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Brutus had been a friend of Caesar. After Pompey’s defeat at Pharsalus, Caesar had pardoned him and rewarded him with the governorship of Gaul two years later. Some accounts of the assassination report that when Caesar saw Brutus was among those who had stabbed him, he said in surprise, “You, too, Brutus?” After Caesar After Caesar’s death, two of his supporters took the lead in the struggle against Brutus and Cassius. The first was Mark Antony, a well-known general who had served as consul with Caesar some years earlier. The second was Caesar’s 18-year-old adopted son, Ocatavian.

Caesar Augustus After the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra, Octavian became the sole ruler of Rome. Four years later, a grateful Senate awarded him the honorary title of Augustus, meaning sacred. While Octavian, now Augustus Caesar, was careful to retain the structures of the republican government, he was actually given much

History and Geography: World 131 II. Ancient Rome

more power than office-holders in the old republic would have had, and his tenure is considered the beginning of the Roman Empire and of 200 years of peace known as the Pax Romana. Under Augustus, the Senate was continued, but much of its power was assumed by the emperor. It no longer chose who would rule; it only confirmed the reigning emperor’s choice of successor (or the military’s candidate in the years when the army held power). Among the reforms that Augustus Caesar instituted were creation of a civil service, establishment of a postal system, introduction of new coins for money transactions, and reform of the census in order to make the tax system more equi- table. He set up what may have been the world’s first fire department. He also had roads constructed throughout the empire to allow for communication between Rome and the provinces. You may have heard the expression “all roads lead to Rome.” This was literally true of the road system Augustus worked to create. Augustus also worked to revitalize Roman religion. He promoted religious Teaching Idea festivals and encouraged worship of the Roman gods as a way of building loyalty Divide the class into groups and allow to the state. Augustus funded the renovation and construction of ornate religious them to conduct more in-depth temples, as well as civic buildings. Augustus is said to have boasted that he research about one of the famous his- “found Rome brick and left it marble.” torical figures discussed. Give them the Last but not least, Augustus was a great patron of the arts. It was during his opportunity to draw a detailed portrait reign that Virgil wrote the Aeneid, mentioned on p. 125. This epic poem was of the figure and present an oral report meant to glorify Augustus and Rome. Other writers also flourished during the to the class on this famous person. reign of Augustus, including Horace, Livy, and Ovid.

money on extravagant palaces and items for personal use. Others were obsessed with themselves, or paranoid about possible enemies. Many had blood on their hands. The emperor who came after Marcus Aurelius, Commodus, was one of the bad emperors. Although trained by Marcus Aurelius, Commodus turned out to be a megalomaniac, a person obsessed with himself. He demanded that the Senate recognize him as the reincarnation of the god Hercules and renamed Rome after

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