Octavius had been born in Velitrae, a town a southeast of Rome, in 63B.C. His parents were rich and influential his mother was the daughter of Julius Caesar, sister named Julia, which brought him in to close tides with Rome. The young Octavius had been through a lot but this set him up for the things that he didn’t even know he was about to be in control of. So as time went on through the wars and as Julius got older he had on kids so he felt it was necessary to give the thrones heir to Octavius seeing that he was getting older as well. (Baker, 1998) Octavius did as he was commanded, spending his free time studying Greek literature and military strategy.
By the time of Julius Caesar's dictatorship and subsequent assassination at the hands of the Senate, the Roman Republic was in a virtual free-fall of corruption and struggle for power. The Roman people were tired of the turmoil brought on by decades of war and needed a leader that could and would restore peace, order, and prosperity. Nonetheless, thirteen years of civil war followed Caesar's assassination and during this time Octavian, the grand-nephew and heir of Caesar, came into his sizable inheritance. He entered into a military-dictatorship (the Second Triumvirate) of Rome with supporters of his late great-uncle, was given a senate seat, and was elected consul and granted imperium, all before the age of twenty. Before he was 32 years
1. To see how Augustus’ achievement of power was a continuation of past paths to power we need to see his own path and also note the differences he took in that path. Augustus was born into a wealthy family whose family was well linked due to his mother being the niece of Julius Caesar [1]. Augustus did not follow the cursus honorum, due to the restrictions of age as he was only 18, and his early military career was spent preparing for the Partian war and in training at Apollonia in Illyricum [2]. As such he was only in the military system for less than 2 years when Julius Caesar was murdered.
He tried to teach the Romans that if they were not at war, there could be growth and prosperity all throughout Rome. However, Augustus had to cover up the damage that his adopted father, Julius Caesar, had done to Rome. At first, people believed that Julius Caesar would be a good leader, but sadly, he used the power for his own personal gain. He had a daughter named Julia, who he married to Pompey, creating an alliance. Once Julia died,
I’ve been president twice now, and I didn’t want to do it either time. I tried to quit the first time, but the country was in trouble and every single person around me begged me to stay on. I’m glad to say we’re pretty much in the clear now and I can get out of here without getting screamed at or letting things fall apart completely. I told you when I started what I thought of the job. All I’m going to say is that I did my best to set up the government right, but the more I do this the more I realize how dumb I am, and so maybe it’s okay if I let someone else take over.
“He ran for pontifex maximus… Caesar won by a comfortable margin. As a result, Caesar’s political career left him heavily in debt” (Keko). After the bona dea scandal, Caesar was forced to divorce Pompeia (as mentioned before) to sustain his reputation he had built so far. Still in debt, Caesar aligned with Crassus to pay his debts in return for political support and securely “assumed the governorship of Spain”. Now at 60BC, Caesar, Crassus and Pompey had secured an uncomfortable alliance – the First Triumvirate - but was necessary for any future
"And why should we start standing up to him now?" asked Cicero. The next day he wrote to Atticus: "We should have stood up to him [Caesar] when he was weak, and that would have been easy. Now we have to deal with eleven legions...." Though he hated the idea of civil war, the only course, said Cicero, was to follow "the honest men or whoever may be called such, even if they plunge." And who were these "honest men"?
He was conflicted though because he liked Caesar. There wouldn’t be a republic any more, it would become an empire. In our culture, we would vote on whether or not we wanted him as our king. Betrayal: How is Caesar's story a story of betrayal? Who is the betrayer?
Juan Carlos It is rare that a monarch is not born into the country he will one day rule. Juan Carlos was born into Rome on January 5, 1938, and the chances of him one day ruling Spain looked slim. Juan Carlos's father Alfonso XIII was forcibly exiled in 1931 after 20 years of political turmoil. He then died 10 years later, and according to his last wishes his son, Juan Carlos, was sent to Spain at age 9 for a Spanish education. He finished his secondary education at San Isidro in 1954.
Excerpts from Plutarch’s Life of Caesar. However, the Romans gave way before the good fortune of the man and accepted the bit, and regarding the monarchy as a respite from the evils of the civil wars, they appointed him dictator for life. This was confessedly a tyranny, since the monarchy, besides the element of irresponsibility, now took on that of permanence. 2 It was Cicero who proposed the first honours for him in the senate, and their magnitude was, after all, not too great for a man; but others added excessive honours and vied with one another in proposing them, thus rendering Caesar odious and obnoxious even to the mildest citizens because of the pretension and extravagance of what was decreed for him. 3 It is thought, too, that the