Was The Roman Empire Becoming Inevitable Change?

Rome was one of the greatest empires to ever exist. It’s accomplishments and advances in science, architecture, and government set a template for all future civilizations to follow. Rome had many great leaders that helped it become the thriving country it became, but one leader in particular influenced it more than others. Augustus Caesar was arguably Rome’s greatest ruler. He was the one who impacted Rome most and made it an empire that stood out in its day. But he came about in a time of great turmoil, when the country was undergoing dramatic change. This leads to a question: Did Augustus actually do as much for Rome as he is credited with? Or was it simply the circumstances of that time that led to the empire undergoing inevitable change?

Augustus was the driving force that brought about Rome’s golden era, and it was not simply history that made him who he was. To support this opinion, we must examine Augustus’ life, as well as the time that he lived in.
in Italy. He was the grand nephew of Julius Caesar, a powerful member of the senate, who took him in after his father died at a young age. When Julius was assassinated by a group of senators, it was discovered that he had written Octavian in his will as his rightful heir. At the tender age of eighteen Octavian stepped up to claim the position, but was met with strong opposition from Mark Antony, a roman senator trying to seize the power for himself. Mark Antony joined forces with Cleopatra, the queen of Egypt, but, after much fighting, both were defeated by Octavian in 30 B.C. Octavian then went on to become sole emperor of Rome, where he established many reforms in government and law, such as making adultery illegal, as well as encouraging science, art, and architecture. It was at this point that he changed his name to “Augustus,” or “Great One.” (Encyclopedia of World