... concept of "monarchy" permanently associated with the eastern despotism and excess of the loathed Cleopatra. Such different systems of government are seemingly incompatible, being as they are inherently antagonistic. Yet Augustus Caesar, one of the most consummate politicians of the ancient world, somehow managed to achieve what had eluded all his predecessors; the establishment and maintenance of sustainable political dominance in Rome. Throughout his long period of rule, Augustus was careful to cloak the reality of his power in Republican phraseology and custom, yet, in bequeathing the Roman world a legacy of hereditary rule in many ways akin to monarchy, he simultaneously destroyed the very fabric and ideals of the Republican tradition. Following his victory over Antony at Actium, Caesar's young heir, was, by his own admission, "in complete control of affairs" in Rome. At this point, Octavian enjoyed power similar to that of his adoptive father. Yet, although the true foundations ...

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