The caesaricide , or the assassination of Gaius Julius Caesar by Brutus and other conspirators, which took place on the ides of March 44 BC. ( March 15, 44 BC ), marks the beginning of the political rise of Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian , but let's proceed in order.
After the death of Caesar, Marco Emilio Lepido and Marco Antonio form a military alliance aimed at eliminating the Caesaricides, at the time Lepidus, already praetor in 49 and governor of Spain from 48 to 47, was in Rome with his army, an army that after the reforms of the military order of Gaius Marius had become a mercenary army, professional, salaried and loyal first to its commander ( but above all to those who paid them the money ) and then to Rome. The presence in Rome of Lepidus and his army placed him in a situation of advantage over the Caesaricides, and thanks to the alliance with Marcus Anthony, former lieutenant of Caesar and his military heir, he obtained the position of Pontifex Maximus (Pontiff Maximus), previously covered by Caesar , it was the highest religious office and gave those who held it full control of Roman law, engaging them in the regulation of fasti , in drawing up the tabula dealbata annually and the annales pontificum .
The alliance between Lepidus and Marcus Antony was perceived by the senate as a threat to the republican order, perhaps even greater than the threat previously represented by Caesar, as Marcus Antony aimed to establish an oriental-style monarchy in Rome, a project due to his strong link with the East, in particular with Cleopatra 's Egypt .
To curb this monarchical project and limit the power of the two, the senate had to find a way to deprive Marcus Anthony of his army, an army he had "inherited" from Caesar. They therefore decided to bring Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian to Italy , material heir of Caesar's treasury, therefore in possession of the gold necessary to pay the soldiers of Marcus Anthony, aware that his presence in Italy would have undermined the loyalty of the army towards Antonio.
The astute members of the senate were certain they could control the young Octavian and be able to use him as a tool to restore republican order, and consequently the authority and privileges of the senate , but Octavian would have turned out to be much more cunning than expected and above all, much more difficult to control.
Octavian would have initially allied himself with the senate against Marcus Anthony and Lepidus, subsequently a private agreement was stipulated with the two Caesarians, during a meeting organized by Lepidus, who proposed himself as mediator between the two Caesar's heirs. The meeting would have taken place near the Roman colony of Bononina (Bologna). From this meeting the second triumvirate would be born of Roman history, but, unlike the first triumvirate between Caesar, Pompey and Crassus , this triumvirate would not long remain a private agreement, and on 27 November 43 BC . with the Lex Titia , the pact was formalized and institutionalized, obtaining legal value, appointing the members Triumviri Rei Publicae Constituendae Consulari Potestate (Triumviri for the Constitution of the Republic with Consular Power, abbreviated as " III VIR RPC “) And would remain in office for a term of five years.
Before the Lex Titia was launched, the senate saw a risk for the republic in the agreement between Octavian, Antonio and Lepidus, consequently mobilizing the Irzio consuls and Penza against the heirs of Caesar. A tough battle ensued that would end with the triumph of Octavian and Marcus Anthony, and military success would lead to the ratification of the Lex Titia.
The “privileged” role of Caesar's heirs in the eyes of the soldiers and the population, combined with the charisma of Octavian and Marcus Antony, would quickly overshadow the figure of Lepidus, and during the battle of Philippi, Octavian and Mark Antony would march at the head of their men , against the last Caesaricides who took refuge in Greece, while Lepidus was left in Italy.
After the Battle of Philippi, the triumvirate was renewed for another 5 years, according to the new agreements made between Ottaviano and Antonio in Brindisi in 40 BC. and sealed by the marriage between Marcus Anthony and Octavia minor, Octavian's sister.
The new territorial division left the government of Africa to Lepidus, Antony renounced Gaul to gain full control over the East and Octavian maintained control of Illyricum by extending his power to the entire West.
Between 39 and 36 Octavian would have clashed in Sicily against Sextus Pompey, during the war he would have asked for the help of Lepidus who, however, would have betrayed him by agreeing with Pompeo. The lack of loyalty of Lepidus towards Octavian would have cost him the confidence of the army that would have abandoned him, forcing him to beg for Octavian's forgiveness before finally leaving the Roman political scene and retiring to private life at Circeo where he would remain until death in 12 BC
The exit of Lepidus from the political scene marks the end of the formal triumvirate of the triumvirate which will now consist of only two members, increasingly in conflict with each other due to the territorial division and the military successes against Illyrian pirates and parties.
Antonio now relegated to Egypt would have married Queen Cleopatra , repudiating his Roman wife (Octavian's sister) and gradually abandoning Roman traditions and customs to adopt oriental ones, and when Antonio decides to bequeath the eastern territories of Rome to the children of Cleopatra, he will provoke the ire of the senate who , supported by Octavian, will go to war against Egypt.
The war of Egypt ends in 31 BC with the battle of Actium where Octavian managed to defeat the troops of Marco Antonio. Following the defeat of Actium, Cleopatra and Antony will take their own lives and the East would have passed into the hands of Octavian who would have transformed Egypt into a Roman province, thus depriving it of the autonomy it had enjoyed up to that moment and unifying everyone. the Roman possessions under his control.
Octavian therefore finds himself to be the absolute master of the Roman state, even if formally Rome is still a republic and officially Octavian had not received any investiture, but he was able to rule safely, since his victory against Marc Antony was interpreted as a victory. of Italy and of Rome, on the east.
In the years following the victory of Actium, Octavian received numerous honors and privileges from the senate, while leaving the republican nature of Rome intact. Finally, as happened to Caesar before him, he was offered the dictatorship for life, but Octavian, unlike Caesar, refused this investiture, showing the Roman people to act in respect of the Republic and not in function of a personal power.
The January 16 of the 27 B.C. Octavian formally returned to the senate of the Roman people the extraordinary powers he had obtained during the war against Marc Antony, receiving in exchange the title of consul , which was to be renewed annually and had a potestas with greater auctoritas compared to the other magistrates (consuls and proconsuls) who guaranteed him the right of veto in all the territories of Rome and who did not subject him to any veto by any other magistrate. He also received the imperium proconsolaris on the "imperial" provinces or the provinces in which a military command was needed, effectively obtaining command of the entire Roman army, the imperium proconsolaris had a ten-year duration and was to be renewed in 19 BC.
Last but not least, he obtained the title of Augustus “ worthy of veneration and honor ", Which would have sanctioned his sacred position, founded on the consensus universorum of the Senate and Roman people. He was also allowed to use the title of Princeps “first citizen” and he was guaranteed the right to negotiate with whomever he wanted, and the right to declare war or enter into peace treaties with any foreign people.
According to historiography, the concentration of all these powers and privileges in the hands of Octavian Augustus marks the end of the Republican age and the beginning of the Augustan Empire , making Octavian the first emperor in Roman history, although, it must be said that for a long time historians did not refer to Octavian and his successors with the title of Emperor, but using the term Augustus. Underlining the once again innovative nature of Rome, whose political system was formally a monarchy, but in fact, it was not yet.