Final War of The Roman Republic - Aftermath

Aftermath

Within a month, Octavian was named Pharaoh, and Egypt became his personal possession. Octavian now controlled all of Rome's provinces and over 78 legions (around 520,000 men in total). Through executing Antony's supporters, Octavian finally brought a century of civil war to a close. Within a few years, Octavian was named Augustus by the Senate and given unprecedented powers. Octavian, now Augustus, merged the western and eastern halves of the Republic into the Roman Empire with Augustus ruling it as the first Roman emperor.

In the ensuing months and years, Augustus passed the series of laws that while outwardly preserving the appearance of the Republic made his position within it of paramount power and authority. He laid the foundations for what is now called the Roman Empire. From then on, the Roman state would be ruled by a Princeps (first citizen), in modern terms, Rome would from now on be ruled by Emperors. The Senate ostensibly still had power and authority over certain Senatorial provinces, however, the critical border provinces, like Syria, Egypt, Gaul, requiring the greatest numbers of legions would be directly ruled by Augustus and the Emperors who succeeded him.

With the end of the last Republican civil war, the Republic was replaced by the Empire. Augustus's reign would usher in a golden era of Roman culture and produce a stability that Rome had not seen in over a century. With Rome in control of the entire Mediterranean world, a peace that would reign in the Roman world for centuries after Augustus’s death: the Pax Romana (Roman Peace). The Empire that Augustus established would last in Western Europe until the fall of Rome in the 5th century AD. The Eastern part of the Roman Empire would also survive as the Byzantine Empire until the fall of Constantinople in 1453 AD.