had won signifi cant victories in the Near East and had added
Syria to Rome’s domains. In 62 b.c.e. he entered into a contest
for power against the wealthy Marcus Licinius Crassus and
Gaius Julius Caesar. In 60 b.c.e. the three of them divided the
rule of Rome, forming the First Triumvirate (60–53 b.c.e.).
Pompey championed the rights of commoners and was im-
mensely popular. Crassus was not only wealthy but clever, a
master of the workings of government. In Caesar they faced
one of history’s most remarkable people: a brilliant writer, an
artful propagandist, a master planner, and an outstanding
military leader.
In 59 b.c.e. Caesar served as consul and then he took
charge of Rome’s provinces in southern Gaul, in modern
southern France. He conquered most of Gaul, making the
Rhine River Rome’s new northern boundary. He marched
into Italy with his army in 49 b.c.e. Crassus had already
died, in 53 b.c.e. Th is left Pompey to face Caesar. Pompey
formed an army near the Adriatic Sea, north of Greece. Cae-
sar chased Pompey’s army south to the city of Pharsalus,
where he defeated Pompey, who fl ed across the Mediterra-
nean Sea to Egypt, where he was murdered. Caesar became
dictator of Rome (49–44 b.c.e.), where his popular reforms
angered senators. It was clear that he could become king if
he wanted to do so, but he chose to retain the institutions of
the Roman Republic in order to give the outward appearance
of honoring Roman traditions. On March 15, 44 b.c.e., while
conducting public business, he was murdered by a group of
senators.
JULIO-CLAUDIAN DYNASTY (27 B.C.E.–69 C.E.)
Caesar had an adopted son, Octavian (later called Augus-
tus, 63 b.c.e–14 c.e.), who was nearly as remarkable as he
was. Octavian and one of Caesar’s generals, Marcus Anto-
nius (now known as Mark Antony, ca. 82–30 b.c.e.), joined
forces to fi ght the senators who had murdered Julius Caesar.
In 42 b.c.e. their army decisively defeated the army of the
assassins, and they formed the Second Triumvirate (43–36
b.c.e.), in which Octavian controlled the western part of
the empire, Antony controlled the eastern part of the em-
pire, and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus controlled the rest of
Rome’s North African territory. In about 36 b.c.e. Lepidus
tried to overthrow Octavian but failed. He lived until 13
b.c.e., known as the incompetent member of the Second
Triu mv irate.
Antony became fascinated by Egypt’s Cleopatra VII.
She was not physically beautiful, but her exceptional intel-
ligence and charming personality were attractive to power-
ful men. Her infl uence on Antony was resented in Rome,
and her meddling in Roman politics may have been one of
Octavian’s motivations to go to war against Egypt in 32 b.c.e.
Another motivation was that Antony had married Octavian’s
sister, making his relationship with Cleopatra an insult to
Octavian’s family. In 31 b.c.e. the Roman and Egyptian na-
vies battled at Actium, a port on the west coast of Greece.
Octavian had more ships, and Antony and Cleopatra poorly
led their forces. Aft er the Egyptians were soundly defeated,
Antony and Cleopatra fl ed back to Egypt. In 30 b.c.e. Antony
and then Cleopatra committed suicide, and the entire empire
was Octavian’s.
Like his adoptive father, he chose to retain the outward
appearance of the Roman Republic. From 31 to 23 b.c.e. he
held the title of consul. In 27 b.c.e. the Senate proclaimed him
Augustus, meaning First Citizen, instead of emperor, and he
made a point of appearing to consult with the Senate and
government offi cials. Nonetheless, all knew he was emperor,
and during his reign (27 b.c.e.–14 c.e.) he reshaped the Ro-
man government into an imperial one. He sponsored massive
construction projects throughout the empire and especially
in Rome. He personally took on the responsibility of feeding
the poor and the homeless.
When he died, he was succeeded by a successful general,
his stepson, Tiberius (r. 14–37 c.e.), who had little taste for
government and spent most of his reign living outside Rome.
He was succeeded by Caligula (r. 37–41 c.e.), a nickname
based on the name for his favorite kind of coat. He began well
and had much popular support, but he was self-indulgent and
cruel to a level that became intolerable to some of the patri-
cians, who assassinated him.
Th e Praetorian Guard, the bodyguards of the emperor,
proclaimed Claudius (r. 41–54 c.e.) emperor. He seemed an
unlikely choice, chronically ill and a stammerer, but he was a
strong ruler. He undertook important public works projects,
such as widening the port at Rome, and he succeeded where
Julius Caesar had not, by leading an invasion of Britain that
resulted in bringing the southern half of what is now Eng-
land into Roman domination. It is possible that he had reason
to believe the young man he adopted as his successor would
be a good ruler. Th is was Nero (r. 54–68 c.e.), who started
out well. He listened to his advisers and engaged in valuable
building projects, and he was popular at fi rst. He was cruel,
however, and he lost the support of the patricians. In 65 c.e.
some senators conspired to k ill him, but they failed. In 68 c.e.
leaders in Spain and Gaul rebelled against him. Even though
the rebellion in Gaul was put down, Nero had lost all sup-
port in government, and a leader from Spain, Servius Sulpi-
cius Galba (r. 68–69 c.e.), was a dire threat. Nero committed
suicide in 68 c.e.FLAVIAN DYNASTY (69–96 C.E.)
Galba was assassinated in January 69 c.e., at the hands of
Marcus Salvius Otho (r. 69 c.e.), who succeeded him. Otho
was deposed by the roman legions from the Rhine, and their
general, Aulus Vitellius (r. 69 c.e.), became emperor. Roman
legions in the eastern empire declared General Vespasian (r.
69–79 c.e.) emperor, and those in the Danube soon followed
suit. Th e legions from the Danube, led by General Antonius
Primus, defeated Vitellius’s army in September 69 c.e., mak-
ing Vespasian emperor. He was succeeded by his sons Titus
(r. 79–81 c.e.) and Domitian (r. 81–96 c.e.). Th ey consolidated
Rome’s hold on its territories.empires and dynasties: Rome 415