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Augustus was born at Rome with the name Gaius Octavius Thurinus. His father, also Gaius Octavius, came from a respectable but undistinguished family of the equestrian order and was governor of Macedonia before his death in 58 BC. More importantly, his mother Atia was the niece of Rome's greatest general and de facto ruler, Julius Caesar. In 46 BCCenturies: 2nd century BC 1st century BC 1st century Decades: 90s BC 80s BC 70s BC 60s BC 50s BC 40s BC 30s BC 20s BC 10s BC 0s BC 0s Years: 51 BC 50 BC 49 BC 48 BC 47 BC 46 BC 45 BC 44 BC 43 BC 42 BC 41 BC Events February 6 Julius Caesar defeats army of Caesar, who had no legitimate children, took his grand-nephew soldiering in Spain, and adopted him by testament as his heir (see also adoption in RomeAugustus Caesar In ancient Rome, adoption of boys was a fairly common procedure, particularly in the upper senatorial class. The need for a male heir and the expense of raising children were strong incentives to have at least one son, but not too many chi).
When Caesar was assassinated in March 44 BCCenturies: 2nd century BC 1st century BC 1st century Decades: 90s BC 80s BC 70s BC 60s BC 50s BC 40s BC 30s BC 20s BC 10s BC 0s BC 0s Years: 49 BC 48 BC 47 BC 46 BC 45 BC 44 BC 43 BC 42 BC 41 BC 40 BC 39 BC Events End of Roman Republic period and establis, his young heir was with the army at Apollonia, in what is now AlbaniaAlbania is a country in southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro in the north, Serbia ( Kosovo) in the north-east, the Republic of Macedonia in the east, and Greece in the south, has a coast on the Adriatic Sea in the west, and a coast on the Ion. At the time, he was only eighteen years old, and was consistently underestimated by his rivals for power. However, he culled support by emphasizing his status as heir to Caesar and took the name Gaius Julius Caesar (probably omitting the customary Octavianus; he is called "Octavian" by historians nonetheless). He crossed over to ItalyThe Italian Republic or Italy ( Italian: Italia is a country in the south of Europe, consisting mainly of a boot-shaped peninsula together with two large islands in the Mediterranean Sea: Sicily and Sardinia. To the north, where it borders France, Switzer and recruited an army from among Caesar's veterans. At Rome, he found Caesar's republican assassins, Marcus Junius BrutusMarcus Junius Brutus Caepio ( 85 BC- 42 BC), or simply Brutus was a Roman politician of the late Roman Republic. He was one of Julius Caesar's assassins. Background Brutus was the son of Decimus Junius Brutus, a relatively unimportant politician, and Serv and Gaius CassiusFor other Romans named "Cassius", see Cassia (gens). Gaius Cassius Longinus was the prime mover in the conspiracy against Julius Caesar. Little is known of his early life. In 53 BC he served in the Parthian campaign under M. Licinius Crassus, saved the re, in control. After a tense standoff, he formed an uneasy alliance with Marcus AntoniusMarcus Antonius ( Latin: M·ANTONIVS·M·F·M·N) (c. 83 BC August 30 BC), known in English as Mark Antony was a Roman politician and general. He was an important supporter of Julius Caesar as a military commander and administrator. After Caesar's assassinatio and Marcus Lepidus, Caesar's principal colleagues. The three formed a junta called the Second Triumvirate, and launched a purge of those allied with the assassins.
Antony and Octavian then marched against Brutus and Cassius, who had fled to the east. At Philippi in Macedonia the Caesarian army was victorious and Brutus and Cassius committed suicide ( 42 BC). Octavian then returned to Rome, while Antony went to Egypt, where he allied himself with Queen Cleopatra, the ex-lover of Julius Caesar and mother of Caesar's infant son Caesarion. The Roman dominions were now divided between Octavian in the west and Antony in the east.
Antony occupied himself with military campaigns in the east and a romantic affair with Cleopatra; Octavian built a network of allies in Rome, consolidated his power, and spread propaganda implying Antony as becoming more and more involved in Egyptian affairs and tradition. The situation grew more and more tense, and finally, in 32 BC, Octavian declared war. It was quickly decided: at the naval Battle of Actium in Greece in 31 BC, Octavian defeated his rivals, who then fled to Egypt. He pursued them there, and after another defeat, Cleopatra and Antony committed suicide.