The

                        This is how the Roman Empire came to be........  

   

  So here's a little something to chew on, Rome is actually the capital of Italy; back then,  Rome was referred to as  "the places the Romans were in control of".   Before the Roman Empire,   it  was  the Roman Republic, and before that it was the Roman Kingdom. Let's start with this, the Romans hated the idea of a king, one man who was in complete power of everything, this is why they established the Roman Republic .  They elected two men as consuls (much like a president) to serve the Roman Republic for one year.   These men were Marcus Licinius Crassus  and  Pompey the Great.   Crassus and Pompey both had ambitions to take full power of Rome.  There  was  one  man who didn't wait for this to happen, this man was Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar convinced Pompey and Crassus to rule Rome with him in a form of a Triumvirate (a ruling body of three). Each of the three leaders served Rome in different ways, Caesar chose to serve in the military as a General. He was victorious in his foreign battles and was practically undefeated in the Gallic wars. Caesar swallowed most of Europe and the  Mediterranean world in his control,   scaring not only the non-Romans but the Romans  as well.   Back in  Rome  Marcus Licinius Crassus   (the third person in the Triumvirate)  died.   Caesar decides to head back to Rome,  but  because  of  fear  that  Caesar  will  take Rome  for himself the 

Senate permitted Caesar to come back only if he was to return without his army.  Without a second thought  Caesar  crossed  the  border  and  declared  war  on the Roman Republic.    In Fear for his life Pompey the Great fled to Egypt,  and Caeser took over as ruler of Rome with the title   "Dictator for Life". 

 

            Caesar as dictator greatly improved the state of Rome,  but he decides to head to Egypyt to kill  Pompey the Great.   In the time of  Caesar's  stay  in  Egypt  there  was  a  great rebellion.   The Egyptians  wanted  to  overthrow  their   Macedonian   rulers.   Egypt's  King,  Ptolemy Auteles  was showered with attempts of assassination,   as  a desperate attempt of survival Auletes gives Caesar power over him and Egypt (puppet government) in exchange for protection.   During this period of Egypt's  puppet  government  King  Auletes'  daughter  Cleopatra  manages  to  become   queen by marying   her   brother  who  suspiciously dies, and the same fate fell on her other brother as well. Cleopatra  knew that to secure the crown she had to sieze the opportunity and make Julius Caesar fall in love with her.  Cleopatra was succesful in capturing Caesars heart.    With Caesar now eating from the palm of Cleopatra's hand, Cleopatra manipulated Caesar in helping her secure her throne as queen.   Fast track the story a bit and Caesar and Cleopatra eventually had a son together,    and they  both   dreamed of ruling the known world together. Caesar spent too much time in Egypt and fell  short  of his duties as king.   The Roman  Senate   noticed that Caesar was failing as the strong leader   he   used   to  be so they plotted to kill him.    Caesar was assassinated by the members of the senate on March 15, 44 B.C. , Cleopatra's dream of ruling the world stayed a dream.

 

        In   43 B.C.   the second   Triumvate was formed comprising of Gauis Octavian (Julius Caesar's great nephew and adopted son), Markus Lepidus, and Mark Anthony. The Triumvate tried to restore peace to Rome,     but they did not see eye to eye.    Markus Lepidus was driven out of his position,

Octavian  and  Mark Anthony   devided the lands controlled by Rome.  Octavian took the West and Mark Anthony the East.   The Romans began to look at Palestine as another place to conquer,    and here is where Herod the Great enters the story.  Herod was another ambitious, cruel, paranoid,  and power hungry man.   With permission from Octavian and Mark Anthony,   Herod cruelly conquered all of Palestine and earned the title "King Of The Jews" (this is because the Jews and the Palestinians hated each other).  Herod was so cruel that because of his paranoia he killed his wife, child, and all their relatives  in  fear  that  they might steal his throne. The Jews started to notice all of the chaos happenning during Herods rule which made them very unhappy. To find some favor in the Jews he ordered  that  the  temple  in Jerusalem be remodeled to be even more spectacular than Solomon's was.   This was the exact same temple where Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour,   The King of Kings and the  Lord  of  Lords was dedicated in as a baby,  taught there as a boy, and preached there as a man. As  it  said  in  the  book  "It  was  remodeled  to be spectacular for the personal visit of Jesus Christ".

      

 

             "It's AMAZING how God can use things good or bad to unveil and make way for 

                                                           His master plan"

 

           Fast track the story a bit. Since Mark Anthony was in control of Egypt under the East side of Roman territory Cleopatra once again decided to seize the day and cast her spell on Mark Anthony.

Mark Anthony and Cleopatra both fell desperately in love with each other,   they were married and Mark  Anthony  lived  a  life  of  an  Egyptian.    He  wore  their  clothes, ate their food, joined their festivities, he walked in an Egyptians shoes.  Octavian  and  the Romans on the other hand did not like  this  which  is  why  he  stripped  Mark  Anthony  of  his  position  and  declared war on Mark Anthony and Egypt.

 

            They  met up at sea with their navies face to face, this was known as "The Battle of Actium". When  Cleopatra  noticed  that Octavian's navy was winning she fled and Mark Anthony went after her.   This   proved  that  Mark  Anthony   valued   Cleopatra   more   than   Rome.    Mark Anthony searched   for   Cleopatra   but  with  hope  running  out Mark Anthony killed himself thinking that Cleopatra   was   dead.   Once   again   Cleopatra's   dream   of   ruling  the known world had been extinguished. As a gesture of pitty for Cleopatra, Octavian gave her all the time she needed to give Mark Anthony  an  elaborate  burial.  Cleopatra attempted once again to cast her spell on a man of power,  but  Octavian  did  not fall for this.   Since Cleopatras charm did not work she realized that there  was  no  longer  any hope for her dream of ruling the known world. Which is why Cleopatra decided to commit suicide,   she requested for her body to be buried next to Mark Anthony's,   and so it was. 

 

           Octavian  now  accepted  his  rightful   place  as  ruler  of  Rome,  he  was given the title of "Augustus"  which meant  "exalted one"  and  he  obtained the name Caesar as respect for his great uncle Julius Caesar.  Octavian,  now  called  Augustus  Caesar  managed  to rule the Roman Empire ushering  a  long  period  of  peace  and prosperity.  Culture flourished and Rome was greater than ever.  This  era of peace was called "PAX ROMANA" which meant peace of Rome.   It lasted for about 200 years, and that is the story of the rise of the Roman Empire.