1. From Republic to Empire

2. Rome Becomes an Empire

3. Licinius Crassus 115 BC – 53 BC
The First Triumvirate
60 BC - Caesar and two other generals,
Gnaeus Pompey and Licinius Crassus, formed
the First Triumvirate
Julius Caesar BC
Gnaeus Pompey BC
Licinius Crassus 115 BC – 53 BC

4. Julius Caesar and the Crossing of the Rubicon
The First Triumvirate
Crassus died; Caesar defeated Pompey in a
civil war; named dictator for life in 44 BC
Julius Caesar and the Crossing of the Rubicon

5. The Power Vacuum
The legacy of Julius Caesar’s death was the political vacuum that was left after the Ides of March.
Caesar’s series of dictatorships and the many titles and honors granted by the Senate had effectively dismantled the mechanism of government. Free elections had not been held since 49BC
Whoever was to fill the vacuum would need wealth and a loyal army.

6. The Second Triumvirate
43 BC - Octavian, Marc Antony, and Lepidus
seized power; formed the Second Triumvirate
Octavian BC - AD 14
Marc Antony BC – 30 BC
Lepidus BC - 13 BC

7. The Second Triumvirate
Lepidus forced out; Antony and Octavian
each governed half the empire

8. The Second Triumvirate
31 BC - Civil war between Octavian and Antony;
Octavian defeated Antony and Egypt’s Cleopatra
The Battle of Actium

9. The Second Triumvirate
Cleopatra, Antony committed suicide; Octavian
controlled Rome; republic ended, beginning a
new period in Roman history
Antony and Cleopatra

10. From Octavian to Augustus
27 BC - Senate gave Octavian title of Augustus,
“the revered one”
Birth name:
Gaius Octavius Thurinus
Name as Emperor:
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus