Octavian Augustus

Octavian Augustus was the grand-nephew and sole heir of the great Caesar. After receiving the name of the murdered emperor and accepting the inheritance, he, having secured the support of his adoptive father's friends, was introduced to the people in 44th year BC.

However, the real power in those years belonged to the consul Mark Antony, who for a long time also claimed to be the successor to the dictator. Having gathered the people's assembly, he blocked the possibility of Octavian to become a tribune.

But a year later Octavian August, with the support of Cicero and the relatives of the late Emperor, was able to legalize his situation.

The political situation in Rome was unsettled, civil war was brewing . The provinces greatly intensified conspirators, who after the assassination of Caesar fled the capital.

Against Anthony came Decimus Brutus, who managed to "take triumph," and now, by decision of the Senate, Octavianus Augustus had to allocate troops to destroy his opponent.

However, the choice of the latter could not be in favor of the assassin Caesar. And in this he was supported by the army: the soldiers of the Roman legions refused to fight against Antony.

In the same year, three triumvirs - Octavin Augustus, Antony and Lepidus made an alliance with the goal of destroying their opponents. And in September of the following year their troops routed the Republicans. Cassius and Brutus committed suicide. There was a new redistribution of territories captured by Rome.

Antony married the "queen of kings" Cleopatra and with the wife and her son from Caesar began to rule the Roman provinces - Syria, Cilicia and Cyprus. But the people began to grumble, than immediately took advantage of Octavian, who, with the support of the Senate, declared the triumvirator a traitor.

In September, 32-year BC. During the action, a great naval battle took place, which Cleopatra and Antony lost. The spouses fled back to Egypt, where they died.

Two years later, Octavian Augustus solemnly entered Alexandria, thereby putting an end to the long civil war. He became a full-fledged ruler of the giant Roman Empire.

His main merit was what the other emperors of Rome failed to achieve: he was able to establish a world that meant the end of the turmoil and civil wars that lasted almost a century, and also strengthened the external borders.

He issued rather brutal laws combating unruly slaves, while at the same time allowing submissive use of protection from the brutality of their masters. Rural plebeians who did not have land, for service in the troops received money or plots as a gift.

This was the beginning of a new era of the traditional social order in which Emperor Augustus embodied a new form of government - a combination of an authoritarian type capable of maintaining unity and order in the empire, with a law based on observance of republican methods of government.

Octavian August in the bud suppressed the individual conspiracies, which from time to time arise among dissatisfied aristocrats. As a result, he managed to smooth acute contradictions of a social nature, thanks to which the empire was peaceful and peaceful.

However, the last ten years of Octavian's life, and he died in the 14th year BC, having lived only 49 years, were the heaviest. Risen ups followed each other, and when the people's assembly chose unsuccessful undergraduates, he canceled the elections by his decree.

Now the emperor, who had lost his courtesy and flexibility, rarely left the palace.

At the same time, he clearly outlined his goal, skillfully using any means. He was fervent about the sciences, especially poetry. It is no coincidence that an entire epoch received his name, this was the era of the heyday of art.

The political system, established under Octavian Augustus, provided the Roman Empire with two centuries of prosperity, influencing the subsequent European history.