Roman Empire

The founding of the Roman Empire conceivably took place in the period 31 B.C. to 14 A.D. This period is marked by the ascension of Augustus Caesar to the throne in 31 B.C. at the end of the civil war for control of the Roman Republic and the death of Caesar’s last remaining rivals, Mark Antony and Cleopatra. It ends with the death of Augustus in 14 A.D. by which time all popular elections had been abandoned.

During the forty-year rule of Augustus Caesar (formerly Octavius), he began building the political structure for Imperial Rome. The system of magistracies was subsumed by the throne and were awarded by the emperor (princeps in Latin).

Caesar Augustus also took over direct control of the majority of the provinces, ruling through his appointed subordinates, and nationalised the army, placing it under direct control of the emperor. This measure stripped generals of the power to interfere in politics with their troops in support as had been done earlier by Pompey and Julius Caesar in 49 B.C..

Augustus invested heavily in changing Rome’s physical stature with extensive building projects to ostentatiously advertise his rule. Concomitantly, he went to great lengths to promote his own family as the future imperial dynasty.

When Augustus died in 14 A.D., he was succeeded by his son Tiberius.