Final Notes

  • Aftermath to the Murder:
  • Julius Caesar’s grandnephew Octavian takes over at the age of 18 with his own triumvirate
    • Mark Antony - an experienced general
    • Lepidus- powerful politician
  • Octavian forces the weak Lepidus to retire
  • He and Mark Antony become rivals
  • Mark Antony partners up with Cleopatra of Egypt
    • Militarily
    • Personally
    • Politically
    • Economically
  • Octavian defeats them at the Battle of Actium
  • He is now the unchallenged ruler of Rome
  • He was given the honorific “Augustus”
  • He was also given the title “Imperator”
  • This is where we get the word “emperor”
  • Now Rome is an empire, not a republic
  • 40 years of ruling as emperor (27 BC to AD 14)
  • He began a stable era of peace and prosperity known as the Pax Romana (Roman peace)
  • Pax Romana was 207 years long
    • 27 BC to AD 180
  • Expanded the Roman Empire further into Africa
  • He set up civil service to run the government/empire
  • Building a network of roads
  • Collecting taxes
  • Establishing a postal service
  • Administering the grain supply
  • Building awesome public facilities
    • Buildings, aqueducts
  • Setting up a police department
  • Running a fire-fighting organization
  • Finally died of natural causes
  • After Octavian’s death, power was passed down to emperors
    • Some were good, some were horrible, some appeared to be completely insane
    • Let’s review some of the emperors...
      • Tiberius
        • Ruled from AD 14 to AD 37
        • an excellent general, but a reluctant emperor
        • after the death of his son, he exiled himself from Rome and left his prefects in charge
        • died at age 77
      • Caligula
        • Ruled from AD 37 to AD 41
        • won a power struggle after Tiberius' death
        • known for his cruelty, extravagance, and perversity - an insane tyrant
        • assassinated by a group of praetorian guards, Senators, and the imperial court, trying to re-establish the Republic
        • but it didn't work...
      • Claudius
        • Ruled from AD 41 to AD 54
        • suffered from many infirmities: a limp, stammering, shaking, slobbering... possibly because of cerebral palsy
        • took over because he was the last adult male in the family
        • ruled well - built roads, aqueducts, canals, and started the conquest of Britain
      • Nero
        • ruled from 54 to 68
        • emphasized the arts
        • huge fire in 64 (although he DIDN'T fiddle)
        • he wanted to rebuild Rome to be more majestic
        • he hugely overspent and even raided the temples for money
        • historians do not look kindly upon him

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