PR-2237IRE Ancient Rome

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The First Emperor – Augustus
While most of the Empire was shared between Octavian and Antony, their ally Lepidus, who formed
a triumvirate with them, was given control of part of the north African region of the Empire. Once
he was firmly established in the west, Octavian prepared to attack Antony, who had befriended
Cleopatra, the queen of Egypt, a woman Rome did not trust.
After the battle of Actium, Antony and Cleopatra fled, and the struggle for power in the civil wars ended when
they both committed suicide in Egypt when Octavian invaded the country on the Nile. For many years, Egypt
then became the main provider of corn for Rome.
During his reign, Augustus added new provinces to the Empire and new cities were built. He made changes to
the army, the tax system, the judiciary and Roman coinage. This laid a solid foundation for the Rome of the
future. Augustus was a brilliant politician for, unlike some later emperors, he did not abuse the supreme power
he wielded and so strengthened the position of the emperor. Rome was ruled by emperors for the next 400 years.
A temple built to remember Augustus and his wife, Livia, can still be visited by tourists in France to this day.
The emperor created a group of fire fighters called ‘vigils’, who were freed slaves. Perhaps our word ‘vigilant’ has
the same Latin root.
During the reign of Augustus the arts flourished in Rome and the writings of poets such as Virgil and Horace
were popular with the rich and powerful citizens.
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