Before the death of Julius Caesar, Rome had been deep in political intrigue and competition between rivals for nearly a century. When Caesar died, the Republic was thrown into civil war which would not end until the Republic was dead. Octavian, Caesar’s nephew (later to be named “Augustus”) contrived through a triumvirate which included himself, Mark Antony and Lepidus, to become the most powerful man in Rome. This course traces the movement of Rome through rebellion of the populist leaders, the wars between the competing personalities until the final domination of Octavian, who would become the first emperor – Augustus.

DELIVERY MODE

• Hybrid (F2F & Online simultaneously)

COURSE OUTLINE

• Caesar and the Republic: the role of Julius Caesar in weakening the Republic.
• The Second Triumvirate of Octavian, Mark Antony and Lepidus: their competing interests
• The end of the Triumvirate: the breakup, with Lepidus sidelined and Antony “going native” with Cleopatra
• Augustus’ Triumph: The “boy” Octavian became the “Princeps Civitatis” or First Citizen of Rome, a virtual emperor.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

1. Discover the machinations of late Republican Rome and how they played out
2. Gain an insight into lawful and unlawful paths to political power in Rome
3. Understand the power in Rome and how various personalities manipulated it
4. Know how Octavian schemed and exploited his enemies’ weaknesses