o 1º imperador de roma
OCTAVIVS, AVGVSTVS
Emperor Augustus of Rome was born with the given name GAIVS OCTAVIVS (Caius Octavius) on September 23, 63 B.C. He took the name GAIVS IVLIVS CAESAR OCTAVIVS (Caius Julius Caesar Octavius) in 44 B.C., after the murder of his great uncle, Julius Caesar. In his will Caesar had adopted Octavius and made him his heir.
Octavius was a shrewd, brilliant and astute politician. Through cold, hard political calculation he was able to achieve ultimate power in Rome. At the time of Caesar’s assassination, Octavius held no official position. Only after he marched on Rome and forced the senate to name him consul, was he established as a power to be reckoned with.
In 43 B.C., Octavius, Marcus Antonius (one of Julius Caesar’s top lieutenants) and another Roman General, Marcus Lepidus, formed the second Triumvirate to rule Rome. After taking power, the Triumvirate proscribed and slaughtered thousands of political enemies, firmly establishing their control of the Roman government.
In 40 B.C., Antonius married Octavia, Octavius’s sister, and later deserted her for Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt. When Antonius gave Roman provinces to his children by Cleopatra, Octavius declared war on Antonius. In 31 B.C. the Roman Navy under Agrippa defeated the combined fleets of Antonius and Cleopatra, and within a year both had committed suicide.
In 27 B.C., the Roman Senate granted Octavius the name Augustus, meaning “the exalted.” They also gave him the legal power to rule Rome’s religious, civil and military affairs, with the Senate as an advisory body, effectively making him Emperor.
Rome achieved great glory under Octavius Augustus. He restored peace after 100 years of civil war; maintained an honest government and a sound currency system; extended the highway system connecting Rome with its far-flung empire; developed an efficient postal service; fostered free trade among the provinces; and built many bridges, aqueducts and buildings adorned with beautiful works of art created in the classical style. Literature flourished with writers including Virgil, Horace, Ovid, and Livy all living under the emperor’s patronage.
The empire expanded under Augustus with his generals subduing Spain, Gaul (now France), Panonia and Dalmatia (now parts of Hungary and Croatia). He annexed Egypt and most of southwestern Europe up to the Danube River. After his death, the people the Roman Empire worshipped Augustus as a god.
