Octavian: Rise to Power

    Octavian was born in 63 BC. He took the name Caesar Augustus in 27 BC when he became the first Emperor of the Roman Empire.
    He's been considered arguably one of the greatest political rulers to ever walk the earth.
     It's written in the New Testament: “Now it came about in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census be taken of all the inhabited of the earth”  - Luke 2.1.     
    The story begins in 44 BC when 18-year-old Octavian is away at camp and he gets the news that his great-uncle Julius Caesar has been assassinated. Cunning and charismatic, he goes on a path of vengeance that doesn’t end until he becomes Rome's first Emperor in 27 BC.

Where did the Battle of Philippi take place?
In 42 BC, it took place in Ancient Macedonia in the current day Balkan Peninsula. Map of Ancient Greece.   It was here that the forces of Mark Antony and Octavian defeated the forces of Brutus and Cassius the two lead assassins of Julius Caesar. Visit Battle of Philippi-42 BC to view the Battlefield Map. Cassius committed suicide after the First Battle of Philippi; Brutus, after the Second.