Words for Board: Antony, Octavian, Augustus

The Assassins of Caesar saw him as a danger to the government. They thought if they got rid of him, the Republic would return to the old days. But actually the Republic had been in trouble ever since Gracchus and the land law bill where the upper class sat on the lower class. The Republic was not returning. The assassins turned around after stabbing Caesar and proclaimed liberty and freedom and all that jazz to the rest of the Senators. They were all scared and 300 of them ran home and hid under their beds. They didn't now who the assassins would get next. The assassins went out to the Forum to shout the good news and couldn't find any people. They'd all heard what happened and closed up shop and ran for home, too.

Now that Caesar was dead, he had to be buried with a proper state funeral or you'd get all kinds of static from the people. There was another Consul to lead the services. Who??? It as Marc Antony, Caesar's close friend and junior officer. Antony was asked to give the funeral oration and to keep it simple so it could be done quickly. Antony got a hold of Caesar's will at his death. The funeral wasn't til a couple of days alter and he may have altered the will a little. He started out with a simple oration and started whipping the crowd up by reading the will. Caesar had left good stuff to his friends–the people who killed him. That made them look 2 inches high. He also had willed his private gardens to the city of Rome. That was neat cuz Rome was so big and cluttered with buildings that you couldn't find any grass to walk on anymore in the city. And here was a public park for them. To top it off, Antony had the toga that Caesar was killed in with its 23 stab wounds and all the dried blood. The crowd went wild and burned down the Senate building. The assassins had cut out early, seeing how things were going. The mob chased after them but didn't catch any.

The bulk of Caesar's estate went to his legitimate relative, Octavian–Caesar's grand-nephew. Octavian was also willed Caesar's name which people could do then. The name of Caesar carried some power with it. He was young, though, and nobody figured he could take over the state. Antony figured he would get Caesar's position. He was a general and had been close to Caesar and was the best bet of the day. But Octavian sold some of Caesar's estate and distributed the money among the soldiers as a small token that Caesar would have remembered them. That bought him half the army to be loyal to him as Caesar's heir. Antony went to Gaul to chase the conspirators.

In 44 BC, the Senate tried to rally behind Cicero, the old orator. They were trying to get their power back. They tried to court Octavian to come over on their side. But he wanted them to back him in whatever he did and they wouldn't so they drove him away. Then end result was Antony and Octavian joining forces and forming the SECOND Triumvirate with another minor general (Lepidus). It was kind of a tricky alliance cuz the friends of Antony were the enemies of Octavian and vice versa. But they were fair and took turns killing off each other's friends. Antony had Cicero killed which was ok by Octavian cuz he was a troublemaker anyway. (He had Cicero's hands and head cut off and attached to the podium in the Senate as a symbol of all the times Cicero had addressed the Senate.)

Antony and Octavian pooled the army together and set off to Macedonia to fight the assassins (Brutus, Cassius, etc.). There were 2 big battles and both were draws cuz it was Roman troops fighting each other. The 2nd battle was lost by the assassins (that it–Antony didn't really win, but the other lost). It turns out Brutus thought his side wasn't doing well and committed suicide. That demoralized his troops who figured he knew something they didn't and the army collapsed. Antony and Octavian won the world. They divided it between them (temporarily). Antony did the dividing and took the East which was richer and included Greece with the culture. In the East, he met Cleopatra again and was supposed to have found true love. He married her without divorcing his Roman wife and stayed in Egypt. Nobody knows if it was love, or they just needed each other. Antony needed a good position from which to control his half of the world and Cleopatra needed the Roman protection and money for Egypt. Octavian got the West and Rome. Italy was in chaos after Caesar's death and he had to go home and put it back together. He had to fight a mini-civil war as soon as he got home which he won. Actually, it was a good thing cuz it showed him who his enemies were as opposed to his friends. (You can tell the enemies–they're the ones on the other side.) So he learned early whom he could trust.

In the winter of 34-33 BC, Antony made a mistake in the East. He tried to take the Parthians and missed them. That hurt his reputation. Then he made a real mistake by making a will and left all his Eastern territory to his kids by Cleopatra. He couldn't do that. It wasn't his property to leave. Octavian spread nasty rumors that he was under the influence of Cleopatra and obviously unfit to rule ˝ the world.

In 33 BC, they finally met in battle (Battle of Actium). It was a naval and land battle. It started out as a naval battle but it was unevenly matched. The western ships were faster and lighter which meant they could hit more often. But the eastern ships were slow and solid so when they were rammed nothing happened. Then a weirdie happened. Cleopatra pulled off some of her navy and sailed home. Nobody knows why. Maybe she was afraid Antony would win and wouldn't need her anymore and she'd lose everything. To make matters worse–Antony pulled his shop out and followed her thereby deserting his army. The army saw him leaving but the officers on his side lied and said he went for more troops. That didn't work very long. But it worked long enough for his generals to make a deal with Octavian. Octavian and all the army went to Egypt and Antony killed himself by falling on his sword. Cleopatra tried to charm Octavian like she had the others but it didn't work so well. She was 40+ and had lost some of her charms. So she committed suicide by letting an asp (poisonous snake) bite her. That sounds romantic until you find out that she had been experimenting with poisons on her household staff to see which was the fastest and least painful.

Octavian had everything now. He took the new title of Augustus. He is now called Augustus and/or Caesar or any combination of the two. What was he like? Glad you asked. He had a good mind but he wasn't as shiny bright as Caesar had been. He was in his 30's. He was practical and solid, whereas Caesar was flashy and scared people cuz he went so fast. August was small, delicate and in poor health. He expected to die young so he took care of himself and lived to be 77. He could listen to advice. From now on there's going to be a one-man government in Rome, so the one man had better be able to please lots of people. He was tactful and could listen to all sides of a question before doing what he intended anyway. But that made the people feel important that they were consulted and listened to.

By 27 BC, he had changed the state. It was no longer a Republic. 27 BC was the magic year that it changed into the Roman Empire. You need them defined to tel the difference. A republic is a form of government that rests on the will of the people as made evident by their elected officials (representatives). The USA is a Republic. Rome hadn't been a true republic for a long time since the lower class wasn't getting a fair shake from the Senate. An Empire is a mother country with subservient colonies. Ever since Rome picked up Sicily in the first Punic War, it had been an empire. But someone chose 27 BC as the magic year of change so that's the difference.

Augustus was the first emperor. He had lots of power. He had the title Princeps (1st among equals in the Roman Senate. How can you be first and equal????) It allowed him to cast his vote first in decisions so no one would be embarrassed by voting the wrong way (against him). He was elected Consul year after year. He said it was embarrassing cuz it was illegal to be in year after year. He told them to just vote him the power of a Consul so they wouldn't have to keep electing him. People decided he was following the law and were really impressed. So he got the powers of Consul and Tribune for the rest of his life. He was the Chief Priest of the Roman religion. Emperor used to be the title for a Roman general who had won the battle and could give the celebration party. He was called the "bringer of prosperity" and the "father of his country."