Transcript Octavian
“Veni, Vidi, Vici“
I came, I saw, I conquered
And then
I died!
• Caesar is dead and Rome is in
Chaos!!!
• Julius Caesar’s BFF; Caesar was
his mother’s cousin
Me you
• Takes the consulship
fools!
• Asked for conspirators to be
pardoned (Brutus & Cassius)
• Public funeral for Caesar and
read will
• Gardens in the city left to poor
• Granted money to every Roman
citizen
No, no,
• Mob went wild
no…NOT
ME!!!
• Julius Caesar’s great
nephew
– Adopted posthumously
through Caesar’s will
• 18 years old and in
Greece at the time of
Caesar’s death
• Finds out he is Caesar’s
chief heir
Dude!
Hmmmm…this is
even BETTER! I can
manipulate him!
What?!? How dare he
make that pipsqueak
his heir…
• Claimed what was his
• Issued a call to arms of his
father’s veteran’s; soldiers
came to his aid
• Antony fled to Gaul to round
up legions
• Senate thought they could
control Octavian too
– Make him a senator
– Octavian smarter than senate!
• Octavian struck first against
the Senate:
– Occupied Rome with his
army
– Forced them to revoke
amnesty for Brutus and
Cassius
• Then strikes against Antony
in Gaul and defeats him
• Negotiates alliance
– Pulled-in Lepidus, a wealthy
Roman
• Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus
– Sealed the deal with marriage: Antony married
Octavian’s sister
• Turned attention to Senate
– Forced the Senate to grant all three men consular
positions for five years
• Antony -Gaul
• Lepidus- Spain
• Octavian- Africa and Sicily
• Instituted a round of proscriptions - 2,300 fled
or died
– Eliminate political enemies and strip them of their
property
– Octavian and Antony went to Greece to hunt down Brutus &
Cassius
• Met at Philippi; Octavian and Antony won
• Brutus and Cassius committed suicide
• Almost immediately, squeezed out Lepidus
– Octavian controls the west (Hispania, Gaul, Italia, & Africa)
– Antony controls the east (Greece, Asia, Syria & Egypt)
• Renewed triumvirate for another 5 years
• In 35 Lepidus rebelled
– Put down and forced
into retirement…then
he dies
• Tensions rise between
Octavian & Antony
• Octavian commanded
45 legions and 500
warships
• Antony had less, but
not worried because he
had something else…
•Antony thought Egypt would
guarantee a victory
And…
Oh no, I’m still
married to Octavia.
• Cupid hit Antony and
Cleopatra with his arrow.
•One of the greatest love
stories in history.
• Antony went too far…Rumors flying:
– Starting a second Senate in Egypt
– Declared Caesarion as Caesar's legal heir
– Gave most of Rome’s eastern lands to Cleopatra
• Arabia, Cyprus (copper mines), Sinai (turquoise
mines), Armenia, North Africa (grain), ports of
Phoenicia
– Left his possessions to his children by Cleopatra
– Wanted to be buried in Alexandria
– Married Cleopatra in 32 BC before he divorced
Octavia
• Note: All scenes featured in the following clip
are from the 1963 film Cleopatra starring
Elizabeth Taylor…
• Rome & Octavian FURIOUS!
– Senate declares war on Cleopatra
– Antony stripped of all his official power and
labeled him as an outlaw and a traitor
It’s clear that Mark
Antony is whipped.
No chance we can
tolerate a man
who lets a woman
tell him what to
do!
Yes dear…
See that…I want
it…all of it!
As you wish…
Let’s Get Ready to Rumble
• Both positioned self for battle
Octavian sought Senate support only to end
up chasing away consuls and Senate
oFew in Rome objected
oRepublic truly dead
Senate went to Antony in Greece
•
• Antony less men and weaker army, but
Cleopatra promised Egyptian navy and
a naval victory
• Egyptians allowed themselves to get
trapped in the harbor at Actium
• Antony and Cleopatra fled; Octavian
chased them
• Eventually, Antony and Cleopatra
committed suicide when it was
hopeless
• Octavian hunted down all of Cleopatra’s
children and killed them
I hope that
chick was
worth it!
• The last Egyptian pharaoh was now dead
• Octavian took control of all Egypt
– Personal possession; didn’t turn over to the
Senate like before
– Egypt’s wealth went into his own personal
treasury