chapter thirty-six: The First Roman Prince (6)

chapter thirty-six: The First Roman Prince (6)

Augustus Caesar

After Caesar died, Rome was in an uproar! Who would be

in charge of Rome now? The people had loved Caesar. They

were angry about his death. Some of the senators were angry

about Caesar’s death too. Other senators were glad that Caesar

was gone. The senators quarreled with each other. The people

of Rome were restless. Fights broke out. Rome was a mess, and

no one was in charge.

Caesar’s nephew, Octavian, was only nineteen when Caesar

died. But he had inherited all of Caesar’s money, because he was

Caesar’s adopted son. He took Caesar’s money and threw a big

party in memory of Caesar. The party lasted ten days, and the

whole city of Rome was invited. Then Octavian gave presents and

money to every poor family in Rome. Suddenly Octavian was very

popular! The people of Rome loved him because he was generous.

The army loved him because he was Caesar’s adopted son.

When he saw how popular he was, Octavian went to the

Senate and demanded to be made a consul. The Senate didn’t

want to make Octavian a ruler of Rome. He was too young.

And he was too much like Caesar. Once he had power as consul,

he could start to work towards becoming a king.

But the people of Rome and the army wanted Octavian to

be a consul, and the Senate was afraid to say no. So Octavian

became a consul of Rome. Just like Julius Caesar, he led the army

into nearby countries and conquered them for Rome. Just like

Julius Caesar, he made the Roman Empire bigger and richer.

But Octavian didn’t make the same mistakes that Caesar

had made. He knew that Caesar had made the Senate angry

when he demanded to be called “king.” Octavian wanted to be

like Cincinnatus instead. We read the story of Cincinnatus a

few days ago. He was taking care of his grapes when the Senate

asked him to be head of the army. But when all the Romans

asked him to be king, he gave his power back to the Senate and

went back to taking care of his grapes.

One day, Octavian called the whole Senate together. “I have

made Rome bigger and wealthier than ever,” he said. “Now

there is peace, all over the Roman Empire. No one is fighting.

No enemies are attacking us. Rome is strong and healthy. So

I have decided to quit my job. I don’t need to be consul any

more. I won’t lead the army any more. You can be in charge

from now on.”

The senators should have been pleased by this. But Octavian

had become popular with the people, and they knew that the

people would protest if he left the government. They might

even riot. And then other ambitious Romans would begin to

fight for power. A civil war might break out.

So they protested, “But you brought peace to Rome. If you

stop being consul, Rome will fall apart again! Please, stay on

and be consul.”

“No, no,” Octavian said. “Rome shouldn’t have a king,

and if I stay people will want me to be king. I’m just a Roman

citizen like everyone else.”

“We won’t call you king, then,” the senators promised him.

“We’ll call you the ‘First Citizen’ instead.”

Then the whole Senate met together and voted to make

Octavian the “First Citizen” of Rome. In Latin, the word for

“first citizen” is princeps. Our English word “prince” comes

from the word princeps. A prince is the most important citizen

in his country. And even though Octavian was called “First

Citizen,” he acted like a prince. He ruled Rome, led the army,

and had complete control over the whole Roman Empire. He

was actually the first emperor of Rome.

The Senate also gave Octavian a new name. His old name

was “Octavian Caesar,” because he was Caesar’s adopted son.

But his new name was “Augustus Caesar.”

Augustus means “Blessed” and “Majestic.” To show how

much they honored Augustus Caesar, the Senate even decided

to name a month of the year after him! Can you guess which

month of the year is named after Augustus Caesar? The month

of August.

They also agreed to name a month of the year after his

adopted father, Julius Caesar. Can you guess which month is

named after Julius Caesar? The month of July. Julius Caesar

and Augustus Caesar lived a very long time ago. But every time

we look at a calendar, we are reminded of them.

Multiple Choice

When Julius Caesar died, Octavian ____________.

• a. threw a huge party that lasted for ten days

• b. hid in Egypt

• c. became the new king

• d. refused to see anyone

Multiple Choice

Octavian went to the Senate and demanded that ____________.

• a. Caesar be honored with a special statue

• c. he be made the new emperor

• d. he be made a consul

Multiple Choice

The Senate did not want Octavian to become a leader of Rome because _____________.

• a. he was too old

• b. the people did not like him

• c. he was too much like Caesar

• d. he did not have enough money

Multiple Choice

How was Octavian like Julius Caesar?

• a. He made many enemies in the Roman Senate.

• b. He demanded that the Senate make him king.

• d. He made the Roman Empire bigger and richer.

Multiple Choice

The Senate gave Octavian the title of __________.

• a. First Citizen

• b. dictator for life

• c. emperor

• d. consul for life

Multiple Choice

The Senate also changed Octavian’s name to ________.

• a. Julius Caesar

• b. Princeps Caesar

• c. Augustus Caesar

• d. Cincinnatus Caesar

Multiple Choice

After Julius Caesar died, Rome was finally at peace.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

Octavian was only nineteen when Caesar died.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

Octavian gave presents and money to every rich family in Rome.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

Octavian’s new name meant “blessed” and “majestic.”

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

The English word “prince” comes from the Latin word “princeps.”

• True

• False