0
Still curious? Ask our experts.
Chat with our AI personalities
Ross
Fran
SteveAdd your answer:
Earn +20 pts
Did Antony and Cleopatra become the first emperors of rome?
No, the first emperor of Rome was Octavian, who called himself Augustus Caesar. He was the nephew of Julius Caesar, who was the first Dictator for Life.
Who defeated mark antony to become princeps or first citizen?
Augustus
When did the Roman republic become the Roman empire?
Generally speaking there are two answers to this question. In all sense of the term of empire, it can be said that the Roman republic became an empire when the last remnants of its rival, Carthage was laid to waste. Rome then ruled the western areas of the Mediterranean Sea. In another sense, the Roman republic came to an end upon the rule of Augustus Caesar. At that point in 31 BC BCE, Octavian became Augustus Caesar and the "empire" ruled by an emperor can be said to be the end of the republic and into an empire.
How did octavian unlike his predecessors manage to become sole ruler and first emperor of the roman world?
I notice that you used the plural for predecessor. Only one man had tried to become sole ruler before: Julius Casear. As the winner of the civil wars which brought down the Roman Republic, Augustus was in control of the army. He started the period of rule by emperors by establishing himself as an absolute ruler, while pretending to be restoring a republic shattered by the civil wars. He reached a settlement with the senate whereby the senate retained control of the older Roman provinces, while he controlled of the border ones. Since most of the legions were stationed in the provinces, this concession still left him in control of the bulk of the army. Augustus turned the senate into an instrument of his power and emasculated the popular assemblies (which used to elect the officers of state and vote on bills) to the senate. The officers of state were no longer elected and became appointees of the emperor. Augustus controlled governance through the creation of an imperial bureaucracy which carried out his command. He legislated by decree. Augustus learned from the lesson of Julius Caesar's murder. He was assassinated because he gave the impression of trying to become a king, which made him look an enemy of the republic. Augustus therefore chose the title of princeps, which was derived from the princeps senatus, who was the first member of the senate and acted as a chair. The world roughly means first man and had a "first among equals" connotation and gave a republican veneer to his rule. In reality, he was turning himself into an absolute ruler. He also acted as a restorer of Roman ancestral religion practices which had decayed and presented himself as an upholder of Roman tradition. The reign of Augustus was one of showmanship. After winning the civil wars of the Roman Republic he made himself an absolute ruler, which was what Julius Caesar had tried to do. Augustus learnt from Caesar's assassination about the danger of arousing suspicions of trying to become a king, which was anathema to the Roman Republic. Augustus pretended that he was restoring the Republic after the civil wars, while in actual fact was replacing it with his absolute ruler. He presented himself and the restorer decayed archaic religious traditions and of republican values. He chose the title of priceps, which roughly meat first man/citizen and had a "first among equals connotation." Augustus also created a personal cult. He continued the association of the Julian family with the goddess Venus which Caesar had made and used this to create a cult based on himself as divine as Caesar had done. He also transformed Roman art from the previous republican art to an imperial art which glorified him. He created artistic images of himself as semi divine and as a victorious imperator (which meant victorious
Why was Augusta the most able emperor of rome?
Augustus managed to be not only the first Emperor, surviving civil war, but he also was one of the longest ruling. While wielding nearly total power, Augustus was careful to at least pretend he was not actually the sole ruler of the Empire. He cloaked his actions by paying token respect to the senate, having them legally give him his powers. He also took title such as "First Citizen" to emphasize he was merely a Roman citizen, albeit one of higher than normal ranking. But his greatest claim as "ablest of the Emperors of Rome" would be in how he managed to maintain peace through the Empire, quelling civil war, encouraging public works, and running a fiscally sensible policy that left the Treasury with a significant surplus. And he did it while not neglecting his own public image, ensuring most of the Roman populace would look on him with not only respect, but genuine affection, even love.
