Introduction

When octavian emerged victorio from the brief war with his old triumphor colleague in 30 b c, he was also ending nearly 20 years of continuous civil war. From the time julius caesar crossed the rubicon in forty nine b c, the empire had been subjected to almost two decades of constant civil strife. Had the sickly octavian died, n no doubt the victory at actium and the conquest of alexandria would have been just two more milestones on the long road to stability. But much to everyone's surprise, not the least of which his own, octavian wound up living well into his seventies. This meant that his victories were not