An outline, era by era

Julius Caesar; Augustus and the Roman Empire (27 BCE)

Classical Antiquity · ~500 BCE – ~500 CE

Julius Caesar was a Roman general and politician who conquered Gaul between 58 and 50 BCE, won a civil war against Pompey and the Senate, and became dictator of Rome. He was stabbed to death by a group of senators on the Ides of March, 44 BCE. His murder did not save the Republic. It set off another round of civil wars.

Caesar's adopted heir, Octavian, defeated his rivals and in 27 BCE received the name Augustus from the Senate. He ruled as the first emperor while keeping the forms of the Republic, and he held power until his death in 14 CE. The system he built, known as the Principate, governed the Mediterranean world for centuries. It is why historians usually mark 27 BCE as the start of the Roman Empire.

Things happened, and the rest is history

  1. Caesar's conquest of Gaul

    Event

    What happened

    From 58 BCE Caesar governs Cisalpine and Transalpine Gaul and campaigns against the Helvetii, the Belgae and other peoples. He crosses the Rhine and twice lands in Britain, in 55 and 54 BCE. In 52 BCE he besieges the Gallic leader Vercingetorix at Alesia and forces his surrender. He writes his own account of the campaigns in his Commentaries.

    The rest is history

    The conquest brought most of modern France and Belgium into the Roman world and made Caesar rich and famous. It also gave him a large veteran army that was loyal to him personally. This became the basis of his later challenge to the Senate. Roman rule in Gaul lasted for centuries, though it ended at different times in different regions during the fifth century CE.

    Sources

    1. PrimaryCaesar, Julius. Commentarii de bello Gallico (Gallic War). Latin prose, c. 50 BCE.Caesar's own account of the campaigns.
    2. BookGoldsworthy, Adrian. Caesar: Life of a Colossus. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006.

  2. Crossing the Rubicon and the civil war

    Event

    What happened

    In January 49 BCE, after the Senate demands that he give up his command, Caesar leads his legion across the Rubicon into Italy. Pompey and many senators leave Rome. Caesar defeats Pompey's forces in Spain, then beats Pompey himself at Pharsalus in Greece in 48 BCE. He wins further victories in Egypt, Africa and Spain.

    The rest is history

    By 45 BCE Caesar had no effective rival in the Roman world. He was named dictator, first for ten years and then for life in early 44 BCE. His rule showed that the Republic's institutions could not restrain a general with a loyal army. Reforms including the Julian calendar, enacted in 46 BCE and taking effect on 1 January 45 BCE, outlasted him.

    Sources

    1. PrimaryCaesar, Julius. Commentarii de bello civili (Civil War). Latin prose, c. 47 BCE.
    2. BookGelzer, Matthias. Caesar: Politician and Statesman. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1968.

  3. The assassination of Caesar

    Event

    What happened

    On 15 March 44 BCE, a group of about sixty senators led by Brutus and Cassius stab Caesar at a meeting of the Senate in a hall beside Pompey's theatre. He dies of his wounds. Mark Antony, his fellow consul, and Caesar's allies soon turn the people against the killers.

    The rest is history

    The conspirators believed they were restoring the Republic, but they had no plan for what came next. Caesar's will named his great-nephew Octavian as heir and adopted him. Brutus and Cassius left Italy, and Rome slid into new civil wars. The Republic never recovered.

    Sources

    1. PrimaryPlutarch. Life of Caesar. Greek biography, c. 100 CE.
    2. PrimarySuetonius. Divus Iulius (Life of Julius Caesar). Latin biography, c. 121 CE.
    3. BookSyme, Ronald. The Roman Revolution. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1939.

  4. Octavian, Antony and the battle of Actium

    Event

    What happened

    In 43 BCE Octavian, Antony and Lepidus form the Second Triumvirate and defeat Brutus and Cassius at Philippi in 42 BCE. The alliance later breaks down. Antony allies himself with Cleopatra of Egypt. Octavian's fleet under Agrippa defeats their fleet at Actium on 2 September 31 BCE.

    The rest is history

    Antony and Cleopatra died in 30 BCE and Egypt became a Roman province under Octavian's direct control. With his main rivals gone, Octavian controlled the Roman state and its armies. He ended a century of civil conflict. The way was open for him to settle the state on his own terms.

    Sources

    1. PrimaryAugustus. Res Gestae Divi Augusti. Latin and Greek inscription, c. 14 CE.
    2. BookGoldsworthy, Adrian. Augustus: From Revolutionary to Emperor. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2014.

  5. The settlement of 27 BCE

    Event

    What happened

    In January 27 BCE Octavian formally hands his special powers back to the Senate and people. The Senate gives him a large provincial command, which includes most of the legions, and the title Augustus. He keeps the offices of the Republic and calls himself princeps, the first citizen. He adjusts the arrangement in 23 BCE.

    The rest is history

    This arrangement is known as the Principate. In practice it gave one man control of the army and the main revenues while the Senate and magistrates carried on. Augustus ruled until 14 CE and chose his stepson Tiberius to follow him. Later emperors used the same framework.

    Sources

    1. PrimaryAugustus. Res Gestae Divi Augusti. Latin and Greek inscription, c. 14 CE.Augustus's own account of his reign.
    2. PrimaryCassius Dio. Roman History, book 53. Greek history, early 3rd century CE.
    3. BookGalinsky, Karl. Augustan Culture. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996.

  6. Caesar's famous last words, "Et tu, Brute?"

    Popular belief

    The legend

    As the conspirators stab him, Caesar sees his friend Brutus among them. He says in Latin, "Et tu, Brute?" and covers his face with his toga.

    The rest is history

    No ancient source records these Latin words. Suetonius says some reported that Caesar said in Greek, "You too, child?", while others said he died without speaking. Plutarch says he covered his head when he saw Brutus. The Latin phrase became famous through Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, written around 1599.

    Sources

    1. PrimarySuetonius. Divus Iulius (Life of Julius Caesar), chapter 82. Latin biography, c. 121 CE.
    2. PrimaryPlutarch. Life of Brutus. Greek biography, c. 100 CE.

  7. Caesar's birth by caesarean section

    Popular belief

    The legend

    Julius Caesar is said to have been born by the surgical operation that is named after him, cut from his mother's womb.

    The rest is history

    This is very unlikely. Ancient sources say the operation was normally performed on dying or dead women, and Caesar's mother Aurelia lived for many years afterward. The word may come instead from the Latin caedere, to cut, or from the family name. Pliny the Elder, writing in the first century CE, mentions an ancestor said to have been cut from the womb, which may be the source of the story. The medical term has no firm link to Caesar.

    Sources

    1. PrimaryPliny the Elder. Naturalis Historia, book 7. Latin encyclopedia, c. 77 CE.
    2. PrimaryPlutarch. Life of Caesar. Greek biography, c. 100 CE.Aurelia is alive in Caesar's adult life.

  8. Caesar captured by pirates

    Heroic tale

    The legend

    On a voyage as a young man, Caesar is seized by Cilician pirates. He laughs when they ask for twenty talents and insists they ask for fifty. While held he joins in their games, tells them he will return to crucify them, and does so after he is ransomed.

    The rest is history

    The story is told by Plutarch and Suetonius, writing long after the event, and probably grew in the telling. A capture by pirates around 75 BCE is generally accepted. Suetonius says Caesar raised a fleet, caught the pirates and had them crucified. Plutarch adds that he cut their throats first as a mercy. The tale shows how later Romans wished to see his confidence and cruelty.

    Sources

    1. PrimaryPlutarch. Life of Caesar, chapters 1-2. Greek biography, c. 100 CE.
    2. PrimarySuetonius. Divus Iulius, chapter 4. Latin biography, c. 121 CE.
    3. BookGoldsworthy, Adrian. Caesar: Life of a Colossus. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006.

  9. Caesar and Cleopatra in the carpet

    Folk tale

    The legend

    In 48 BCE Cleopatra, shut out of her palace by her brother's court, is smuggled to Caesar rolled inside a carpet or a bedsack. She appears before him and wins his support.

    The rest is history

    Plutarch tells the story, saying she was carried in a bed-sack by a servant named Apollodorus. Carpet is the later detail. Caesar was in Alexandria at the time and did side with Cleopatra in the war against her brother Ptolemy XIII. She won the throne with his help. She bore a son, Caesarion, in 47 BCE, and visited Rome in 46 BCE.

    Sources

    1. PrimaryPlutarch. Life of Caesar, chapter 49. Greek biography, c. 100 CE.
    2. BookRoller, Duane W. Cleopatra: A Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010.

  10. Augustus found Rome brick and left it marble

    Popular belief

    The legend

    Augustus is said to have boasted that he found Rome a city of brick and left it a city of marble.

    The rest is history

    Suetonius records the saying and says Augustus made it true by building on a grand scale. The Forum of Augustus, the temple of Apollo on the Palatine and the Ara Pacis date to his reign. Much of the building was done by friends such as Agrippa. Rome also got a fire brigade and better water supply. The Res Gestae lists his building work in detail.

    Sources

    1. PrimarySuetonius. Divus Augustus, chapter 28. Latin biography, c. 121 CE.
    2. PrimaryAugustus. Res Gestae Divi Augusti. Latin and Greek inscription, c. 14 CE.
    3. BookZanker, Paul. The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1988.

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