Utilisateur:Sisebutus/Brouillon/Auguste Arnaud55

Auguste, (Latin: IMPERATOR·CAESAR·DIVI·FILIVS·AVGVSTVS), est né le 23 septembre 63 av. J.-C. et mort le 19 août 14 ap. J.-C. . Né sous le nom de Gaius Octavius Thurinus, il est adopté par son grand oncle Jules César en 44 av. J.-C., à l'âge de 18 ans, et devient à partir de cette date Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (Latin: GAIVS·IVLIVS·CAESAR·OCTAVIANVS). Auguste est le premier Empereur de l'Empire romain qu'il dirige seul de l'an 27 av. J.-C. jusqu'à sa mort en 14 ap. J.-C.

Le jeune Octave prend possession de l'héritage de son oncle après l'assassinat de César en 44 av. J.-C. En 43 av. J.-C. il s'allie avec Marc Antoine et Marcus Aemilius Lepidus dit Lépide au sein d'une dictature militaire, le Second triumvirat. En tant que Triumvir, Octave dirige Rome et un grand nombre de ses provinces de façon autocratique, s'emparant des charges consulaires après la mort des consuls Hirtius et Pansa et en s'accordant à lui même la réélection à vie. Les ambitions opposées des Triumvirs conduisent à des tensions internes et des affrontements. Le Second triumvirat se clôt définitivement avec la condamnation à l'exil de Lépide et le suicide d'Antoine à la suite de sa défaite lors de la bataille d'Actium contre la flotte d'Octave en 31 ap. J.-C. .

Seul maître à Rome, Octave rétablit, en façade du moins, la République, et le pouvoir exercé par le Sénat. Mais en pratique, il conserve et renforce son pouvoir autocratique. La transformation institutionnelle d'un état Républicain formel, en un état qui puisse être dirigé par un seul législateur s'effectue sur plusieurs années. Le résultat est connu sous le nom d'Empire romain. La fonction impériale ne ressemble pas à la dictature romaine que César et Sylla ont assumé avant lui. En effet, Auguste décline le titre de Dictateur lorsque le peuple romain, "le supplie d'imposer la dictature". Selon la loi, Auguste détient un ensemble de pouvoirs qui lui sont octroyés à vie par le Sénat, incluant ceux de tribun de la plèbe et de censeur romain. Il est consul jusqu'en 23 ap. J.C.

Les bases de son pouvoir très étendu reposent sur ses succès financiers et les ressources gagnées dans les conquêtes, sur la mise en place de relations de patronage partout dans l'Empire, sur la loyauté de nombreux soldats et vétérans, sur l'autorité donnée par l'ensemble des honneurs octroyés par le Sénat et sur le respect du peuple romain. Le contrôle exercé par Auguste sur la majorité des légions de Rome constitue une menace armée permanente qui peut être employée contre le Sénat, ce qui lui permet d'exercer une coercition sur les décisions sénatoriales. De ce fait, le Sénat s'est montré docile et conciliant vis à vis de sa position dominante. Son pouvoir, exercé par le patronage, la force militaire, et l'accumulation de fonctions de la République défunte est le modèle sur lequel reposent tous les gouvernements impériaux suivants.

Le règne d'Auguste initie une ère de paix relative, la Pax Romana ou Paix Romaine. En dépit de guerres frontalières continuelles, et l'Année des quatre empereurs, qui est une guerre de succession impériale, le monde méditerranéen demeure en paix pendant plus de deux siècles. Auguste étend l'Empire romain, sécurise ses frontières avec des états clients et fait la paix avec les Parthes par voie diplomatique. Il réforme le système de taxes romain, développe le réseau routier romain avec un service de poste officiel, il établit une armée permanente (et aussi une petite flotte), crée la garde prétorienne, et, également, une police officielle ainsi qu'une force anti-incendie à Rome. Une grande partie de la ville de Rome est reconstruite sous son règne. Il rédige ses mémoires, un compte-rendu de ses propres réalisations, sous le titre Res Gestae Divi Augusti qui nous est parvenu. A sa mort en 14 ap. J.-C., Auguste est divinisé par le Sénat pour être adoré par les Romains. Ses noms, Auguste et César, sont adoptés par chacun des empereurs qui suivent, et le mois de Sextilis est officiellement renommé Augustus en son honneur. Son gendre et beau-fils Tibère lui succéde.

Jeunesse

Alors que sa famille paternelle est originaire de la ville de Velletri (Latin: Velitrae), à environ 40 kilomètres de Rome, Auguste naît à Rome même le 23 septembre 63 av. J.-C., près des Têtes de Boeuf, une petite propriété sur le Mont Palatin, très proche du Forum romain. A sa naissance, un astrologue lance un avertissement à son père, mais celui-ci décide malgré tout de garder l'enfant, en dépit du présage, plutôt que de l'abandonner en plein air pour être dévoré par les chiens. On le nomme Caius Octavius..En raison de la surpopulation de Rome à cette époque, Octave, qui à ce moment de sa vie est simplement appelé Caius, est emmené dans le village d'origine de son père, Velletri (Latin: Velitrae), pour y être élevé.

Dans ses mémoires, Octave mentionne brièvement la famille de son père, qui appartient à l'ordre équestre. Son grand-père paternel fut tribun militaire en Sicile pendant la Deuxième Guerre punique. Il a rempli diverses charges politiques locales. Son père, lui aussi nommé Caius Octavius, est gouverneur de Macédoine. Peu de temps après la naissance d'Auguste, son père lui donne le surnom de Thurinus, sans doute pour commémorer sa victoire de Thurii sur des esclaves rebelles. Sa mère Atia est la nièce de Jules César.

Bien que celle-ci soit patricienne, Octave est plébéien, tout comme son père. Octave obtint le statut de patricien lorsqu'il fut adopté par Jules César en 44 av. J.C.

En 59 av J.C., alors qu'il est âgé de 4 ans, son père meurt. Sa mère épouse un ancien gouverneur de Syrie, Lucius Marcius Philippus. Philippus prétend descendre d'Alexandre le Grand. Il est élu consul en 56 av. J.C. Il n'éprouve pas beaucoup d'intérêt pour le jeune Octave. Pour cette raison, ce dernier est élevé par sa grand-mère, et sœur de Jules César, Julia Caesaris.

En 52 ou 51 av. J.C., Julia Caesaris meurt. Octave prononce l'oraison funèbre de sa grand-mère. A partir de ce moment, sa mère et son beau-père reprennent un rôle plus actif dans son éducation. Il prend la toge virile quatre ans plus tard. et il est élu au Collège des pontifes en 47 av. J.C. L'année suivante, il est chargé d'organiser les jeux grecs donnés en l'honneur du Temple de Vénus Genitrix, construit par Jules César. D'après Nicolas de Damas, Octave souhaite se joindre au personnel de César lors de sa campagne en Afrique mais il renonce devant les protestations de sa mère. . En 46 av. J.C., elle consent à le laisser rejoindre César en Hispanie, où ce dernier se prépare à affronter les armées de Pompée, dernier adversaire de César. Mais Octave tombe malade et est incapable d'effectuer le voyage.

Rétabli, il prend la mer pour le front, mais il fait naufrage. Après avoir atteint le rivage avec une poignée de compagnons, il traverse les lignes ennemies pour rejoindre le camp de César, ce qui impressionne considérablement son grand-oncle. Velleius Paterculus rapporte que César permet ensuite au jeune homme de partager sa litière. De retour à Rome, César rédige un nouveau testament qu'il dépose entre les mains de la Grande Vestale, faisant d'Octave son principal héritier.

L'ascension d'Auguste

L'héritier de César

A l'heure où César est assassiné, lors des Ides de Mars, le 15 mars 44 av. J.C., Octave suit un entraînement et une formation militaire à Apollonie d'Illyrie. Il n'écoute pas les conseils des officiers qui le pressent de se réfugier, avec les troupes, en Macédoine et il prend la mer pour l'Italie afin de se rendre compte sur place de ses chances politiques ou pour s'assurer de sa sécurité. Après avoir accosté à Lupiae, près de Brundisium, il prend connaissance du testament de César. C'est seulement alors qu'il décide de devenir l'héritier politique de César aussi bien que l'héritier des deux tiers de ses biens. N'ayant pas d'enfant légitime en vie, César a adopté son grand-neveu Octave comme fils et héritier principal. Par suite de son adoption, Octave prend le nom de Gaius Julius Caesar. La tradition romaine impose également qu'il y appose le cognomen Octavianus (Octavien) pour indiquer sa famille biologique. Il n'existe à ce jour aucune preuve qui atteste qu'il a utilisé ce nom, car celui-ci rend trop évidentes ses origines modestes. Plus tard, Marc Antoine accusera Octave d'avoir gagné cette adoption de César par des faveurs sexuelles, mais Suétone, dans la Vie des douze Césars présente les accusations d'Antoine comme de la calomnie politique.

Pour pénétrer avec succès la hiérarchie politique romaine, Octave ne peut pas compter sur ses fonds limités. Après un accueil chaleureux des soldats de César à Brundisium, Octave demande une partie des fonds alloués par César à la guerre prévue contre les Parthes au Moyen-Orient. La somme de 700 millions de sesterces est conservée à Brundisium, la base arrière, en Italie, des opérations militaires en orient. Une enquête ultérieure du Sénat sur la disparition des fonds publics ne débouche sur aucune action contre Octave, car il emploie ensuite cet argent pour lever des troupes contre l'ennemi juré du Sénat, Marc Antoine. En 44 av. J.C., Octave entreprend une autre action audacieuse quand, sans permission officielle, il s'approprie le tribu annuel envoyé par les provinces du Proche Orient vers l'Italie.

Octave renforce ses forces personnelles avec les légionnaires vétérans de César et avec des troupes destinées aux guerres Parthes en mettant l'accent sur son statut d'héritier de César. Au cours de sa marche sur Rome en traversant l'Italie, la présence manifeste et nouvellement acquise de ses fonds lui amène de nouveaux soutiens, gagnant encore d'autres vétérans de César stationnés en Campanie. En juin, son armée se compose de 3000 vétérans loyaux, dont le salaire s'élève à 500 deniers. .

Parvenu à Rome le 6 mai 44 av. J.-C., Octave trouve le consul Marc Antoine en trêve délicate avec les assassins de César. Ils avaient bénéficié d'une amnistie générale le 17 mars, mais Marc Antoine était parvenu à en éloigner la plupart de Rome en raison de l'éloge funèbre qu'il organisa aux funérailles du dictateur, dressant l'opinion publique contre les conjurés. Bien que Marc Antoine ait accumulé de nombreux soutiens politiques, Octave peut encore rivaliser avec lui pour prendre la tête de la faction césarienne. Marc Antoine a en effet perdu le soutien de nombreux romains en s'opposant à la divinisation de César. Octave ne parvient pas à persuader Marc Antoine de renoncer à l'argent de César en sa faveur, mais il gagne de nombreux sympathisants césariens au cours de l'été. En septembre, l'orateur de la faction Optimate, Ciceron commence à attaquer Marc Antoine dans ses discours, les Philippiques, présentant Antoine comme la plus grande menace contre le Sénat. Sentant l'opinion tourner contre lui, et son année de pouvoir consulaire touchant à sa fin, Marc Antoine entreprend de faire passer des lois qui lui accordent le contrôle de la Gaule Cisalpine, à la place de Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus, l'un des assassins de César. Pendant ce temps, Octave constitue une armée privée en Italie en recrutant des vétérans de César et le 28 novembre, il amène à lui deux légions de Marc Antoine en les séduisant par des promesses de gains monétaires. Devant les forces importantes et décidées d'Octave, Antoine perçoit le danger qu'il y a à demeurer à Rome et, au soulagement du Sénat, il fuit pour la Gaule Cisalpine, qui lui est destinée au 1er janvier.

First conflict with Antony

Devant le refus de Decimus Brutus d'abandonner la Gaule cisalpine, Antoine l'assiège à Mutina. Les résolutions votées par le Sénat pour mettre fin aux violences sont rejetées par Antoine, car le Sénat n'a pas d'armée pour s'opposer à lui. Cela constitue une opportunité pour Octave qui est déjà connu pour posséder des forces armées. Cicéron prend également la défense d'Octave contre les railleries d'Antoine à propos du manque de noblesse de ses origines : "Nous ne possédons pas d'exemple plus brillant de piété traditionnelle dans notre jeunesse." This was in part a rebuttal to Antony's opinion of Octavian, as Cicero quoted Antony saying to Octavian, "You, boy, owe everything to your name." In this unlikely alliance orchestrated by the arch anti-Caesarian senator Cicero, the Senate inducted Octavian as senator on January 1, 43 BC, yet he was also given the power to vote alongside the former consuls. In addition, Octavian was granted imperium (commanding power), which made his command of troops legal, sending him to relieve the siege along with Hirtius and Pansa (the consuls for 43 BC). In April of 43 BC, Antony's forces were defeated at the battles of Forum Gallorum and Mutina, forcing Antony to retreat to Transalpine Gaul. However, both consuls were killed, leaving Octavian in sole command of their armies.

After heaping many more rewards on Decimus Brutus than Octavian for defeating Antony, the Senate attempted to give command of the consular legions to Decimus Brutus, yet Octavian decided not to cooperate. Instead, Octavian stayed in the Po Valley and refused to aid any further offensive against Antony. In July, an embassy of centurions sent by Octavian entered Rome and demanded that he receive the consulship left vacant by Hirtius and Pansa. Octavian also demanded that the decree declaring Antony a public enemy should be rescinded. When this was refused, he marched on the city with eight legions. He encountered no military opposition in Rome, and on August 19, 43 BC was elected consul with his relative Quintus Pedius as co-consul. Meanwhile, Antony formed an alliance with Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, another leading Caesarian.

Second Triumvirate

The Roman Revolution

In a meeting near Bologna in October of 43 BC, Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus formed a junta called the Second Triumvirate. This explicit arrogation of special powers lasting five years was then supported by law passed by the plebs, unlike the unofficial First Triumvirate formed by Gnaeus Pompey Magnus, Julius Caesar and Marcus Licinius Crassus. The triumvirs then set in motion proscriptions in which 300 senators and 2,000 equites were branded as outlaws and deprived of their property and, for those who failed to escape, their lives. This decree issued by the triumvirate was motivated in part by a need to raise money to pay their troops' salaries for the upcoming conflict against Caesar's assassins, Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus. Rewards for their arrest gave incentive for Romans to capture those proscribed, while the assets and properties of those arrested were seized by the triumvirs. This measure by the triumvirs went beyond a simple purge of those allied with the assassins. Octavian objected to enacting the proscriptions at first because he wanted to spare the life of his newfound ally Marcus Tullius Cicero (who was to be listed on the proscriptions). However, Antony's hatred of Cicero was unyielding, and Cicero fell victim to the occasion. The death of so many republican senators allowed the triumvirs to fill their positions with their own supporters. This has been called the "Roman revolution" by twentieth-century historians; it had far-reaching implications in that it wiped out the old order and established a sturdy political foundation for the Augustan form of leadership to come.

On January 1, 42 BC, the Senate recognised Caesar as a divinity of the Roman state, Divus Iulius. Octavian was able to further his cause by emphasizing the fact that he was Divi filius, "Son of God". Antony and Octavian then sent 28 legions by sea to face the armies of Brutus and Cassius, who had built their base of power in Greece. After two battles at Philippi in Macedonia in October of 42, the Caesarian army was victorious and Brutus and Cassius committed suicide. Mark Antony would later use the examples of these battles as a means to belittle Octavian, as both battles were decisively won with the use of Antony's forces. In addition to claiming responsibility for both victories, Antony also branded Octavian as a coward for handing over his direct military control to Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa instead.

After Philippi, a new territorial arrangement was made among the members of the Second Triumvirate. While Antony would leave Gaul, the provinces of Hispania, and Italia in the hands of Octavian, Antony traveled east to Egypt where he allied himself with Queen Cleopatra VII, the former lover of Julius Caesar and mother of Caesar's infant son, Caesarion. Lepidus was left with the province of Africa, stymied by Antony who conceded Hispania to Octavian instead. Octavian was left to decide where in Italy to settle tens of thousands of veterans of the Macedonian campaign whom the triumvirs had promised to discharge. The tens of thousands who had fought on the republican side with Brutus and Cassius, who could easily ally with a political opponent of Octavian if not appeased, also required land. There was no more government-controlled land to allot as settlements for their soldiers, so Octavian had to choose one of two options: alienating many Roman citizens by confiscating their land, or alienating many Roman soldiers who could mount a considerable opposition against him in the Roman heartland; Octavian chose the former. There were as many as eighteen Roman towns affected by the new settlements, with entire populations driven out or at least given partial evictions.

Rebellion and marriage alliances

Widespread dissatisfaction with Octavian over his soldiers' settlements encouraged many to rally at the side of Lucius Antonius, who was brother of Mark Antony and supported by a majority in the Senate. Meanwhile, Octavian asked for a divorce from Clodia Pulchra, the daughter of Fulvia and her first husband Publius Clodius Pulcher. Claiming that his marriage with Clodia had never been consummated, he returned her to her mother, Mark Antony's wife. Fulvia decided to take action. Together with Lucius Antonius she raised an army in Italy to fight for Antony's rights against Octavian. However, Lucius and Fulvia took a political and martial gamble in opposing Octavian, since the Roman army still depended on the triumvirs for their salaries. Lucius and his allies ended up in a defensive siege at Perusia (modern Perugia), where Octavian forced them into surrender in early 40 BC. Lucius and his army were spared due to his kinship with Antony, the strongman of the East, while Fulvia was exiled to Sicyon. However, Octavian showed no mercy for the mass of allies loyal to Lucius; on March 15, the anniversary of Julius Caesar's assassination, he had 300 Roman senators and equestrians executed for allying with Lucius. Perusia was also pillaged and burned as a warning for others. This bloody event somewhat sullied Octavian's career and was criticized by many, such as the Augustan poet Sextus Propertius.

Sextus Pompeius, son of the first Triumvir and still a renegade general following Caesar's victory over Pompey, was established in Sicily and Sardinia as part of an agreement reached with the Second Triumvirate in 39 BC. Both Antony and Octavian were vying for an alliance with Pompeius, who was ironically a member of the republican party, not the Caesarian faction. Octavian succeeded in a temporary alliance when in 40 BC he married Scribonia, a daughter of Lucius Scribonius Libo who was a follower of Pompeius as well as his father-in-law. Scribonia conceived Octavian's only natural child, Julia, who was born the same day that he divorced Scribonia to marry Livia Drusilla, little more than a year after his marriage.

While in Egypt, Antony had been engaged in an affair with Cleopatra that produced three children. Aware of his deteriorating relationship with Octavian, Antony left Cleopatra; he sailed to Italy in 40 BC with a large force to oppose Octavian, laying siege to Brundisium. However, this new conflict proved untenable for both Octavian and Antony. Their centurions, who had become important figures politically, refused to fight due to their Caesarian cause, while the legions under their command followed suit. Meanwhile in Sicyon, Antony's wife Fulvia died of a sudden illness while Antony was en route to meet her. Fulvia's death and the mutiny of their centurions allowed the two remaining triumvirs to effect a reconciliation. In the autumn of 40, Octavian and Antony approved the Treaty of Brundisium, by which Lepidus would remain in Africa, Antony in the East, Octavian in the West. The Italian peninsula was left open to all for the recruitment of soldiers, but in reality, this provision was useless for Antony in the East. To further cement relations of alliance with Mark Antony, Octavian gave his sister, Octavia Minor, in marriage to Antony in late 40 BC. During their marriage, Octavia gave birth to two daughters (known as Antonia Major and Antonia Minor).

War with Pompeius

Sextus Pompeius threatened Octavian in Italy by denying to the peninsula shipments of grain through the Mediterranean; Pompeius' own son was put in charge as naval commander in the effort to cause widespread famine in Italy. Pompeius' control over the sea prompted him to take on the name Neptuni filius, "son of Neptune." A temporary peace agreement was reached in 39 with the treaty of Misenum; the blockade on Italy was lifted once Octavian granted Pompeius Sardinia, Corsica, Sicily, the Peloponnese, and an ensured future position as consul for the year 35. The territorial agreement amongst the triumvirs and Sextus Pompeius began to crumble once Octavian divorced Scribonia and married Livia on January 17, 38 BC. One of Pompeius' naval commanders betrayed him and handed over Corsica and Sardinia to Octavian; however, Octavian needed Antony's support to attack Pompeius, so an agreement was reached with the Second Triumvirate's extension for another five-year period beginning in 37. Antony in supporting Octavian expected to gain support for his own campaign against Parthia, desiring to avenge Rome's defeat at Carrhae in 53. In an agreement reached at Tarentum, Antony provided 120 ships for Octavian to use against Pompeius, while Octavian was to send 20,000 legionaries to Antony for use against Parthia. However, Octavian sent only a tenth the number of those promised, an intentional provocation that Antony would not forget six years later when they faced each other in battle.

Octavian and Lepidus launched a joint operation against Sextus in Sicily in 36. Despite setbacks for Octavian, the naval fleet of Sextus Pompeius was almost entirely destroyed on September 3, 36 BC by general Agrippa at the naval battle of Naulochus. Sextus fled with his remaining forces to the east, where he was captured and executed in Miletus by one of Antony's generals the following year. Both Lepidus and Octavian gathered the surrendered troops of Pompeius, yet Lepidus felt empowered enough to claim Sicily for himself, ordering Octavian to leave. However, Lepidus' troops deserted him and defected to Octavian since they were weary of fighting and found Octavian's promises of money to be enticing. Lepidus surrendered to Octavian and was permitted to retain the office of pontifex maximus (head of the college of priests), but was ejected from the Triumvirate, his public career at an end, and was effectively exiled to a villa at Cape Circei in Italy. The Roman dominions were now divided between Octavian in the West and Antony in the East. To maintain peace and stability in his portion of the Empire, Octavian ensured Rome's citizens of their rights to property. This time he settled his discharged soldiers outside of Italy while returning 30,000 slaves to former Roman owners that had previously fled to Pompeius to join his army and navy. To ensure his own safety and that of Livia and Octavia once he returned to Rome, Octavian had the Senate grant him, his wife, and his sister tribunal immunity, or sacrosanctitas.

War with Antony

Meanwhile, Antony's campaign against Parthia turned disastrous, tarnishing his image as a leader, while the mere 2,000 legionaries sent by Octavian to Antony were hardly enough to replenish his forces. On the other hand, Cleopatra could restore his army to full strength, and since he was already engaged in a romantic affair with her, he decided to send Octavia back to Rome. Although Antony had the interests of rebuilding his military in mind, this act played right into the hands of Octavian, who spread propaganda implying that Antony was becoming less than Roman because he rejected a legitimate Roman spouse for an "Oriental paramour". In 36 BC, Octavian used a political ploy to make himself look less autocratic and Antony more the villain by proclaiming that the civil wars were coming to an end, and that he would step down as triumvir if only Antony would do the same; Antony refused. After Roman troops captured Armenia in 34 BC, Antony made his son Alexander Helios the ruler of Armenia; he also awarded the title "Queen of Kings" to Cleopatra, acts which Octavian used to convince the Roman Senate that Antony had ambitions to diminish the preeminence of Rome. When Octavian became consul once again on January 1, 33 BC, he opened the following session in the Senate with a vehement attack on Antony's grants of titles and territories to his relatives and to his queen. Defecting consuls and senators rushed over to the side of Antony in disbelief of the propaganda (which turned out to be true), yet so did able ministers desert Antony for Octavian in the autumn of 32 BC. These defectors, Munatius Plancus and Marcus Titius, gave Octavian the information he needed to confirm with the Senate all the accusations he made against Antony. By storming the sanctuary of the Vestal Virgins, Octavian forced their chief priestess to hand over Antony's secret will, which would have given away Roman-conquered territories as kingdoms for his sons to rule, alongside plans to build a tomb in Alexandria for him and his queen to reside upon their deaths. In late 32 BC, the Senate officially revoked Antony's powers as consul and declared war on Cleopatra's regime in Egypt.

Octavian gained a preliminary victory in early 31 BC when the navy under command of Agrippa successfully ferried their troops across the Adriatic Sea. While Agrippa cut off Antony and Cleopatra's main force from their supply routes at sea, Octavian landed on the mainland opposite the island of Corcyra (modern Corfu) and marched south. Trapped on land and sea, deserters of Antony's army fled to Octavian's side daily while Octavian's forces were comfortable enough to make preparations. In a desperate attempt to break free of the naval blockade, Antony's fleet sailed through the bay of Actium on the western coast of Greece. It was there that Antony's fleet faced the much larger fleet of smaller, more maneuverable ships under commanders Agrippa and Gaius Sosius in the battle of Actium on September 2, 31 BC. Antony and his remaining forces were only spared due to a last-ditch effort by Cleopatra's fleet that had been waiting nearby. Octavian pursued them, and after another defeat in Alexandria on August 1, 30 BC, Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide; Antony fell on his own sword and into Cleopatra's arms, while she let a poisonous snake bite her. Having exploited his position as Caesar's heir to further his own political career Octavian was only too well aware of the dangers in allowing another to do so and, reportedly commenting that "two Caesars are one too many", he ordered Caesarion to be killed whilst sparing Cleopatra's children by Antony.

Octavian had previously shown little mercy to military combatants and acted in ways that had proven unpopular with the Roman people, yet he was given credit for pardoning many of his opponents after the Battle of Actium.

Octavian becomes Augustus

After Actium and the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra, Octavian was in a position to rule the entire Republic under an unofficial principate. However, Octavian would have to achieve this through incremental gaining of power, courting the Senate and people, while upholding republican traditions of Rome to appear that he was not aiming for dictatorship or monarchy. Marching into Rome, Octavian and Marcus Agrippa were elected as dual consuls by the Senate. Years of civil war had left Rome in a state of near-lawlessness, but the Republic was not prepared to accept the control of Octavian as a despot. At the same time, Octavian could not simply give up his authority without risking further civil wars amongst the Roman generals, and even if he desired no position of authority whatsoever, his position demanded that he look to the well-being of the city of Rome and the Roman provinces. Octavian's aims from this point forward were to return Rome to a state of stability, traditional legality, and civility by lifting the overt political pressure imposed upon the courts of law and ensuring free elections, in name at least.

First settlement

In 27 BC, Octavian formally returned full power to the Roman Senate and relinquished his control of the Roman provinces and their armies. However, under the consulship of Octavian, the Senate had little power in initiating legislation by introducing bills for senatorial debate. Although Octavian was no longer in direct control of the provinces and their armies, he retained the loyalty of active duty soldiers and veterans alike. The careers of many clients and adherents depended on his patronage, as his financial power in the Roman Republic was unrivaled. The historian Werner Eck states of Augustus:

The sum of his power derived first of all from various powers of office delegated to him by the Senate and people, secondly from his immense private fortune, and thirdly from numerous patron-client relationships he established with individuals and groups throughout the Empire. All of them taken together formed the basis of his auctoritas, which he himself emphasized as the foundation of his political actions.

To a large extent, the public was aware of the vast financial resources Augustus commanded. When Augustus failed to encourage enough senators to finance the building and maintenance of networks of roads in Italy, he took over direct responsibility of building roads in 20 BC. His construction of roads was publicized on the Roman currency issued in 16 BC, after he donated vast amounts of money to the aerarium Saturni, the public treasury.

According to H.H. Scullard, however, Augustus' power was based on the exercise of "...a predominant military power and that the ultimate sanction of his authority was force, however much the fact was disguised."

The Senate proposed to Octavian, the cherished victor of Rome's civil wars, to once again assume command of the provinces. The senate proposal was a ratification of Octavian's extra-constitutional power. Through the senate, Octavian was able to continue the appearance of a still-functional constitution of the Roman Republic. Whilst putting on the appearance of reluctance he accepted a ten year responsibility of overseeing provinces that were considered to be in a somewhat chaotic state. The provinces ceded to him to pacify within the promised ten year period comprised much of the conquered Roman world, including all of Hispania and Gaul, Syria, Cilicia, Cyprus, and Egypt. Moreover, command over these provinces provided Octavian with control over the majority of Rome's legions. While Octavian acted as consul in Rome, he dispatched senators to the provinces under his command as his representatives to manage provincial affairs and ensure his orders were carried out. On the other hand, the provinces not under Octavian's control were overseen by governors chosen by the Roman Senate. Octavian became the most powerful political figure in the city of Rome and in most of its provinces, yet he did not have a sole monopoly on political and martial power. The Senate still controlled North Africa, an important regional producer of grain, as well as Illyria and Macedonia, two martially strategic regions with several legions. However, with control of only five or six legions distributed amongst three senatorial proconsuls, compared to the 20 legions under the control of Augustus, the Senate's control of these regions did not amount to any political or martial challenge to Octavian. The Senate's control over some of the Roman provinces helped maintain a republican façade for the autocratic Principate. Also, Octavian's control of entire provinces for the objective of securing peace and creating stability followed Republican-era precedents, in which prominent Romans such as Pompey had been granted similar military powers in times of crisis and instability.

In January of 27 BC, the Senate gave Octavian the new titles of Augustus and Princeps. Augustus, from the Latin word Augere (meaning to increase), can be translated as "the illustrious one". It was a title of religious rather than political authority. According to Roman religious beliefs, the title symbolized a stamp of authority over humanity—and in fact nature—that went beyond any constitutional definition of his status. After the harsh methods employed in consolidating his control, the change in name would also serve to demarcate his benign reign as Augustus from his reign of terror as Octavian. His new title of Augustus was also more favorable than Romulus, the previous one he styled for himself in reference to the story of Romulus and Remus (founders of Rome), which would symbolize a second founding of Rome. However, the title of Romulus was associated too strongly with notions of monarchy and kingship, an image Octavian tried to avoid. Princeps, comes from the Latin phrase primum caput, "the first head", originally meaning the oldest or most distinguished senator whose name would appear first on the senatorial roster; in the case of Augustus it became an almost regnal title for a leader who was first in charge. Princeps had also been a title under the Republic for those who had served the state well; for example, Pompey had held the title. Augustus also styled himself as Imperator Caesar divi filius, "Commander Caesar son of the deified one". With this title he not only boasted his familial link to deified Julius Caesar, but the use of Imperator signified a permanent link to the Roman tradition of victory. The word Caesar was merely a cognomen for one branch of the Julian family, yet Augustus transformed Caesar into a new family line that began with him.

Augustus was granted the right to hang the corona civica, the "civic crown" made from oak, above his door and have laurels drape his doorposts. This crown was usually held above the head of a Roman general during a triumph, with the individual holding the crown charged to continually repeat "memento mori", or, "Remember, you are mortal", to the triumphant general. Additionally, laurel wreaths were important in several state ceremonies, and crowns of laurel were rewarded to champions of athletic, racing, and dramatic contests. Thus, both the laurel and the oak were integral symbols of Roman religion and statecraft; placing them on Augustus' doorposts was tantamount to declaring his home the capital. However, Augustus renounced flaunting insignia of power such as holding a scepter, wearing a diadem, or wearing the golden crown and purple toga of his predecessor Julius Caesar. If he refused to symbolize his power by donning and bearing these items on his person, the Senate nonetheless awarded him with a golden shield displayed in the meeting hall of the Curia, bearing the inscription virtus, pietas, clementia, iustitia—"valor, piety, clemency, and justice."