History Chapter 20 PDF

# Chapter 20 – The Roman Empire Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him; The evil that men do lives after them, The good is oft interred with their bones, So let it be with Caesar... (Marc Antony in William Shakespeare's *Julius Caesar*) As Caesar's...

# Chapter 20 – The Roman Empire Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him; The evil that men do lives after them, The good is oft interred with their bones, So let it be with Caesar... (Marc Antony in William Shakespeare's *Julius Caesar*) As Caesar's forces advanced southward, Pompey directed his own army out of Rome and into Greece, leaving his Spanish lands exposed. Caesar fought Pompey's remaining forces in Spain first, conquering them as their leader waited for his rival in Greece. The next year, they met at the Battle of Pharsalus in Greece, and Caesar's army gained a decided victory. Afterward, Pompey fled to Egypt looking for sanctuary and was assassinated for the attempt. At the time, Egypt was in a similar state of civil war as were the powers of Rome, and Caesar saw a way to make the most of this situation. Making haste to Egypt in pursuit of his ex-ally, Caesar was presented the head of Pompey by a tutor of co-Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII. According to Plutarch, Caesar wept at the sight and made to protect the head until he could arrange a proper burial. Whether he was truly angry about the murder of his old friend is unknown, but in any case, he turned to the matter of the feuding co-rulers of Egypt: Ptolemy XIII and his sister-bride, Cleopatra. In a bid to sway the powerful diplomat to her own cause, Queen Cleopatra visited Caesar alone in his quarters by surprise. Plutarch wrote that the queen had herself wrapped up in a rug and was delivered to Caesar, fearful of being seen by guards and enemies. The two became fast friends and lovers, and after peace-making tactics between the two Egyptian leaders failed, Caesar agreed to fight at Cleopatra's side against Ptolemy. The cultural significance of Ptolemy and the Egyptian Kingdom was not lost on Julius Caesar. He visited the tomb of Alexander the Great and pondered his own means of making a lasting legacy in a country that was more ancient than either of their realms had ever been. Ultimately, though he was not naturally inclined to support the murder of any members of the Ptolemaic Dynasty, Caesar accepted the fact that an alliance with Cleopatra may signify the end for Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII. Indeed, the brother of his beloved Egyptian queen drowned in the river Nile after his defeat by the combined forces of his sister and the Roman general in 47 BCE. That same year, Caesar's powerful general, Marc Antony, convinced the Senate to make Caesar dictator. The Senate agreed to such a condition only due to the fact that they wanted their consul to conclude his political dealings in Egypt and find a solution within that time. He complied and supported Cleopatra in marrying her 12-year-old brother Ptolemy XVI to consolidate the authority of the Egyptian queen with a necessary male counterpart. The marriage was in law only; Cleopatra was the willing consort of Julius Caesar and by that time was probably pregnant with his child. As soon as he was certain that Cleopatra's throne was secure, Caesar left Egypt for Rome. His temporary dictatorship had been extended in perpetuity, which infuriated members of the Senate; these irate senators took it upon themselves to ensure their realm remained democratic. On March 15, 44 BCE, more than 60 conspiring senators accosted Julius Caesar outside the Theatre of Pompey, many of them stabbing him to death. Marc Antony and two of Caesar's most trusted allies organized to form the Second Triumvirate, after which they killed their friend's murderers and claimed leadership of the empire. It was a fragile alliance, particularly given Antony's ongoing affair with Queen Cleopatra in Egypt. To smooth things over with Octavius, a fellow triumvirate member and Caesar's adopted son, Antony, married the former's sister Octavia. It was of little use, however, since Cleopatra continued to bear his children. In 31 BCE, the Senate declared war on Egypt and deemed Marc Antony as a traitor to Rome. Antony and Cleopatra fought back against Octavius' forces but were unable to beat them. Cleopatra fled to Egypt and took refuge in her mausoleum. Upon receiving the false message that Cleopatra was dead, Antony stabbed himself and was carried into her chamber where he found her alive. Dying, he asked her to make peace with Octavius, but she did not. With no moves left to her, the Queen of Egypt killed herself. Octavius killed the queen's son by Julius Caesar, Caesarion, and took Egypt for himself. In 27 BCE, he became Emperor Augustus of the Roman Empire, reigning for 41 years. The other two children born of Marc Antony and Cleopatra were sent to Antony's widow, Octavia, to be raised in Rome.