Augustus

Augustus married three times in his life and the names of his wives were Clodia Pulchra, Scribonia and Livia Drusilla. His only biological child was a girl named Julia through his second marriage.

He passed away on 19 August 14 AD in Nola after a long illness. The body was brought back to Rome amidst a huge funeral procession and was cremated close to the Mausoleum of Augustus.

He was born as Gaius Octavius on September 23, 63 B.C. in Velletri, Italy to Gaius Octavius, once governor of Macedonia, and Atia Balba Caesonia, niece of Julius Caesar.

His father passed away when he was four and his mother married Lucius Marcius Philippus, former governor of Syria. Philippus hardly paid any attention to Octavius, and soon he was sent to live with his grandmother, Julia Caesaris, who passed away in 52 or 51 BC.

After donning the toga virilis, he was elected to the College of Pontiffs in 47 BC and put in charge of the Greek games the following year.

He was supposed to accompany Caesar to Hispania in 46 BC but fell ill. After recovering, he immediately left for the war-front but was shipwrecked and washed ashore. He somehow managed to reach Caesar’s camp after travelling across hostile territories which impressed Caesar tremendously and he made Octavius the primary beneficiary in his will.

In 44 BC Caesar was assassinated by his friends and council-members, leaving Octavius as the political heir and heir to two-thirds of his estate. At this time, Octavius was in Illyria and sailed immediately to Italia.

Octavius’ enemy in his rise to power was Caesar’s chief lieutenant Mark Antony who had taken possession of his assets and refused to hand over Caesar’s funds to Octavius. Then to honor Caesar’s bequests to the Roman people, Octavius arranged for funds on his own from whatever resources he could.

Most of the senate was opposed to Antony and they believed the young Octavius, with his inheritance to the throne, could be manipulated as per their wishes. Octavius became a senate member before he turned 20.

When Decimus Brutus refused to give up Cisalpine Gaul, Antony besieged him at Mutina. The senate interfered to no avail as they possessed no army of their own. Octaviaus offered his help and soon relieved the siege.

After the victory, much of the due was given to Brutus rather than to Octavius, which irked him and he played no further part in the war. He marched into Rome and got a consulship whereas Antony made alliance with Marcus Aemilius Lepidus.

Eventually Octavius reached an agreement with Antony and Lepidus, and the three formed the Second Triumvirate naming 300 senators and 2,000 equites as outlaws. Historians believe this was done to eradicate their enemies.

Augustus is known as the founder of the Roman Empire and his greatest diplomatic achievement was the retrieval of the battle standards of Roman general Crassus after the Battle of Carrhae from the King Phraates IV of Parthia through diplomatic relations. This symbolized Parthia’s submission to Rome.