Octavian Augustus Term Paper

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Octavian and Roman Empire

Roman Empire witnessed the rise and fall of so many emperors that it is hard to decide which one of them had the greatest influence on the empire. But historians have still made an attempt to found out just which ruler proved to be most influential in consolidating the empire and they unanimously agree that Octavian was the man who can be called the greatest emperor because of his numerous achievements and for the fact that unlike other rulers, he was never dethroned. It might appear strange to some but Octavian despite being the ruler of an immensely large empire did not encounter revolt and what never uprooted but history tells us that it was more due to his own cleverness and shred political skills than people's loyalty or devotion towards him. Shotter (1991) maintains that Augustus was so successful as Roman emperor because he "displayed a consummate ability to utilize people's services, to play men off against each other, and to maintain a convincing self-righteousness in the most unpromising of situations"

He was very young when he learned of his great uncle's death in 44 BC. Julius Caesar's untimely death could have completely shattered the Roman Empire had it not been for Mark Antony, Octavian and Lepidus. Together the three formed the Second Triumvirate and divided the huge empire among themselves in such a manner that each ruler had a large area under his command.

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The Second Triumvirate had been approved by the Roman Assembly to govern the country for next five years and this was a sign of people's trust in the abilities of these rulers to bring an end to Roman internal problems. Since they had Assembly's support, the three rulers did everything in their power to curb internal uprisings, which had been the cause of most trouble in Rome. The biggest achievement came in 42 BC when the Second Triumvirate managed to defeat Brutus and Cassius at the Battle of Philippi. This gave them control of even bigger land area, which was divided in such a way that Octavian had control of Italy; Mark Antony took over the affluent east while Lepidus controlled Gaul and Spain.

As long as Octavian was part of the Second Triumvirate, he knew that his chances of attaining sole control were slim and therefore he applied his brilliant political skills to force Lepidus to take early retirement. "In time, Octavian forced Lepidus into retirement and won control of all western provinces."(Chodorow 90) with the removal of Lepidus, Octavian took control of western provinces too as the latter decided to merge with Italy in 32 BC.

In the first ten years of his rule, Octavian was never revolted against because he was part of a very powerful Second Triumvirate and had complete support of the Assembly. Secondly, he was also extremely popular among his public in Italy.....

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