The Life of Augustus

The Birth of Augutus

63 BCE

Augustus was born on September 23rd, 63 BCE, with the name Gaius Octavius Thurinus (He became known as Augustus later). Not much is known about how he was brought up. One thing that we do know is that his father was a nous homo, which means that he was the first family member to be in the senate.

The Death of Caesar

44 BCE

When Augustus was studying in Dalmatia, he received shocking news from Rome, his great relative, Julius Caesar, had been stabbed 35 times to death. He returned to Rome very quickly, and when he arrived he learned, during the reading of Caesar's will, he learned that he was the heir to his fortune. He grew frightened for his safety, and moved through Italy, seeking help from old militants of Caesar.

Mutina

43 BCE

Augustus wanted to have a good relationship with Antony, who was a close friend of Caesar's, but Antony did not agree with the will, and even tried to block it from happening. As a result, Octavian went over to the side of the senate, which was attempting to regain control of the state. With the help of Octavian and an army raised largely from Caesar’s veterans, the senatorial forces defeated Antony at Mutina in 43 BC.

Second Triumvirate

43 BCE

Sensing that the senate wanted to use him as an enemy to bring down Antony, Octavian arranged a meeting with Antony and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, another friend of Caesar. The three formed the Second Triumvirate, patterned on the earlier alliance of Caesar, Marcus Licinius Crassus, and Pompey.

Avenging Caesar

42 BCE

The triumvirs quickly got unlimited power and started to eliminate their opposition, especially those associated with the murder of Caesar. An idea was presented, and many Romans, including Cicero, were killed. Octavian and Antony then confronted the army of Marcus Junius Brutus and Cassius, the leaders of the conspiracy against Caesar. In the Battle of Philippi in Greece, the last hope of restoring the republic was gone.

Changing of names

40 BCE

Octavius now took on the name Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, or Octavian for short, to convey how powerful his relationship with Caesar really was, and to sway Caesar's retired troops to ally with himself. This political move worked, and when he came back to Rome, he had an army of his own, consisting of approximately 10,000 soldiers.

Octavian takes on Marc Antony

38 BCE

Octavian was now at an equal level to Marc Antony, Caesar's friend and head of the Caesarian Party. They both wanted to avenge Caesar's death and terminated all the anti-Caesar parties.

Octavian vs Antony

37 BCE

During this time, Octavian began to make sure that the people of Rome viewed him higher than Antony. He began to display himself in the eyes of the countrymen as a source of power and stability and restored order. He associated himself with traditional Roman values and made his enemies look like corrupt, lawless people.

Legitimacy of Augustus Grows

Period: 33 BCE to 27 BCE

Between 33 and 27 BCE, the legitimacy of Augustus began to grow as he did various things around the empire. Augustus had a favorable look in the eyes of the people through a combination of the powers of pre-ruling emperors. The difference between him and these all-powerful emperors was that his powers were shared with the first man of the senate. He said that he is just a very influential person, and his powers are not for himself, but for the state as a whole.

The Battle of Antium

31 BCE

Finally, Octavian began to openly attack Antony. He described his relationship with Queen Cleopatra, of Eygpt, as oriental and un-Roman. With this happening, Octavian and Antony began to openly fight each other. During the decisive Battle of Actium, Antony and Cleopatra were defeated narrowly.

Alexandria

30 BCE

The city of Alexandria was captured by Octavian's forces.

Res Gestae Divi Augusti

20 BCE

This was the speech that Augustus gave when he recalled all the civic virtue that he displayed in his rule. It is the speech in which he remembered how he went to the Roman Senate after the conflict was over, and tried to his powers taken away. The Senate refused, as to not cause too much disturbance, and he kept his powers.

Maintaining Borders

6 BCE

In Germany, he made an effort to extend the limits of Roman rule to the Elbe River. These attempts ended in 6 BC, when German tribes ambushed three legions under the command of Publius Quinctilius Varus. The disaster caused Augustus to fix the boundaries at the Rhine River; for a long time afterward he could be heard yelling, Varus, give me back my legions!

Head Priest

12

In this year, Augustus, through his showing of dedication for Roman traditions, he was named pontifex maximus, or head priest. Whenever possible, he revived old customs and mores, attempting to strengthen patriotism and social order. His many building projects, especially in Rome, repaired years of neglect and made life in the city better.

Death of Augustus

14

Though Augustus made the empire something that it never had been before, he died in 14 BCE.