--- title: "Civilization #16: Julius Caesar's Will and Octavian's Birth of Empire transcript" description: "Source-synced transcript archive for Civilization #16: Julius Caesar's Will and Octavian's Birth of Empire." source_title: "Civilization #16: Julius Caesar's Will and Octavian's Birth of Empire" published_at: "2024-11-19" source_class: "episode" public_url: "https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/" markdown_url: "https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript.md" text_url: "https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript.txt" source_url: "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik" data_url: "https://jianglens.com/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik.json" --- # Civilization #16: Julius Caesar's Will and Octavian's Birth of Empire transcript - Source: [Civilization #16: Julius Caesar's Will and Octavian's Birth of Empire](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik) - Published: 2024-11-19, day precision - Human transcript page: [/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/) - Episode page: [/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/) - Transcript Markdown: [/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript.md](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript.md) - Transcript text: [/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript.txt](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript.txt) - Episode JSON: [/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik.json](https://jianglens.com/data/lens/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik.json) ## Transcript ### 0:00 seg-0001 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0001` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0001](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0001) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=0s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=0s) So we are doing Octavius and the birth of the Roman Empire today. Okay, so Let's review where we are The year is 44 BCE and Julius Caesar has just been assassinated And the three main conspirators There are 60 senators, but the three main conspirators are Marcus Brutus who is considered the leader of the conspiracy Cassius and decimus Brutus, okay, and after they assassinated Caesar obviously Rome is in turmoil and Mark Anthony who is currently The council or the head of state in Rome He reaches an agreement with These conspirators the agreement is this Mark Anthony who is a staunch Ally of Julius Caesar, he will not seek retribution and in return the conspirators will declare That Caesar was not a tyrant. He did not want to become king Okay, so a peace settlement was reached to avoid a civil war The problem is that Mark Anthony was working behind the scenes to work up Roman ### 1:32 seg-0002 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0002` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0002](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0002) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=92s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=92s) people against conspirators and eventually Public sentiment was so much against the conspirators had to flee to the provinces Okay, and then Mark Anthony read the will of Caesar. Okay, Caesar's will Remember that there's private property in Rome. And so when a man dies He has a will and then this will stipulates how this private property will be distributed. Okay and there are three really surprising things about the will the first thing is that Caesar right now is the wealthiest man in Rome and he stipulates that upon his death Every Roman citizen will get three months of a soldier's wage. That's a lot of money Okay, that's extreme generosity He also stipulates that a lot of his private property will be turned into public parks for the benefit of the Roman people So this will demonstrates Caesar's love of his people. Okay, the second thing is actually more surprising Mark Anthony believed that he would be ### 2:54 seg-0003 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0003` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0003](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0003) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=174s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=174s) named the heir to Caesar's legacy and wealth in the in the will but in fact Caesar names this complete stranger to be his heir his name is Octavius and Caesar named Octavius to be his adopted son and so Octavius name is actually Gaius Octavius and upon adoption of Upon his adoption. He is now named Gaius Julius Caesar Octavius This is like much too complicated. So historians use the shorthand Octavian Okay, so we will name now name this person Octavian and this is the historical shorthand Even though this is this is not his real name So there's a second big surprise in the will and the third big surprise is this Caesar names secondary here. These are individuals who Will inherit Caesar's property and legacy if Octavian were to die Mark, Anthony is a secondary here, but so is decimus Brutus one of the men who conspired to kill Caesar and Okay So this will of ### 4:16 seg-0004 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0004` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0004](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0004) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=256s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=256s) Caesars it is shocking and it shows to the wrong people that Caesar really loved them and That Caesar loved everyone including the people who conspired to kill him. Okay, Mark, Anthony Is very upset about this will so that when Octavian and Octavian right now he's only 18 years old Okay, he's only 18 years old and he returns to claim his legacy Mark and the Arthur mark Anthony is so upset that he refuses to meet with Octavian and he refuses to give Caesar's property and wealth to Octavian remember the first stipulation of the will is that every Roman citizen will be given 3 months of wages, okay and Octavian what he does is to honor Caesar's will He borrows money Okay, this is a lot of money in order to ensure that every citizen got three months of wages So in this situation, okay, and this is only a few months after Caesar's death This is ### 5:31 seg-0005 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0005` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0005](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0005) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=331s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=331s) now a volatile Game of Thrones situation Game of Thrones Mark Anthony considers himself the legitimate here of Caesar and refuses to acknowledge Octavia Octavian Octavian has returned and demands to be acknowledged as the here. Okay, so that's one Conflict the other conflict is you have these three conspirators decimus buddhist Marcus buddhist and Cassius and they're not in Rome, but they're in the provinces with huge armies. Okay, so decimus buddhist he is in Gaul Marcus buddhist and Cassius are in the Roman East which includes Anatolia and Syria Okay, extremely wealthy provinces where they have many loyal soldiers And they understand that eventually there's a conflict coming So they raised a huge army about a hundred thousand soldiers to prepare for the eventual Conflict and this is like the largest army ever assembled in Roman history You also have a name named lepidus who Is a very competent administrator and he has his own army and he ### 6:48 seg-0006 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0006` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0006](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0006) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=408s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=408s) actually wanted to avenge Caesar but market they stopped it and Okay, so lepidus is also part of the equation. In the center is a name named Cicero. Cicero is considered one of the greatest orators in Roman history. It was very common, it's very common as part of a liberal arts education to study the speeches of Cicero. Okay, and Cicero is the last remaining optimist. When the optimists are the ones who are conservatives and who believe in the primacy of a Senate. So Cicero is right now in charge of the Senate and everyone in this game of thrones has a different motivation, right? So Cicero, his main motivation is to maintain the supremacy of the Senate. So he wants a balance of power. So what he will do is he will play everyone off against each other in order to maintain the supremacy of the Senate and therefore his authority. Okay, that's Cicero. Octavian wants to be the heir of Caesar. ### 7:50 seg-0007 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0007` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0007](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0007) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=470s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=470s) But so so is Mark Anthony. And lepidus also wants to be a heir as well. And then on the other side are Decimus Brutus, Marcus Brutus, and Cassius who are fighting for their own legacy. Okay, so this is this is a situation in 44 BCE and it's a game of thrones situation and you could you would expect the one who would most likely lose this game of thrones is would be Octavian, right? He's 18 years old. He's got no army and he has no allies in Rome. What happens over the next 15 years is one by one Octavian destroys all his enemies. What happens first is that Mark Anthony goes to war with Decimus Brutus. Decimus Brutus is in charge of Gaul and Mark Anthony wants the armies of Decimus Brutus. So Mark Anthony marches against Decimus Brutus and then Cicero, to maintain a balance of power, he authorizes Octavian to raise his own army to challenge Mark Anthony. ### 9:06 seg-0008 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0008` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0008](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0008) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=546s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=546s) Okay, so now they're at war with each other. Eventually Mark Anthony loses and then he steals basically lepidus army to march against Decimus Brutus again. And at this point what happens is very strange. The three of them, Lepidus, Octavian, and Mark Anthony, they sit down together and they agree to share power and form their own dictatorship. This is what we call the second triumvirate. Okay, the second triumvirate is brutal. The first thing they decide to do is kill all their enemies, anyone who could challenge them, including Cicero, who was previously the patron of Octavian, right? So they killed about a third of the Senate and replaced everyone with, replaced the Senate with their allies. Then Mark Anthony and Octavian marched against Marcus Brutus and Cassius. Okay, Decimus Brutus has been destroyed. They now march against Marcus Brutus and Cassius and then in 42 BCE they fight the Battle of Philippi in Macedonia. ### 10:21 seg-0009 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0009` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0009](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0009) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=621s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=621s) Okay, Philippi is a city named after King Philip. And in this battle Mark Anthony and Octavian triumphed in the largest battle in history at that time. Okay, and after this battle where Marcus Brutus and Cassius are killed, Octavian, Mark Anthony, and Lepidus agreed to share the world. So Octavian would get Rome, Lepidus would get Northern Africa, and Mark Anthony would get Egypt and the Near East, Anatolia, Syria. So Mark Anthony basically gets the lion's share of the Roman world. Okay, and they agree to share it. Then what happens is Lepidus comes into conflict with Mark Anthony. Well, sorry, Lepidus comes in conflict with Octavian and Octavian gives a speech to Lepidus' soldiers who all defect over to Octavian. Then Octavian comes in conflict with Mark Anthony and in 31 BCE at the Battle of what's that battle called again? 31? Actium, sorry. Actium in Greece. It's a huge battle where Anthony's forces are aligned with Cleopatra's forces against Octavian. ### 11:44 seg-0010 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0010` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0010](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0010) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=704s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=704s) In this battle what happens is basically Mark Anthony and Cleopatra, they run away from the battle, and then they return to Alexandria and then Octavian goes and hunts them down, and they both commit suicide before they're captured. And then this ends in 27 BCE when Octavian returns to the Senate, the Roman Senate, in triumph, and they declare him Augustus Caesar. Okay, Augustus Caesar. His name has now changed to Augustus Caesar. He's considered the first emperor of Rome. So this is the brief history. Now I want to ask the question, how did Octavian, again, who in 44 BCE, he's only 18 years old, he has no army, and has very few allies in Rome, how was he able to triumph over everyone, okay? All right, and there are different explanations. The first you can say is just, well, he got lucky, okay? Yeah, I know he was lucky, and that is a possibility, but you don't become emperor by becoming emperor. ### 13:00 seg-0011 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0011` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0011](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0011) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=780s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=780s) You become emperor by being lucky, okay? So that's, that doesn't suffice. Second is, you can say he was brilliant. Julius Caesar was brilliant, right? King Philip of Macedon was brilliant. These are all brilliant people. Very few people say Octavian was a brilliant person. He didn't have the charisma of Julius Caesar. His oration was good, but nowhere near as good as say, Mark Anthony's or other Romans, okay? And he, and, it was, it's generally agreed upon that he was a terrible, terrible military leader and strategist. He won, he lost a lot of wars. Sorry, he lost a lot of battles during this conflict, okay? So he was not a great military leader. So he was not brilliant. I mean, he was brilliant in his own way. He was brilliant politically, but he was not brilliant in the traditional sense, okay? The third explanation is, well, he's just ruthless. ### 13:59 seg-0012 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0012` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0012](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0012) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=839s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=839s) He will do anything for power. And again, this is true. There is some truth to this. But guess what? In the Roman world, everyone was ruthless, right? Mark Anthony was especially ruthless. Mark Anthony killed his own wife. So that doesn't explain it. Fourth is the legions, the army. They remembered Caesar, Julius Caesar, and now that Octavian is considered the son of Julius Caesar the legions swore loyalty to him. And that is true. Okay, but they also swore loyalty to the legions. We also usually think this way, 7uito -cy playback. to Mark Anthony. And you can argue Mark Anthony had a stronger claim to Caesar's legacy than Octavian. So that by itself doesn't explain it either. Next explanation is Marcus Agrippa. And Marcus Agrippa is considered Octavian's partner. And he was considered a great general. And it was actually Marcus Agrippa who was responsible for all of Octavian's major military victories, especially the Battle of Actium, which basically ended the Civil War. ### 15:07 seg-0013 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0013` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0013](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0013) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=907s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=907s) And this, again, is true. Marcus Agrippa is a brilliant military leader. But so were Cassius, Decimus. There were other brilliant military leaders. The other issue is that in this ruthless world of Roman politics, how could Octavian trust Marcus Agrippa? And why did Marcus Agrippa stay loyal to Octavian? Okay? So these are five explanations. And there's also some truth to that. Okay? But I want to offer you today another explanation. And the explanation is this. The death of Caesar allowed Octavian to become emperor. Okay? And here's my argument. Remember last class, we said that Caesar, his greatness was in his myth -making genius. He created a myth of himself that he, was a man of destiny who would save the Republic. But his myth was counter to other myths that were more dominant in Rome, especially the myth of Lucius Brutus, right? Lucius Brutus, the man who created the Republic and killed the king. ### 16:27 seg-0014 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0014` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0014](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0014) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=987s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=987s) And so Caesar had this great myth, but it was against other dominant myths. When Caesar was killed, it made his myth the dominant myth. That myth was his myth of Rome. In fact, it turned his myth into reality. And it was this new reality that propelled Octavian into power. Okay? So another simple way of saying this is that it was the love of the Roman people that propelled Octavian into power. And we see this in history all the time, right? So for example, in Canada. Doug is from Canada, so am I. So the first king of the Roman Empire was a great There's a man named Justin Trudeau, the most incompetent person, politician you will ever meet, okay? But he's prime minister, and he's been prime minister for like 10 years, right? Why? Because his father is Pierre Trudeau, who is considered one of the most popular prime ministers in Canadian history, right? ### 17:34 seg-0015 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0015` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0015](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0015) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=1054s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=1054s) So it was basically people transferring their love of Pierre Trudeau onto their son, okay? So that's one example. The other example, of course, in America is George W. Bush, right? Whose father was George H. W. Bush, who was considered, you know, a very good president, okay? So is it – yeah, Doug? ### 18:13 seg-0016 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0016` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0016](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0016) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=1093s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=1093s) Yep, that's right. ### 18:24 seg-0017 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0017` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0017](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0017) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=1104s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=1104s) That's right. Yep, that's right. So if you think about it, politics, political change, it's really about myths, right? If you want to create political change, you have to change the myths. And new governments will create new myths, okay? All right, great. All right, so that's the basic thesis, okay? So let me explain it some more, okay? So let's go back to the death of Julius Caesar, the assassination of Julius Caesar. And there were three major assassins, as I said. Decimus Brutus, Marcus Brutus, who was considered the leader, and Cassius. And they were just the leaders of a huge conspiracy that involved 67. That's about 7 % of the Roman Senate. That's a lot of people, man, right, 7 % of the Roman Senate. And each of these individuals had a different reason for wanting Caesar dead, okay? So Decimus Brutus was considered Julius Caesar's most competent general, okay? And he wanted to be acknowledged as such. ### 19:40 seg-0018 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0018` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0018](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0018) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=1180s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=1180s) So you could say that Decimus Brutus, he was driven by jealousy, or maybe thwarted ambition. Okay? He wanted to prove that he was better than Julius Caesar. So that's Decimus Brutus. Cassius is a different story. Cassius fought for Pompey the Great. And because Cassius was such a great general, Julius Caesar showed mercy to him and forgave him and made him a general, his own general, okay? So this is Caesar demonstrating his benevolence. And clemency and mercy. The problem is that in the Roman world, mercy is not considered a good thing, okay? So by showing mercy on Cassius, Cassius could have interpreted this as Caesar showing contempt for him. Caesar didn't really see him as a threat, okay? And so Cassius might have been motivated by a sense, like a desire for vengeance, right? Marcus Brutus. Now, Marcus Brutus is the most interesting person here. And actually, you know, Shakespeare wrote a play about Marcus Brutus called Julius Caesar, okay? ### 21:01 seg-0019 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0019` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0019](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0019) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=1261s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=1261s) But it was really about Marcus Brutus. It was trying to explain the psychology and motivations of why Marcus Brutus would want Caesar dead, okay? Marcus Brutus did fight for Pompey the Great. But he's also the son of Julius Caesar's son. And so he was the son of Julius Caesar's favorite mistress, favorite lover. And so Julius Caesar made a point of telling his soldiers, do not kill this guy in battle. If you see him, capture him and send him to me. And so Marcus Brutus was captured. And Julius Caesar adopted him basically as a son. And he basically fast tracked Marcus Brutus' career. And so Marcus Brutus had every reason to thank Julius Caesar, right? Right? But instead, Marcus Brutus becomes the major, the main conspirator. And in the play by Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, the argument that Shakespeare makes is, Marcus Brutus is driven by his own sense of virtue. Okay? ### 22:06 seg-0020 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0020` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0020](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0020) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=1326s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=1326s) Basically, vanity. He believes, or he's told, that he's named after Lucius Brutus, the founder of the Republic, and therefore, he has a responsibility to save the Republic from wannabe tyrants like Caesar. And that's what drives him. What Shakespeare doesn't mention, though, is what Romans believe is that Marcus Brutus is the son, the biological son, of Julius Caesar. Okay? So maybe there was that interpersonal dynamic where Marcus Brutus despised Caesar. Okay? All right, so it's a very complicated situation. But what unites everyone is that it's a feeling that Rome was changing too fast. Okay? So remember, Julius Caesar, he did what he did in order to save the Republic, to restore the Republic. And so when he had obtained power, he was making changes that were necessary, but which changed the Roman sense of themselves. Okay? So one example is he brought in senators from the provinces. And these were aristocrats who spoke perfect Latin, but ### 23:25 seg-0021 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0021` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0021](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0021) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=1405s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=1405s) because he was from the provinces, and they were foreigners, the Roman people were very upset by this. Okay? That's the first thing. Second thing is Caesar ended corruption in the provinces. And that goes against the interests of the nobility, because one way for you to become rich as a noble person is to go to the provinces and steal a lot of money. Okay? So Caesar was doing a lot of things that were good for the empire and for the Republic. And this was good for the Republic in the long term, but which hurt the interests of the senators and nobility in the short term. And this is what caused the conflict. Okay? And because Caesar was so fast and so effective in his reforms, it not only sort of disturbed the nobility, but also disturbed the people as well. Because Romans were very conservative. They were not used to all these changes happening so fast. ### 24:23 seg-0022 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0022` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0022](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0022) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=1463s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=1463s) And so this is what compelled the conspirators to act against Caesar. Okay? But this raises a very interesting question. Caesar is a genius. He's brilliant. How could he not see this coming? Right? How could he not imagine the possibility that people were conspiring against him? And the answer, okay, and this is hard for us to understand today, but it was unimaginable that they would conspire to kill Caesar in the Senate. Okay? So there are lots of taboos in Rome. One major taboo is the idea of the promerium. Okay? The promerium just means the boundary of Rome. And the idea here is that Rome, the city of Rome, the physical geographic space of Rome, it is sacred and divine. It is sacred. It is protected by the gods. And therefore, you are not allowed to bring weapons into Rome. Okay? If you're a soldier, you must come in as a private citizen. You are not allowed to come in as a soldier. ### 25:39 seg-0023 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0023` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0023](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0023) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=1539s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=1539s) You are not allowed to commit acts of violence within the promerium. Otherwise, the gods will spite you. The gods will take vengeance against you. Okay? So that's the first taboo. Second taboo is this. The Senate is considered the most sacred and divine space in the entire, in all of Rome. And so no one's allowed to bring weapons. No one's allowed to commit violence in the Senate. Okay? Also, the Senate's laws are basically the laws of the gods. The Senate declared the body of Julius Caesar to be sacrosanct. Okay? Meaning divine and sacred. You are not allowed to touch the body of Julius Caesar. Okay? The third thing is, is that everyone in the Senate was personally appointed by Julius Caesar. So everyone owed their good fortune to the generosity of Julius Caesar. Okay? Do you understand? It was just unimaginable for Julius Caesar to think that his friends could be conspiring against him. ### 26:52 seg-0024 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0024` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0024](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0024) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=1612s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=1612s) Okay? Does that make sense so far, guys? It was beyond the imagination of Julius Caesar. But if this is true, then something else is true, which is that Julius Caesar did not want to become king. Because being king was the ultimate taboo in Rome. Does that make sense? Julius Caesar could not imagine that Buddhists would kill him because he, like all Romans, believed in these taboos. And the ultimate taboo was Rome could never, should never have a king. So he himself did not want to become king. He was behaving very arrogantly. He was behaving like a king. But he would not become king himself. Because it would go against the Roman Republic. It would defy all the taboos of the Roman Republic. Okay? And also, before Caesar, there was also another dictator named Sulla. Okay? An example of Sulla is, he's a man who comes into power, kills all his enemies, and then he retires. ### 28:08 seg-0025 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0025` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0025](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0025) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=1688s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=1688s) Okay? He could become king, but he chose to not become king because to become king would mean the death of the Republic. And that's not taboo. That's a rubicon he refused to cross. Okay? So we can imagine that Caesar saw himself as a better Sulla. Okay? As a more merciful Sulla. He would not kill his enemies. He would show generosity to his enemies. And he would restore the Republic to its greatness. He would make the necessary reforms. Then he would retire and lead the Republic as it was. Okay? Okay. Does that make sense? All right. So, it was unimaginable for Caesar to think that he would be killed. And also, what's interesting is, what do you think happened to these three individuals after they killed Caesar? Right? They killed Caesar because they feared Caesar would become king. But after they killed Caesar, what they recognized is they could only kill Caesar because Caesar did not want to become king. ### 29:20 seg-0026 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0026` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0026](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0026) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=1760s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=1760s) Right? Otherwise, Caesar would surround himself with party guards. Otherwise, Caesar would not make himself available to his enemies. So, upon the death of Caesar, all his enemies, Decimus, Marcus, and Cassius, realized they were in the wrong. But not only that, but the very attitude of the people of Rome changed. Right? While Caesar was alive, the Roman people were very skeptical towards Caesar because they feared that he would become king. Right? They loved Caesar, but they were afraid that Caesar was too ambitious. But upon the death of Caesar, the Roman people felt tremendous guilt for doubting Caesar. Does that make sense? Right? Because it was their doubt that allowed the conspirators to kill Caesar. If all they did was believe in Caesar, if they believed in Caesar's myth that he was here as a man of destiny to restore the Republic, and that's all he cared about, he didn't want to become king, then Caesar would still be alive. ### 30:29 seg-0027 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0027` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0027](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0027) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=1829s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=1829s) Okay? And to compound the guilt, Caesar showered the people with generosity upon his death. Right? Okay? So, you can see how the death of Caesar creates this new reality where people now recognize Caesar did not want to become king. Right? All he wanted to do was save the Republic. And people are now, they're sort of paralyzed by their guilt. All right? So, the evidence for this is this. While Decimus Brutus was being attacked by Mark Anthony and the later Barthabian, Cassius told Marcus Brutus, hey, maybe we should come to this guy's aid. He's our ally. If he falls, they're going to come after us next. And Marcus Brutus did nothing. He refused to act. All right? And the reason why is he could not act. He killed Julius Caesar because Julius Caesar was too ambitious. But if Marcus Brutus were to move his army against Rome, then Marcus Brutus is the ambitious one. ### 31:39 seg-0028 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0028` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0028](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0028) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=1899s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=1899s) He's the one who wants to become king. Right? Therefore, Marcus Brutus and Cassius could only wait for their deaths. Because if they're the case, the belief that Caesar wanted to become king wasn't true. It couldn't be true. And therefore, they committed wrong against Rome by killing Caesar. ### 32:05 seg-0029 - Speaker: UNKNOWN - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0029` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0029](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0029) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=1925s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=1925s) Okay? ### 32:07 seg-0030 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0030` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0030](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0030) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=1927s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=1927s) Does that make sense? So, this explains his enemies. How about Mark Anthony? Okay. So, Mark Anthony had a different problem. Mark Anthony loved Caesar so much, he wanted to continue Caesar's legacy. And Mark Anthony sort of felt betrayed by Caesar when Caesar named Octavius. He wanted Octavian to be the heir and not Mark Anthony. Okay? And so, what does Mark Anthony want to do now? Well, he wants to prove that Caesar's wrong. Mark Anthony wants to prove that he is the rightful heir of Caesar. And to prove so, he will continue his legacy. Okay? So, Mark Anthony started to do things that were against his own personal self -interest and which ultimately led to his self -destruction. The first thing that he did was he marched against the Parthians. The Parthians are Rome's last great enemy. Okay? Rome destroyed Carthage. Rome destroyed the Greeks. But the Parthians still had an empire to the east of Rome. ### 33:20 seg-0031 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0031` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0031](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0031) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=2000s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=2000s) And Roman generals failed to make inroads against Parthia. And in fact, Julius Caesar, he wanted to basically end his life by invading Parthia. Okay? So, Julius Caesar's plan before his death was to attack Parthia, conquer it, then sweep back to Europe and conquer Germany. Okay? Basically conquer the whole world to prove he's better than Alexander the Great. So, Mark Anthony decides that this is how he will prove he is Caesar's rightful heir, by finishing Caesar's legacy against the Parthians. Okay? The problem is Romans are not good at war against the Parthians and the Persians. Okay? Because the Romans are infantry -focused and the Parthians and the Persians are cavalry -focused. Right? They have horses. So, Mark Anthony goes over to Parthia and he gets his ass kicked. All right? He gets his ass kicked. He's not Julius Caesar. He's not the heir to Julius Caesar. And he falls into a major depression. He basically becomes a drunk. ### 34:31 seg-0032 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0032` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0032](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0032) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=2071s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=2071s) Okay? That's his first major mistake. Second major mistake he makes is he falls in love with Cleopatra. Cleopatra is the queen of Egypt. But much more importantly, she is the mistress of Julius Caesar. In fact, rumors were that upon his retirement, Julius Caesar would bring Cleopatra to Rome and they would live happily ever after. Okay? That's the rumor. So, Mark Anthony goes over to Egypt and he becomes the lover to Cleopatra. Okay? Because he's trying to be Julius Caesar now. And this is a problem because to marry Cleopatra, he has to divorce his wife, who happens to be the sister of Octavian. Okay? So, this causes a personal rift between Octavian and Mark Anthony. And the third thing that he does, which is what causes a rift. What causes his demise is he names in his will. Okay? He names in his will that his children of Cleopatra will become the heirs to the Roman East. ### 35:47 seg-0033 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0033` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0033](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0033) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=2147s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=2147s) All the property, all that land that Mark Anthony controls will be given to his children with Cleopatra. They're foreign citizens. And also, Mark Anthony does not have the authority to give that land out to his children. Only the Senate has the authority. Okay? So, Octavian uses the will as a pretext to attack Mark Anthony. And he's heavily supported by the Roman people. Okay? So, Mark Anthony, because he's trying so hard to escape the shadow of Julius Caesar, because he's trying so hard to prove he is a legitimate heir to Julius Caesar, he basically self -destructs. He didn't have to do any of this, but he did. And by doing all this, it guarantees his destruction. Okay? So, Mark Anthony basically self -destructs. Let's look at Lepidus. Okay? Lepidus, he is an extremely effective administrator, but he is not as charismatic and as blunt as Julius Caesar. And Lepidus basically shied away. ### 36:58 seg-0034 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0034` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0034](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0034) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=2218s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=2218s) Okay? He didn't have the confidence to challenge Octavian for the ultimate power. And seeing this lack of confidence and this insecurity, his soldiers basically went off to join Octavian. Okay? And a lot of soldiers did that. A lot of soldiers that were fighting for the enemy's side would just jump ship because Octavian is the heir of Julius Caesar. Okay? He is the new Julius Caesar. And they all worship Julius Caesar. Now, let's talk about Octavian. Why did Octavian succeed so much? Again, he became partners with Marcus Agrippa, who was a much better general than him. But Octavian... Again, he was not a blunt man. He was not charismatic. He was not a great general. But he believed himself to be the heir to Julius Caesar. For whatever reason, Julius Caesar believed in him. And therefore, he had a responsibility to finish the legacy of his father, which is to restore the Roman Republic. And that meant he had to do whatever sacrifice was necessary in order to do so. ### 38:03 seg-0035 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0035` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0035](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0035) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=2283s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=2283s) Okay? So, the difference between Octavian and the others... was he acted. He wasn't very successful, but he was willing to act, whereas Marcus Brutus was not willing to act. And when you act, sometimes you will succeed. Okay? And only a few successes will allow you to become the emperor of Rome. He was driven by the fact that he believed himself to be the heir of Julius Caesar. He was a son of Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar believed in him. Therefore, he had his responsibility to... to restore the Republic. And that's why he trusted Marcus Agrippa. Okay? And that's why Marcus Agrippa trusted him. They were all fighting for the legacy of Julius Caesar. And that's why ultimately the Roman people allowed Octavian to amass so much power. Right? So, remember, the Roman people have been taught to fear kings. But, over time, Octavian was in power for 40 years. ### 39:12 seg-0036 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0036` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0036](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0036) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=2352s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=2352s) Okay? Augustus Caesar was in power for 40 years. Over time, he became even more powerful than a king. This is what he did. He amassed all powers to himself. After he conquered Egypt, he made Egypt into his own personal property. Okay? This was his private estate. He used all the money from Egypt. And again, remember, Egypt is right now, and for the longest time, the wealthiest country in the world at this time. Okay? They have so much wealth. He used his money in order to... To have his own army. Before, the Roman army was loyal to the Senate. Now, because it was Octavian himself who personally paid every soldier in the army, which is now a professional army, they're now loyal to the emperor. Okay? He took Gaul, which was, you know, which was land that Julius Caesar basically depopulated with genocide, and he gave the land to his veterans. ### 40:14 seg-0037 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0037` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0037](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0037) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=2414s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=2414s) Okay? So, basically, he made the entire army loyal to him personally. So, he now has the power of God. The Roman people allowed him to do that because they believed that, like Octavian... Sorry, like Julius Caesar, Octavian was driven by his sense of mission, his desire to save and restore the Roman Republic. But ultimately, because they believed him too much, Augustus Caesar would destroy the Republic and concentrate all power in his hands. Okay? Does that make sense? All right. Any questions? Yeah? Okay. That's a great question. Okay. So, why did Julius Caesar name Octavian as the hero and not Mark Antony? Okay. So, Octavian is the great nephew of Julius Caesar. So, Octavian was Julius Caesar's sister's grandson. Okay? And so, Octavian basically grew up with Julius Caesar. Like, they knew each other very well. But, as Echo says, Mark Antony is the man who is most loyal to Caesar. Okay? ### 41:43 seg-0038 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0038` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0038](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0038) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=2503s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=2503s) The most trusted lieutenant of Caesar. Why didn't Caesar trust him? And the answer is, Caesar, as a genius, he doesn't care about loyalty. He cares about talent. He cares about ability. And Mark Antony was a notorious hothead. He had a violent temper. He was a drunk. Okay? I mean, he just had, like, terrible, terrible personal qualities. So, an example of this is, while Caesar was off campaigning against Pompey, he put Mark Antony in charge of Rome. And all Mark Antony did was piss everyone off. He got into fights with the Senate. He was so bad that Caesar had no choice but to replace him with Lepidus. Okay? So, Mark Antony was a notorious hothead. He was emotionally unstable. He was emotionally volatile. And so, Caesar didn't really trust him. Even though Mark Antony would give his life for Caesar. Does that make sense? Okay? So, Octavian was considered much more competent, much more level -headed. And Caesar was correct in his assessment. ### 42:50 seg-0039 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0039` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0039](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0039) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=2570s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=2570s) Because Octavian was a brilliant political manipulator. Okay? Being an emperor is very hard. He was emperor for 40 years. So, he had to balance all these different political factions within Rome. Okay? So, great question, Nicco. Okay? Any more questions? Or comments? About this argument? Is it all clear? ### 43:20 seg-0040 - Speaker: SPEAKER_00 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0040` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0040](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0040) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=2600s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=2600s) Sure. Yes. That's right. Yeah. That's right. ### 44:27 seg-0041 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0041` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0041](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0041) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=2667s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=2667s) That's right. So, yeah. I mean, it was very hard to kill Caesar. Okay? So, they were in the Senate. There were 60 conspirators. Okay? They all brought knives. They hit the knives, the daggers, and the toga. Okay? They were all supposed to, like, lunge Caesar together. So, but when you... But only five senators. Five senators. Only five senators actually physically attacked Caesar. Everyone else just stood paralyzed because, as you said, it was taboo. It was the ultimate taboo to commit violence in the Senate. So, they were all paralyzed by this fear, even though they had this intense hatred of Caesar. Okay? They had, for months, imagined how they would go about killing Caesar. Okay? They had this plan meticulously. But when it came to actually acting it out, they couldn't do it. Okay? Only five actually managed to take out their daggers and stab Caesar. In fact, the first person who attacked Caesar stood behind Caesar while Caesar was making... ### 45:27 seg-0042 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0042` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0042](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0042) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=2727s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=2727s) Talking to the Senate. And he was shaking. Okay? And he only managed to, like, pinprick Caesar in the back. Okay? This is where we get the idea of backstabbing from. Okay? So, and it... And Caesar didn't really notice. He was like, hey, what are you doing, man? Okay? Caesar wasn't really hurt by this. Even Caesar, even though he was being attacked, could not imagine that anyone would be so bold enough to break all these taboos and attack him. So, I mean, it was an incredible act that forever changed Roman history. All right? It was just unimaginable that anyone could attack anyone in the Senate. Like, physically. Okay? Especially the dictator. The Julius Caesar, who was considered the king. He was considered the most truly holy and divine and sacred by the Roman people. Okay? So, it was an incredible act of violence. Okay? And the only five people actually participated in attacking him. ### 46:26 seg-0043 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0043` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0043](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0043) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=2786s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=2786s) And it took a very long time because it was so hard through much of the strength to stab Caesar. And, again, all these senators are like soldiers. Okay? They're officially very strong. They're generals. They're used to killing people. There wasn't fear of death. There was this fear of bringing this ultimate taboo of time. this woman Senate okay so thank thanks for that doc and any more questions before I finish okay so um Octavian Augustus Caesar was considered the first and the greatest emperor of the Roman Empire and like Julius Caesar him he did not consider himself the Emperor he considered himself like first citizen okay or the first man in the Senate and his responsibility was to ensure the eternal prosperity and stability of the Roman Republic and so towards towards his old age he had to consider the public sorry he had to consider the problem of succession right he was ### 47:39 seg-0044 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0044` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0044](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0044) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=2859s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=2859s) a great emperor but the second emperor had to be had to be great as well and so his solution was this his solution would be he would adopt the most competent relative that he had to be Emperor he would create this new system where emperors would be adopted okay so the best man in Rome would always be adopted into the imperial throne and Augustus Caesar had the perfect man his name was Germanicus Germanicus was very much like Julius Caesar brilliant speaker loved by his soldiers. The problem was that he was too young, okay? Germanicus was too young, so he needed a transition. And so he appointed his stepson, Tiberius, who was pretty old at this point, okay, to be the transition. Tiberius was not charismatic, he was not very popular, but he was competent. He was a competent administrator. He'd be emperor for like five to ten years, and then when Germanicus came of age, ### 48:50 seg-0045 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0045` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0045](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0045) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=2930s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=2930s) then Germanicus would inherit the throne, and he'd be a good emperor, and as a good emperor, you would then be able to find someone else who had good talent, and you would appoint him the next emperor. If you had this system, this system could go on forever, right? And so this is a good system. The problem was Tiberius, okay? Tiberius didn't like the idea that he could not appoint his successor, okay? So what did he do? Well, he killed Germanicus, but not only did he kill Germanicus, he killed basically all of Germanicus' family, okay? And not only did he kill Germanicus' family, but he killed, well, he killed a lot of people, okay? And then he adopted someone named Caligula, who was Germanicus' youngest son, to be the emperor, and Caligula was a notoriously bad emperor. Okay? So this system broke down very quickly, even though Augustus Caesar, his intention was to continue the legacy of Julius Caesar and create an eternal prosperity for the Roman Republic, okay? ### 50:11 seg-0046 - Speaker: SPEAKER_01 - Source ref: `video:predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik@transcript:v1#seg-0046` - Transcript segment: [https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0046](https://jianglens.com/episodes/predictive-history-dc54iqur7ik/transcript/#seg-0046) - Video timestamp: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=3011s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc54IquR7ik&t=3011s) And by the time you got to Tiberius, this system collapsed, and you could make the argument that Tiberius marked the death of the Roman Empire, okay? The Roman Empire would continue for another, like, 300 years. But it was basically dead, okay? Meaning that it was wracked by all these internal revolts and internal tensions, and it was only because of its size and inertia that it was able to continue for so long. So next class, we'll finish Rome by discussing the Roman legacy, okay? What is Rome's contribution to Western civilization? And this will mainly have to do with the legacy of Augustus Caesar, right? Any questions? Okay, all right, great. So we will continue, we'll finish with Rome next class, and then we'll start Egypt, okay? And Egypt will be a lot of fun.