Tenth Generation Family of Atia (9) & Caius Octavius
10. Octavia Minor, 57G Grandmother, F. Born in 0064 BC. Octavia died in 0011 BC.
In 0040 BC Octavia married Marcus Antonius, 57G Grandfather, M, son of Marcus Antonius Crecitus, M (abt 0103 BC-abt 0071 BC) & Julia, F (abt 0103 BC-). Born in 0083 BC. Marcus died in 0030 BC.
Marc Antony was a friend of Julius Caesar and one of the great Roman Imperators. He was an influential man with many powerful friends and tried to take over Caesar's role and governing powers after his death. Caesar's young nephew Octavian soon challenged Antony, however, and a long power struggle for control of the growing Roman Empire resulted. This struggle between the Senatorial supporters of the old Republic, Marc Antony, and Octavian dominated politics in the Empire from 44 B. C. until the Battle of Actium. This is dealt with more fully in the article on Augustus. During this period, Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus formed an alliance only as long as it suited their purpose to be friends. This alliance was the Second Triumvirate, about which you may read in a separate article. Romans who at first had loved and supported Antony soon began to distrust him when they saw that he chose to marry the Egyptian queen Cleopatra and spent most of his time with her in Egypt. Octavian made matters even worse for Antony by telling the Romans that he intended to turn the Roman Empire into a province of an Egyptian kingdom.
After having made and broken several treaties with Octavian, Antony met him in a final sea battle off Actium in 31 B. C. Antony and Cleopatra's forces appeared to be winning but Octavian's stout Roman marines gained the upper hand after everyone saw Cleopatra running away, her purple sails filled with the wind that carried away her kingdom of Egypt as well. A few months after the battle, with Octavian's troops closing in on them, Antony and Cleopatra held only the Egyptian city of Alexandria. With Octavian and the invincible Roman Legions surrounding them, both Antony and Cleopatra chose to commit suicide rather than surrender. Their stories have always been amongst the most popular tales told throughout the ages. A popular movie starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton was made in the 1960's about their lives and these tumultous last years of the Roman Republic.
11. Octavianus Augustus, 58G Grandfather, M. Born in 0063 BC. Octavianus died in 0014.
"And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed."
Ever since the time of the Roman Emperor Augustus, people have been reading these words in the Book of Luke of the Bible. At the time of the birth of Jesus, the Roman Empire was the strongest one in the world and the Roman government had the power to tax the whole civilized European world. Far-off China was not under Roman rule, nor were the barbarians far to the North nor the kingdoms in Africa and India. The Roman world at that time was peaceful and prosperous, and much of the credit for this can be given to Augustus and his government. Augustus was the title given to the young Octavian, adopted nephew of Julius Caesar by the Roman Senate in 27 B.C. The people of Rome were so tired of the civil war that had ravaged their world for so long that they put their faith in a man who told them that he could end the strife. After having defeated his major rival Marcus Antonius at the Battle of Actium in 31 B.C., Octavian slowly and carefully introduced needed reforms. In a calculated move designed to help him consolidate power in his own hands while gaining the cooperation of the Senate, he resigned the dictatorship and announced that he was becoming a private citizen again. The senators were so pleased with the way he had put an end to the civil wars and afraid that they would resume after his retirement that they begged him to continue running the government. Augustus' uncanny political abilities and his meticulous attention to detail provided a stable government that brought peace and prosperity to the Roman Empire for the next two hundred years.
Octavianus married Sribonia, 58G Grandmother, F. Born abt 0063 BC.
