Marcus Tullius Cicero once said “In men of the highest character and noblest genius there is to be found an insatiable desire for honor, command, power, and glory.” In Robert Harris’ novel Imperium the road to power of the protagonist Marcus Cicero as well as various other Roman leaders is closely followed by Cicero’s scribe, Tiro. Where these leaders differ from one another is in regards to the tactics they used to obtain their power. The use of rewards and promises is what allowed Pompey the Great to secure his power, the brutish governor Gaius Verres used force and coercion to reach his goal, but the main character Marcus Tullius Cicero seemed to hold legitimate power through his various offices. However, it can be argued that Cicero did not attain power solely based on his various positions but it was rather his own expertise and association with other powerful people that led to his attainment of imperium, or ultimate power. It comes down to the question of whether or not this journey towards such absolute power corrupts the individual, or if it was their initial corruption that supplied the basis for their means.
Julius Caesar, his great-uncle, took an interest in Augustus. When Julius Caesar was murdered, Augustus discovered that he was Julius's heir to the throne. Before Augustus could gain the throne, however, he was forced to battle the armies of both Cleopatra VII and Marc Antony, who had their own plans for power following Julius Caesar's death. Augustus was victorious, and during his rule as Egypt's first Roman emperor, the country was peaceful and prosperous under his rule. Macbeth compares himself to Mark Antony and Banquo to Octavius Caesar, who defeated Antony in the civil wars.
The transfer of power to Philip II form his father took a little more than a decade, family rivalry and a battle with the Illyrians put Philip II on the throne (Lendering). Although, it was the battle at Methone that help Philip II to secure his seat on the throne. At this time the surrounding states of Macedon were looking in-ward at Philip II (Philip II of Macedon). The neighboring Greeks the Athenians thought that their man Argaeus should be the next king of Macedon. So as Argaeus went to the capital of Macedon the city of Aegae.
Life as a Consul in Rome Leonardo the Brave There once lived a consul named Leonardo. He was living Rome's long war with Carthage. It was nearly the end of the war when a new danger began. It was the Macedonian king Philip the Fifth that raised fear amongst the people of Rome, first targeting the Greek city-states. As a child, Leonardo went to a small school outside of his time, near Rome.
Introduction: • Gaius Octavius was born in 63BCE and was the great nephew of Julius Caesar. Caesar took Octavius under his wing, having him elected to the College of Pontiffs and enrolling him in to the Patrician Aristocracy. When Octavius learned Caesar had been assassinated he also found out that Caesar has adopted him and named him his heir. Octavius took on Caesar’s name and became Gaius Julius Caesar Octavius but was known simply as Octavian. • The situation in Rome toward the end of the Republican period was that the country’s senate had lost majority of its power.
He restored confidence in the government, replenished the treasury, and introduced an efficient public works department, and promoted peace and prosperity. Tiberius At the death of Augustus his adopted son Tiberius was chosen to succeed him. The imperium or power that Augustus had received under constitutional regulations and for a limited period was conferred on Tiberius for life. He was fifty six years old at the time of his succession and had been engaged during most of his life in the service of the state, so that he was novice in politics. Augustus insisted that he divorce the wife whom he loved and that he marry Julia, Augustus daughter, a woman of openly profligate life.
Finally, I will examine what these empires have taught us today. Rome came to completely dominate politics in Europe, North Africa and the East from the 1st century BC until the 4th century AD. The rise of Rome is greatly analyzed by historians, military strategists, political scientists and even some economists. This is because of the factors involving the rise and the fascination surrounding Rome’s rise to power. In 509 BCE, a group of Roman nobles drove the Etruscan king, Tarquin, from power[1].
How did the Successor Kings attempt to legitimise their monarchies in the century following the death of Alexander the Great? After the unexpected and youthful death of King Alexander the Great in 323BC, the successor Kings that followed his reign only disjointed the once vast and resilient empire. The immediate successors after Alexander were called the Diadochi, and they were the first generation of military and political leaders after the death of the Macedonian king and conqueror, Alexander the Great in 323 (Botdford and Robinson). The six successors that are mentioned in this essay all took on the monarchy with different ideas, strategies, boundaries and goals. Legitimising their monarchies seemed extremely difficult after Alexander’s death, and after the standard he had set for the successors that followed his legacy.
His great ancestor, Lucius Junius Brutus, is credited with founding the Republic in 509 BCE by deposing the last Tarquin king. Son to Marcus Junius Brutus the Elder and Servilia Caepionis, Brutus lost his father at an early age. He was officially adopted by his uncle, Quintus Servilius Caepio, whose name he took for an unspecified part of his life. Brutus’ formal education came under the tutelage of his mother’s half-brother, Cato the Younger. Cato, both a philosopher and politician of the time, was a Stoic who would be remembered for his unflinching resistance to corruption and support of Republican values.
The story begins 40 years after 323 BC, around 283 BC, with Ptolemy I Soter, who narrates throughout the film. We see Alexander's daily life and the strained relationship between his parents. Alexander grows up with his mother Olympias and his tutor Aristotle, where he finds interest in love, honour, music, exploration, poetry and military combat. His relationship with his father is destroyed when Philip marries Attalus's niece, Eurydice. After Philip is assassinated, Alexander becomes king of Macedonia.