12 The Rise of Augustus

Continiung the series 'The Conquered and the proud', we come to the early days of the young Octavian, the man who would become Caesar Augustus and found the Principate, the rule of emperors - a system that would last for centuries and see the Roman empire reach the pinnacle of its prosperity and population. Just eighteen years old when Julius Caesar was murdered, his great nephew was named as principal heir in his will. This mean that he took his name and the bulk of his property. However, this ambitious teenager took it to mean that he should also succeed to Caesar's power. Incredibly, after fourteen years of bloody struggle, he did just that.