The rise of Gaius Octavius to become Caesar Augustus began by him being adopted by Julius Caesar, his great uncle, when he was eighteen. When Julius Caesar was assassinated a year later, the nineteen-year-old had enough political power to be appointed consul of Rome. After the initial chaos at the death of Caesar, he joined Marc Antony and Lepidus to form the Second Triumvirate to rule Rome. This gave the trio power to remove any others that might oppose their own ambition—which they did. With the death of Brutus and Cassius at Philippi, Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus divided the empire. Lepidus became the governor of Northern Africa, Antony ruled Egypt, and Octavian held Italy. 

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Octavian increased his popularity by living a simple life, honoring the republican values of the average Roman citizen and the traditional Roman gods. In contrast, Antony lived in public opulence in Egypt. The first to fall was Lepidus, who was removed as governor because of campaigns to take Sicily. This set the stage for the final conflict between the two remaining powers, Octavian and Antony.  

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The political stage within the Roman world set Octavian and his naval strategist, Marcus Agrippa, against Antony and Cleopatra VII. Each camp had their lesser powers hoping to share in their benefactor’s victory. Such was the case in Judea and Galilee. Earlier, the Romans had sought political alliance against the Parthians, who controlled Judea through their appointment of Antigonus as king. They found that ally in Herod, son of Antipater, ruler of Galilee. Cleopatra opposed Herod and thus brought him into favor when she and Antony were defeated. That defeat came in 31 B.C., when Marcus Agrippa defeated the Egyptian navy and Octavian conquered the land.

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Octavian continued in public office for only four additional years, but continued to rule through his control of the army and the acquisition of a religious authority by receiving the title “Augustus,” son of Caesar—who had earlier been declared a god. Thus, he was “the eminent one, the son of a god.” Though he did not rule directly in his remaining years, he reshaped the Roman state through his edicts which were ratified by the Senate. For Caesar Augustus, who ran a totalitarian state, tranquility was more important than justice. Though he controlled Rome’s army, he left the military planning to the professionals, such as Marcus Agrippa and Tiberius, his stepson. The “peace of Rome” allowed him to centralize the economy, develop Rome’s road-system, and shape the empire in a way that would impact western civilization. 

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Personally, he had a sad life in many ways. He adopted his wife’s son, Tiberius, as his heir, though he personally disliked him. Family relationships were a mess and included murder, shameless public perversion, and incest. He died peacefully at Nola on August 19, 14 A.D. 

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