Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar was born in 100 BC. He was a great soldier. He helped to take over new land for the Roman Empire. He made many changes like the new calendar and the starting of a daily newspaper. He also totally changed the law. He became the most powerful man and sole leader in Rome and some people thought he was too powerful and that he wanted to be king. A group of senators (led by Brutus and Cassius) decided to kill him and take his power back. They surrounded him and stabbed him with their daggers on 15th March 44 BC.
Emperor Augustus
Augustus' proper name was Octavian. He was the adopted son of Julius Caesar. After Julius Caesar's death he took over with two other men. One of them was Marc Antonh. Later on, these two got in a fight and Augustus beat Antony in battle. Octavian ruled on his own and was given the special name Augustus. He was a clever and fair ruler and when he died in AD14, the people did not want to go back to a republic.
Emperor Constantine
After AD 305, the Roman Empire was split into an Eastern and a Western empire. Constantine the Great managed to join the two sides together for a while. He was the first emperor to be a Christian. He moved the capital of the empire from Rome to a new city in Turkey which he called Constantinople. Today the capital is called Istanbul.
Marc Antony
Mark Antony was a great Roman leader. He was a general for Julius Caesar and one of his closest friends. He thought that Cleopatra was partially responsible for Caesar’s death and wanted to meet with her. She ignored his summons twice. The third time she came to him on a boat dressed as the Goddess Athena. Mark Antony was charmed by Cleopatra, and they created a military partnership in 41 B.C. Cleopatra captured Mark Antony’s heart, just as she had Julius Caesar’s. He followed her to Alexandria and took her as his mistress. Cleopatra married Mark Antony in 37 B.C. Their marriage was not only for love. It was also a marriage of politics. Cleopatra was wealthy, and Mark Antony had power to protect her from an invasion by Rome.
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BCE) was a Roman writer, speaker, philosopher and politician. In his speeches, Cicero called on upper class Romans to work together to make Rome a better place. One way to do this, he argued, was to limit the power of generals. Cicero wanted the Romans to give more support to the Senate and to restore checks and balances on government. But the government did not change.