AP World History was not my
favorite class my sophomore year of high school, but there were some key
civilizations I remember because I enjoyed learning about them so much. Rome
was at the top of that list. This past Saturday during our seminar, my knowledge
on Rome’s history was not only refreshed but enhanced. Everything we were
lectured on I remember learning last year, but Mr. Dundof added a lot of little
details that I wasn’t aware of. I already knew that Octavian Augustus was the
first “legitimate” emperor (after Cesar) of Rome, but what I found most interesting
was the climb to the top.
The Second Triumvirate is the name historians have given to the official political alliance of Octavian Augustus, Marcus Lepidus, and Mark Antony it marked the end
of the Roman Republic and the beginning of the Roman Empire. Unlike the earlier First Triumvirate, the Second
Triumvirate was an official and legally established institution, whose
overwhelming power in the Roman state didn’t violate any laws. Although like
the First Triumvirate, the Second
Triumvirate was unstable and could not withstand the internal turmoil involving its three members. Although Antony was married to Octavian’s
sister, Octavia, he openly had a relationship and chidren with Cleopatra VII. Octavian
obtained Antony's will in July 32 BC and exposed it to the Roman public: it
promised substantial legacies to Antony's children by Cleopatra, and left
instructions to bury his body in Alexandria for burial. The Romans were outraged and
Senate declared war on Cleopatra and Egypt. Octavian's
forces defeated those of Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in Greece in 31 BC. Antony and
Cleopatra fled to Egypt in
30 BC where they committed suicide in Alexandria. Octavian personally took
control of Egypt and Rome, becoming the first emperor of the Roman Empire.
I found this story most interesting
because it has all the elements of a modern day soap opera. The only difference
is it isn’t fiction, the plot and setting weren't made up by writers, and
actors aren’t paid to play the characters. Instead, this is history: the events
actually took place. The people involved had lives and families. Their ambition
is what drove them and untimely brought them to their demise, but their legacy
lives on forever.
Octavian Augustus Marc Antony
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