Rome 16: The Age of Augustus

In the previous lectures, we saw the rise and fall of the First Triumvirate and the assassination of Julius Caesar. Caesar came to power through civil war, in which he challenged the Roman state and campaigned against his former ally, Pompey. In the end Caesar was successful, that is, until he was assassinated by his fellow Roman aristocrats who viewed him as a threat to the state. Remember, Rome still viewed their system of a Republic as intact, despite the fact that Caesar declared himself dictator in perpetuity. Even after his death, they still viewed the Republic as salvageable. What they did not realize, is that they had far outgrown the bounds of the Republic. In this lecture (and the next), we see how one man comes to power and changes the Roman state to better facilitate its size. Such changes require a single individual to have central authority. This lecture marks the beginning of Rome’s transition from Republic to Empire under Augustus, the aristocrat formerly known as Octavian.