Lakhasly

THE EMPIRE: FROM AUGUSTUS TO MARCUS AURELIUS Having taken control of the state in 31 B.C., Octavian claimed that he was restoring the Republic in 27 B.C., when the Senate granted him the name Augustus.Augustus' revolution affected virtually all aspects of Roman life: political, economic, social, and cultural.

THE EMPIRE: FROM AUGUSTUS TO MARCUS
AURELIUS
Having taken control of the state in 31 B.C., Octavian claimed that he was restoring the Republic in 27 B.C., when the Senate granted him the name Augustus. In fact, however, he consolidated his hold on the Roman world and reinforced the rule of one man, governing through his control of the civil service and official appointments.
Augustus' revolution affected virtually all aspects of Roman life: political, economic, social, and cultural. By the time of his death, the Empire was at peace and the authority of its ruler unchallenged. One of the problems which Augustus left unsolved - one that was to cause constantly recurring conflict during the following centuries of imperial rule - was that of succession. Augustus finally left the government of the Empire to Tiberius, his stepson.
When, after a generally constructive but unpopular reign, Tiberius died in A.D. 37, he left no successor, and the Senate stepped in to appoint Gaius - better known by his nickname Caligula - who was a young relative of Augustus. At the end of Caligula's disastrous rule, it fell to the imperial guard to impose their choice by force: Claudius, Caligula's uncle. In spite of Claudius' extensive achievements, the principle of succession according to membership in Augustus' Julio-Claudian family finally collapsed with the reign of Caligula's nephew, the deservedly notorious Nero.
With Nero's downfall in A.D. 68, the power to create new emperors passed to the strongest force available, in this case the army. In the space of a few months - the Year of the Four Emperors - successive military contingents imposed their candidates. The figure who eventually emerged was Vespasian, whose ten years in office marked a welcome respite from the confusion and violence of the preceding generation. Once again, however, for all the positive achievements of his reign, Vespasian failed to resolve the crucial constitutional problem inherent in the imperial system. If his elder son, Titus, proved the merits of family succession, his younger son, Domitian, confirmed its dangers in a long and turbulent reign.
Domitian had no son, and the Senate chose his successor, Nerva, on merit. Nerva, who was also childless, nominated his own