The Strand Study Bible

THE NEW TESTAMENT AND WORLD HISTORY III. Rome’s New Kingdom Period (60 BC – AD 138)

The New Kingdom Period came about via a “Triumvirate,” i.e., an unofficial arrangement of autocratic powers between Gnaeus Pompeius (Pompey), Marcus Licinius Crassus and Julius Caesar in 60 BC. 1 This endowed them, jointly, to rule Rome. Julius Caesar spent the next nine years conquering Gaul, an area in Italy north of the Po River and south of the Alps, and also all of Europe. His conquests extended from the Rhine River in Germany to the English Channel in Britain, including the modern countries of France, Holland, Switzerland, Belgium, and parts of Germany. In 53 BC Crassus was killed fighting the Parthians. By 49 BC civil war had broken out between Pompey and Caesar. Pompey, his army, and most of the senate fled to Greece. A year later (48 BC) Pompey suffered a humiliating death on an Egyptian beach, but not until 45 BC did Caesar defeat all of Pompey’s armies. According to the history books, there were many Caesars known to have ruled during this period: 1. Julius Caesar (60-44 BC)

Julius Caesar rose to power as a general and eventually became dictator of the Roman Empire. His many victories, and moves such as almost doubling army pay, made him extremely popular with his armies who supported his growing power. During Julius Caesar’s rise to power a “Triumvirate” (a group of three people in power or authority) was formed. There were two such “triumvirates” in Roman history: (1) The First Triumvirate was formed by three distinguished Roman generals: Pompey, Crassus and Julius Caesar. The three agreed to rule Rome together, though at the time the triumvirate was formed, only Caesar held the key post of “consul.” The coalition ended in civil war in which Caesar defeated Pompey, (2) The Second Triumvirate was formed in 43 BC after Caesar’s assassination. Its members were Caesar’s friend Marcus Antonius (Mark Antony), his great-nephew and heir Gaius Octavius (Octavian), and Marcus Lepidus. This triumvirate also ended in civil war, in which Octavius defeated Marcus Antonius at the battle of Actium in 31 BC. Julius Caesar controlled Rome from 49-44 BC and therefore much of the world. He held absolute power, as he turned the Senate into a political joke. During the five years of his rule, Caesar took measures to secure his position. He freely pardoned many old enemies and won admiration as a man of generosity. He proved himself a friend of the poor by reducing debts and providing employment on public construction projects. In 47 BC, three years before his murder in 44 BC, Caesar arrived in Egypt where he met for the first time - Cleopatra. Cleopatra was the daughter of Ptolemy XII and was of Greek and Macedonian descent. She was a highly intelligent woman of enormous charm and few morals. Cleopatra was eighteen when she became queen, marrying (according to Egyptian custom) her younger brother, the ten-year old Ptolemy XIII. Cleopatra became Caesar’s mistress and went to Rome with him, though nominally she married an even younger brother, Ptolemy XIV. Then on March 15, 44 BC Brutus and Cassius murdered Julius Caesar. Cleopatra went back to Egypt. Ptolemy XIV died and Cleopatra ruled jointly with Ptolemy XV, her son by Caesar, often known as Cesarean. Three years later in 41 BC Caesar’s friend and fellow general Marcus Antonius (Mark Antony) encountered Cleopatra and fell under her spell; they had twin children, Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene. In 36 BC he married her to gain the Egyptian throne - though he already had a wife, the sister of Caesar’s heir Gaius Octavius (Octavian). Octavius revenged her by defeating the fleet of Antony and Cleopatra at Actium. Antony committed suicide. Octavius, as the new ruler, was also prepared to marry Cleopatra, but she preferred to kill herself. Octavius then had Cesarean and Alexander Helios killed. Cleopatra Selene married the king of Numidia; their son Ptolemy, last of the line, was killed by Caligula.

2. Gaius Octavius Augustus (Gaius Octavius) was the first Roman princeps or emperor. He was born Gaius Octavius in Velitrae, a suburb southeast of Rome, on September 23, 63 BC. His mother, Atia, was the niece of Julius Caesar, and it was Caesar, his great-uncle, who launched the future princeps into a Roman public career. Then in 44 BC, while studying quietly in Apollonia in Epirus (Illyria), Octavian heard of Caesar’s murder. He immediately hastened to Italy where he learned that Caesar had adopted him and made him his chief heir. On November 27, 43 BC, the Second Triumvirate was formed, as three men (Marcus Antonius, Marcus Lepidus and Gaius Octavius) were officially allocated a five-year appointment as ‘triumvirs for the constitution of the state.’ In the division of the Empire that followed, Antonius (Mark Antony) was allocated the eastern provinces (and initially Gaul), Lepidus was allocated Africa, and Octavian was allocated the western provinces, while keeping control over Italy. By 32 BC the triumvirate had officially come to an end. A year later Octavius defeated Antonius at the battle of Actium in 31 BC. When Lepidus died in 12 BC, Octavius (now Augustus) succeeded him as the official chief priest ( pontifex maximus ) of the State religion. CHRIST would be born in Bethlehem a decade later (c. 1 BC). Barely five foot seven inches tall; Octavian was one of the most talented, energetic and skillful administrators in Roman history. He (Augustus Caesar) is mentioned once in Scripture (Luke 2:1). Four descendants (Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero), called the Claudian emperors, followed Augustus Caesar. They ruled from AD 14-68.

(44 BC - AD 14)

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