Fall of the Roman Republic
How did Julius Caesar become famous?
In 60BCE, three men named Crassus, Pompey, and Julius Caesar were on top. Together, they made an alliance called a triumvirate. Each one of these men had a military command in an area of the republic. Pompey was in Spain, Crassus in Syria, and Caesar was in Gaul, which is now France. Out of the three, Crassus was the most wealthy, but the other men were good military leaders. While Caesar was in Gaul, he was very successful with invasions and as a result, became a hero there. After the death of Crassus in 49BCE, the senate decided that Pompey should return and rule. Then, in 49BCE the senate ordered Caesar to give up on his army and return home. He could obey and risk death, or lead his army on and possibly start another civil war. So, he decided to march on and cross the Rubicon river to eventually destroy Pompey's army in 48BCE.
Who was Augustus?
Octavian knew he could have made himself dictator like Julius Caesar did, but he decided to take a different approach. By listening to a famous writer and speaker named Cicero, Octavian chose to run a republican form of government. In 27BCE he announced that this was what he had planned to do. He knew that the senate would want this form of government, but he also knew that it had never been strong enough to solve Rome's problems. So, he gave some power to the senate, but most for himself. From this point on, he took on the title of Augustus meaning "the revered majestic one."