Augustus Caesar (63 b.c.e.–14 c.e.) Roman emperor

Augustus was a title given to Octavian when he became

the first emperor of the Roman Empire and established

the institutional framework that would serve Romans

for 300 years. Octavian was the adopted son and heir

of Julius Caesar. His rule initiated the Pax Romana,

a 200-year period of peace, which ended a century

of Roman civil wars. His reign as emperor brought

forth a new cultural period, which became known as

the golden age of Latin literature and saw many new

buildings erected in Rome. This period marked the end

of the Roman Republic and the beginning of imperial

Rome.

Octavian was born Gaius Octavius on September

23, 63 b.c.e., in Rome. His father was Gaius Octavius,

and his mother, Atia, was the niece of Julius Caesar.

His grandmother Julia was Caesar’s elder sister.

THE SECOND TRIUMVIRATE

The First Triumvirate was initially a secret, unofficial

political alliance to rule Rome. It consisted of Gaius

Julius Caesar (Julius Caesar); Marcus Licinius Crassus,

who had suppressed the slave revolt led by Spartacus;

and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Pompey). Julius Caesar

was assassinated on March 15, 44 b.c.e., the Ides

of March. Julius Caesar’s will revealed that Octavian

was his adopted son, the heir of his name, and heir

of his considerable estate. Octavian became known

as Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus. Upon his return

to Rome Octavian discovered that Mark Antony had

taken charge. They formed an alliance of three along

with Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, one of Caesar’s most

trusted allies. This Second Triumvirate was officially

supported by the Roman government and was given

special powers for five years. As Suetonius wrote, “the

underlying motive of every campaign [after he returned

to Rome] was that Augustus [Octavian] felt it his duty,

above all, to avenge Caesar.” The Triumvirate’s first

task was to draw up a list of those who had taken

part in the conspiracy to kill Julius Caesar. Hundreds

of people were arrested and executed, or jailed and

their property declared forfeit. This removed all potential

enemies. It also hugely enriched the members of

the Triumvirate with money for a large army to search

for two major conspirators, Cassius and Brutus. These

two were defeated at the Battle of Philippi in Macedonia

and committed suicide.

The Triumvirate then divided the Roman Empire

among them. Lepidus moved to Africa to rule. The

western part of the empire, including Italy, was in

the hands of Octavian, who controlled Rome. The

eastern part, which included Egypt, was under Mark

Antony’s control. Mark Antony had been smitten by

Cleopatra, the queen of Egypt, and sailed to Egypt, becoming her lover and fathering three children with

her. Needing a proper Roman wife, Mark Antony

married Octavian’s sister Octavia Minor in 40 b.c.e.

and had two daughters, both named Antonia. Three

years later, in 37 b.c.e., he deserted Octavia and lived

openly with Cleopatra. Octavian, in the meantime,

was building up important alliances in Rome and

consolidating his power base. Mark Antony was becoming

a troublesome rival to Octavian. However, to

the public, Mark Antony was clearly linked with Julius

Caesar’s triumphs and was an important Roman

military figure. Octavian allowed rumors to be spread

that Mark Antony was becoming more and more an

Egyptian and less a Roman. Mark Antony spread

rumors that alleged that Julius Caesar had seduced

Octavian. The situation became extremely nasty as

Mark Antony sent many letters undermining Octavian

to key Roman figures.

THE BATTLE OF ACTIUM

Octavian felt it necessary to do away with his rival,

yet he and the Roman government did not wish it to

be viewed as another civil war. The Senate officially

declared war on Cleopatra in 32 b.c.e. and officially

stripped Mark Antony of his title as triumvir.

Mark Antony and Cleopatra were anxious to prevent

Octavian from reaching Egypt and moved with

their forces and fleet to the west coast of Greece, in what

was clearly a preparation to invade Italy itself. Octavian

led his legions and fleet to Greece as well, and on September

2, 31 b.c.e., the issue was decided at the Battle

of Actium. It was a massive naval battle with a total of

more than 400 vessels. Agrippa, in charge of Octavian’s

navy, formed his fleet into a center and two wings of

equal strength. Mark Antony drew up his ships in the

same formation, but left 60 vessels under Cleopatra in

reserve. As the two fleets clashed, Mark Antony’s center

panicked and fled, along with his left wing. Mark Antony

realized the battle was lost and signaled to Cleopatra

to escape, and he followed. Antony’s entire fleet was destroyed

and upon seeing this, his land legions fled in the

face of Octavian’s armies.

In Egypt, in 30 b.c.e., upon being told erroneously

that Cleopatra had committed suicide, Mark Antony

killed himself. Cleopatra was captured and told that

she would be taken to Rome as a captive and taken

through the streets in procession. Rather than be taken

captive she committed suicide. Octavian then annexed

Egypt and returned to Rome in triumph. The eastern

half of the empire, loyal to Mark Antony, swore allegiance

to Rome and Octavian.

Even with no major rivals, Octavian was wary of

his public image and the perception of his power. Octavian

had inherited the support of the plebeians, the

poor of Rome, who had been the mainstay of Julius

Caesar’s power base in the city, and was careful to

stay in the Senate’s good graces. At the instigation of

the Senate he become proconsul in 27 b.c.e. Later the

same year the Senate invested him with the titles princeps

and augustus, the latter of which he never used. In

some ways the title was more a religious than a political

one, whereas Princeps translated as “first citizen”

and was used to signify a semi-imperial authority.

THE SECOND SETTLEMENT

In 23 b.c.e. Octavian achieved what became known

as the “Second Settlement,” an agreement between

himself and the Senate. He was invested by the Senate

with the powers of a tribune. This gave him the

power to call the Senate at his will and to veto any

decisions they made. He had control of all soldiers in

Rome and was the head of all Roman forces throughout

the empire. He was also granted imperium proconsulare

maius (“imperium over all the proconsuls”),

which allowed him singly to act as he saw fit in any

province and overturn the decisions of any provincial

governor. In effect he now had dictatorial powers. Octavian

was still treading cautiously and using a thin

veneer of legitimacy. Although the ruling class could

see Octavian gaining too much power, many aspects

of this Second Settlement were lost on the poor of

Rome who still supported him as the “defender of the

people.” When Octavian did not stand for election as

consul in 22 b.c.e., some plebeians felt that he was being

forced from power by the Senate. As a result in 22

b.c.e. and in the next two years the people only elected

one consul in order to leave the other position open

for Octavian. In 19 b.c.e. the Senate voted to allow

Augustus to wear the insignia of a consul before them

and in public. Six years later Marcus Aemilius Lepidus

died. Octavian took the religious position of pontifex

maximus, essentially as the high priest of the Roman

religion.

OCTAVIAN’S RULE

With Rome at peace Octavian instituted military reforms.

He reduced the size of the army from 501,000 to

300,000. Legions were stationed at the frontiers of the

empire, which kept commanders from interfering in Roman

politics. He formed the Praetorian Guard, which

consisted of 10 cohorts of 1,000 men. The Praetorian

Guard was garrisoned in Rome, provided protection forOctavian, and were the only soldiers allowed in Italy.

With massive amounts of money flowing to the government

coffers in Rome, Octavian was generous in paying

the soldiers and in ensuring that veterans were able to

have their own land.

Octavian overhauled the tax system to ensure as

much revenue as possible. By 6 c.e. the treasury at the

capital controlled the fiscal arrangements for the entire

Roman Empire. He also ordered a tax census of

every person in his empire. In the Bible, Luke writes:

“And it came to pass in those days, that there went out

a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world be

taxed” (Luke 2:1). This is the edict that caused Joseph

and Mary to go to Bethlehem where Jesus (Christ)

of Nazareth was born.

Money was channeled into the building of new

roads throughout the empire, a system of mail delivery,

and also a fire brigade and police force for Rome.

In addition to his own actions, Octavian encouraged

others to undertake public works. Octavian was later

to boast that he “found Rome made of brick and left

it in marble.” As with so many other rulers, Octavian

is accused of overtaxing agriculture and spending the

money on grandiose projects and games. However, he

did remarkably well given that Rome was no longer

invading other countries and carting their treasuries

home.

Octavian was a generous benefactor to the arts. He

allocated much in commissions to sculptors and artists,

poets and writers. This period was the golden age of

Roman literature. Many epic works come to us from

this time. Virgil wrote the Aeneid about the founding

of Rome by Aeneas. Later in his rule Octavian became a

moralist, creating laws to try to change Roman society.

He launched a morality crusade to restrict prostitution

and homosexuality, as well as adultery, but in Rome this

was not successful.

THE SUCCESSION

One of the issues which overshadowed the latter part

of Octavian’s reign was succession. Octavian had one

child, his daughter Julia. Octavian died on August 19,

14 c.e., after adopting his stepson Tiberius Claudius,

son of his third wife, Livia Drusilla. Tiberius became

the next emperor, named Tiberius Caesar Augustus.

Octavian was proclaimed a god. In addition the sixth

month of the year, then known as Sextilis, was renamed

Augustus (August) after him.