of Caesar. Octavian’s life would change forever when he knew that his adoptive dad was assassinated.

Getting to Rome’s power wasn’t an easy task for Octavian. He found power in two persons: Mark Antony and Lepidus. Octavian didn’t liked Mark Antony and found some support in the senate and the roman citizens that didn’t agree as well with Mark Antony. One of these senators was Cicero, which with speeches and other actions convinced the senate to give Octavian the permission to attack Mark Antony in the region of Mutina, where Mark Antony couldn’t surpass Octavian’s army. With Mark Antony’s defeat, Octavian did an alliance with him and Lepidus to make a new Triumvirate to have absolute power for the three of them. This alliance would end when Mark Antony divorced Octavian’s sister to be with the Egyptian leader, Cleopatra. Octavian took this into war, his military leader, Agrippa led his army to Actium where he defeated Mark Antony and Egypt became a territory of Rome.

The Republic had suffered a lot of civil wars and problems the years before this events and Octavian knew that Rome needed a strong, but different minded governor. Octavian would change some aspects in the military section; legions will have a permanent number that could grow if needed. Octavian in 27 BCE once went to the senate and quitted to any charge that he had, the senate refused his proposal and the empire’s power was divided into the senate and Octavian, he had the powerful states. This was the period in which he was awarded with the name of ‘Augustus’ or exalted one. He continued to reelect himself as consul of the Roman Empire until in 23 BCE we was granted with the supreme power of all the empire. In 13 BCE he was given the religious power and finally in the year 2 BCE the final title of ‘Pater Patriae’ or father of the country as he had every power in the empire.

Octavian Augustus needed to find a way in which he could keep the roman citizens happy. He knew that the romans had for many years a republic. As romans liked the games, Octavian Augustus constantly organized them with many animals and many gladiators. Octavian Augustus made more efficient and constructed new aqueducts to serve the population with water. He spent great amounts of money to build new temples or people to worship the roman gods.

When Augustus was given the highest title, ‘Pater Patriae’, he know had power on the militia, the senate and religion of Rome, but nobody thought about his successor or the mechanism to get the new ‘Pater Patriae’. Augustus decided because of their strong relation that Agrippa would be the next leader of Rome. He made Agrippa marry with his sister to have two children that died. Augustus, already sick, decided that the only option for succession was Tiberius, the son of his wife, Livia. Augustus died after serving Rome on 19 August 14 ACE, his ashes were deposited in the family cemetery in Rome.

Octavian Augustus was essential for the development of Rome. For the first time in history we can see that only one persona has complete power over a territory that big, that complex and with that big population. Octavian Augustus received little by little more titles and more powers of Rome that eventually led him to become today as we know as an emperor, the first emperor. But, Octavian Augustus did it in a way in which he gradually accepted power so people would not think that he wanted everything for him. He always wanted to be considered as anyone else.

Octavian Augustus marked a very important stage in the Roman history. Through all his actions, he achieved what the roman people were seeking for many years, peace. The Pax Romana or Roman Peace was a time for Rome in which the city grew in many aspects: architecture, religion, literature and the government. Octavian Augustus knew that the most important part of the empire was the people and all his actions were in favor of the people. Octavian Augustus fought for Rome; he was humble and loyal while he was governing his empire. He saw an empire grow and an empire saw one of the greatest leaders of the entire world.

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