Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilisation, characterised by an autocratic form of government, headed by an Emperor, and large territorial holdings around the Mediterranean Sea in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia Minor. The 500 year old republic which preceded it had been severely destabilised through a series of civil wars and political infighting in the Senate. Several events marked the transition of power from the Roman Senate to an autocratic Emperor. Julius Caesar's appointment as perpetual dictator in 44 BC after his victory over Pompey resulted in his assassination, triggering a power vacuum that led to a succession of conflicts between supporters of Caesar and the Senate. Octavian, Caesar's adopted son, defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC after inheriting Caesar's estates. Following Antony and Cleopatra's suicides and the annexation of the Ptolemaic Empire in 30 BC, the Roman Senate granted the honorific title Augustus to Octavian three years later in 27 BC, effectively bringing about the end of the Roman Republic.