Augustus

Born Gaius Octavius (either Lord Numero Eight or something else, hey, the Romans did believe in [Polytheism]), he would rise from the obscure nephew of an ambitious consul to the ruler of all Rome (or the Emperor depending on your level of [cynicism]).

Octavius was sent by his Great Uncle, Julius Caesar to study at the University Of Athens in the 40s BC.  There, he was an OK student, probably not the most responsible kid in the Frat, but great for Toga Parties.  In 44 BC, he got a letter telling him he had been adopted by Julius Caesar, who was then killed (or killed then adopted, or adopted while killing, or something or other)...anyway, Julius had made Octavius his heir and left him everything, including the Roman State.

Legalities on whether or not Julius could give away the Roman State aside (though this is maybe reminiescent of the Louisiana Purchase), Octavius had bigger problems.  Marcus Antonius (Marc Antony, Mars Flower, or something else), Caesar's right hand man, was not thrilled to have been cut out of the will.

Octavius, however, was smarter than Antony thought, so he came back, hat in hand, and promised to split the Republic with Antony.  It didn't work at first.  Octavius, however, was a smart and patient man.  When Antony left to hunt down some of Caesar's murderers, Octavius had Cicero attack Antony and get Octavius appointed commander of his father's legions (all eight of them).  Octavius chased after Antony and his armies, and drove them into Gaul.  He then returned to Rome and, with the support of the army, had himself made consul.  He revoked the amnesties for the assassins that the senate had made, convicted all of them for treason, and set about killing them.

At this point, Octavius was foolishly thought to simply be a lucky pawn of Cicero, so Antony came back and joined Octavius, thinking he could manipulate the youth.  The two of them together hunted down, killed, and otherwise exterminated the assassins of Julius Caesar and anyone else they didn't like and could concievably rope into their purge (a la Cicero).  To add that extra bit of legitimacy to their plan, they formed a triumvirate with Marcus Lepidus (Elegant Mars, or something else).

Unlike the previous triumvirate, where each member had something the other two needed, this triumvirate was made of three self-sufficient men.  Octavius was young, so he defered to Antony to come up with a plan.  Antony tried to put one over on Octavius by offering to divide the Republic three ways.  Antony would get the east (which was the richest part due to all the trade through Asia Minor), and Lepidus would get the agriculture centers of Hispana and North Aftrica.  Octavius got stuck with Podunk on the Tiber (also known as Rome).

Thinking he had gotten the best of that young pup by sticking him in Rome, Antony and Lepidus went off to their new homes and proceded to get rich.  Octavius was happy to let them think they were winning, and he even let Antony marry his sister, Octavia.  Across the burgeioning Empire, Antony and Lepidus annexed land, sold property, sacked cities, and otherwise went about legally raping and pillaging the east and west.  In Rome, however, Octavius played the political bloodsport with deft and skill, becoming the patron of nearly every Roman citizens, either in truth or symbolicly.  He became particularly popular with the military after he pushed a veteran's compensation program through the Senate, giving his soldiers land.  A project that had been attempted, but never fully realised, since the Grachi.

Lepidus became rich and famous on his farms, Antony became quite the ladies' man, culminating in the bedding of [Queen Cleopatra] (though the Ptolemain Queen was quite shrewd herself, so it's an open question who was doing whom).  Octavius, however, enslaved the entire governmental aparatus of Rome.  This man who no one took seriously, controled the assemblies, the senate, and the mobs.

In 41 BC, Antony made his move against the foolish boy.  His brother, who was Consul in Rome, accused Octavius of robbing the Roman State to lavish his soldiers.  A brief civil war erupted, in which Octavius again secured the support of the entire Roman Army, and tracked down the consul, defeating him.  Because Octavius did not want to violate the Mos Maiorum, he merely deposed the consul, rather than killing him.  This would set a pattern for his future rule.

Antony then attacked Brundisium, ostensibly in retaliation for his brother's humiliation.  Octavian, however, was not ready to move against Antony, and so he negotiated.  He married his sister off to Antony (a massive concession since it would give Antony a hold on Octavius's inheritance), and promised not to contest Antony's activities in the east (another massive concession, since Antony was almost certainly going to cuckold Octavia).  In return, Antony gave up all claims on Rome and Roman Gaul.  Thinking he had gotten the best of Octavius again, Antony returned to Egypt.

Just a little something to break the monotony and keep you all awake.

Little did Antony know that Octavius was setting him up for a fall.

For another five years, Octavius bided his time.  Antony, meanwhile, was going after the Parthenian Empire (which had claimed the life of Crassus years before).  Running low on troops, he borrowed some legions from Octavius in return for some 120 ships.  It turned out to be a poor bargain.  In the interim, Octavius conquored Sicily, and with help from Lepidus, Corsica and Sardinia.  Lepidus, with several of Octavius's Legions tried to move against Octavius, only to find that Octavius's Legions wouldn't fight for him.

Embarrased beyond belief, he appealed to Octavius not to kill him, and Octavius obliged.  Octavius became both the controler of Rome, the great general of the west, and the merciful one.  Lepidus was disgraced for not dieing in battle like a true Roman.  Once again, Octavius had used the Mos Maiorum to increase his power and defeat his enemies.

Meanwhile, in the east, Antony was cheating on Octavia, losing legions one after another, and sleeping with an Egyptian queen.  More than that, he was convening  new senate in Alexandria.  If ever someone was turning their back on the ways of the ancestors, it was Antony.  It was very similar to the plot by Aaron Burr to set up a new country in the western USA in the early 1800s.

Less than a year later, Octavius was ready to strike.  He revealed the affair of Antony, revealed how Antony had given his bastard children by Cleopatra the rights of Romans while still married to Octavia, accused Antony of forsaking the Mos Maiorum, and declared him a traitor to the Republic for setting up a new senate.  All the years Octavius spent in Rome cultivating the machinery of public office paid off, as Octavius rammed his accusations throughout Rome while Antony could barely respond.  Octavius played the distressed Senator and humiliated brother to the hilt, and the Mos Maiorum required him to act.  The people demanded it.  Reluctantly, Octavius declared war on Antony.

In 32 BC, Octavius prepared his ships, built around the original 120 that Antony had given him.  Octavius sent his best admiral, Agrippa, to blockade Antony at Actium, while he led the legions on the ground.  The Battle Of Actium was the greatest display of force seen in the history of Rome, and it was a fizzle.  Refusing to follow an Egyptian queen, the legions of Antony defected en masse, and Antony and Cleopatra were forced to flee with nary a shot fired.

Octavius followed them over land back to Egypt, gaining the personal loyalty of the Eastern Empire as he went.  For the first time in history, a Roman ruler had the personal loyalty of the entire Empire.  Octavius arrived in Alexandria in 30 BC, and another battle seemed iminent.  It didn't happen.  Seeing his iminent defeat, and refusing to go out with a wimper, as had Lepidus, Antony fell on his sword, dieing well as a true Roman (as opposed to Cato the Younger, who missed and had to disembowel himself with a knife).  [Queen Cleopatra], besieged and with her lover and protecter dead, went to sleep with an asp, which bit her and killed her.

Octavius marched into Alexandria and declared it a Roman Protectorate.  A year later, he would annex all of Egypt as a Roman province.  Cleopatra's last wish was for Antony to be burried as a King.  Octavius allowed it, and in the process honored both Antony for being a true Roman in the end, and Cleoptra for being his great-uncle's consort.  Octavian adopted the twin sons of Antony and Cleoptra and gave them to his sister Octavia to raise.  Once again, Octavius used the Mos Maiorum to nuetralize his enemies and enhance his own image.

Returning to Rome, Octavius refused to be made Pontifex Maximus (which would further humiliate Lepidus), or Dictator (which would insult the Roman People's freedom).  Instead, he was made Princeps, or First Citizen.

In a bid to molify the Senate, Octavius prompty resigned the office a year later.  Shocked, the Senate begged him to stay on, and reluctantly (again) he agreed.  He would agree every year from 23 BC to his death in AD 14.

Though Octavius never held an official public office again, he was given extraordinary personal powers by the Senate.  He was given the Veto, imperium, and the power to call the Senate and the assemblies to advise him.  When Lepidus died in 12 BC, Octavius was made Pontifex Maximus.  Though Octavius had no official power inside Rome, it was widely known that what he wanted was law.  He was very much like a godfather.  In recognition of his ascent to power, the Senate gave Octavius the Cognomon "Augustus."

He who has ascended to power by means of his audacity.

Augustus ruled until AD 14, firmly installing the [principate] and leaving an indelible mark on Roman history.