Editing Roman Empire (section)

===Transition from Republic to Empire===
{{Further|Roman Republic}}
[[File:Augustus of Prima Porta (inv. 2290).jpg|thumb|upright|''[[Augustus of Prima Porta]]'']]
Rome had begun expanding shortly after the founding of the [[Roman Republic]] in the 6th century BC, though not outside the [[Italian Peninsula]] until the 3rd century BC. Thus, it was an "empire" (a great power) long before it had an emperor.<ref>{{Harvp|Kelly|2007|pp=4ff}}; {{Harvp|Nicolet|1991|pp=1, 15}}; {{Cite book |last=Brennan |first=T. Corey |title=The Praetorship in the Roman Republic |date=2000 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=605 |author-link=T. Corey Brennan}} {{Harvp|Peachin|2011|pp=39–40}}.</ref> The Republic was not a nation-state in the modern sense, but a network of self-ruled towns (with varying degrees of independence from the [[Roman Senate|Senate]]) and provinces administered by military commanders. It was governed by annually elected [[Roman magistrate|magistrates]] ([[Roman consul]]s above all) in conjunction with the Senate.{{Sfnp|Potter|2009|p=179}} The 1st century BC was a time of political and military upheaval, which ultimately led to rule by emperors.{{Sfnp|Nicolet|1991|pp=1, 15}}<ref name=Hekster/><ref>{{Cite book |last=Lintott |first=Andrew |title=The Constitution of the Roman Republic |date=1999 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=114 |author-link=Andrew Lintott}}; {{Cite book |last=Eder |first=W. |chapter=The Augustan Principate as Binding Link |date=1993 |title=Between Republic and Empire |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=0-5200-8447-0 |page=98}}</ref> The consuls' military power rested in the Roman legal concept of ''[[imperium]]'', meaning "command" (typically in a military sense).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Richardson |first=John |chapter=Fines provincial |date=2011 |title=Frontiers in the Roman World |publisher=Brill |page=10}}</ref> Occasionally, successful consuls or generals were given the honorary title ''[[imperator]]'' (commander); this is the origin of the word ''emperor'', since this title was always bestowed to the early emperors.{{Sfnp|Richardson|2011|pp=1–2}}{{efn|[[Augustus]] avoided any association with the ancient [[King of Rome|kings of Rome]]. Augustus had replaced his first name with ''Imperator'', a title regularly used by [[Julius Caesar]], thus becoming ''Imperator Caesar Augustus'', which further linked the title with his position. ''Imperator'' did not acquire the meaning of "ruler" until the late 1st century.<ref name="SimonHornblower">{{Cite book |last1=Hornblower |first1=Simon |title=The Oxford Classical Dictionary |last2=Spawforth |first2=Antony |last3=Eidinow |first3=Esther |date=2012 |isbn=978-0-1995-4556-8 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=bVWcAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA728 728]–729 |chapter=Imperator |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.3268 |chapter-url=https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.3268}}</ref> Both ''[[Caesar (title)|Caesar]]'' and ''[[Augustus (title)|Augustus]]'' evolved into formal titles, the former denoting the heir and the latter the monarch. In some languages, ''Caesar'' became the origin of the word "[[emperor]]", such as in German (''[[Kaiser]]'') and some Slavic languages (''[[Tsar]]'').}}

Rome suffered a long series of internal conflicts, conspiracies, and [[Roman civil wars|civil wars]] from the late second century BC (see [[Crisis of the Roman Republic]]) while greatly extending its power beyond Italy. In 44 BC [[Julius Caesar]] was briefly [[perpetual dictator]] before being [[Assassination of Julius Caesar|assassinated]] by a faction that opposed his concentration of power. This faction was driven from Rome and defeated at the [[Battle of Philippi]] in 42 BC by [[Mark Antony]] and Caesar's adopted son [[Augustus|Octavian]]. Antony and Octavian [[Second Triumvirate|divided the Roman world]] between them, but this did not last long. Octavian's forces defeated those of Mark Antony and [[Cleopatra]] at the [[Battle of Actium]] in 31 BC. In 27 BC the [[Roman Senate|Senate]] gave him the title ''[[Augustus (title)|Augustus]]'' ("venerated") and made him ''[[princeps]]'' ("foremost") with [[proconsul]]ar ''[[imperium]]'', thus beginning the [[Principate]], the first epoch of Roman imperial history. Although the republic stood in name, Augustus had all meaningful authority.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Syme |first=Ronald |title=The Roman Revolution |date=1939 |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=3–4 |author-link=Ronald Syme}}</ref> During his 40-year rule, a new constitutional order emerged so that, upon his death, [[Tiberius]] would succeed him as the new ''[[de facto]]'' monarch.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Eck |first1=Werner |title=The Age of Augustus |date=2007 |pages=148–158 |url=https://www.academia.edu/43436644 |edition=2nd |publisher=Oxford: Blackwell Publishing |isbn=978-1-4051-5149-8 |last2=Takács |first2=Sarolta A. |author-link=Werner Eck |translator-last=Deborah Lucas Schneider}}</ref>