Page:General History of Europe 1921.djvu/216

 152 General History of Europe representing the West and the East, had once faced each other on a battlefield in Greece ( 236), so now Octavian and Antony, the leaders of the West and the East, met at Actium on the west coast of Greece. The outcome was a sweeping victory for the heir of Caesar (31 B.C.). The next year Octavian landed in Egypt. Antony, probably forsaken by Cleopatra, took his own life. The proud queen, un- willing to be displayed at Octavian's triumph at Rome, died by her own hand. She was the last of the Ptolemies ( 165), the rulers of Egypt for nearly three hundred years. Octavian therefore made Egypt Roman territory (30 B.C.). To the West, which he already controlled, Octavian had now added also the East. Thus he had restored the unity of Roman dominions. The entire Mediterranean world was under the power of a single ruler. 242. Summary. The struggle between the rich and the poor, which resulted in violence under the Gracchus brothers after 133 B.C., was accompanied by the rise of military leaders, who gained great power and wealth in the newly conquered posses- sions. They strove to control the State in defiance of the laws. Years of civil war between the leaders of the people and the Senate resulted in the overthrow of the Republic (about 30 B.C.). Octa- vian's success marked the final triumph of one-man power in the entire ancient world, as it had long ago triumphed in the Orient. The century of strife which Octavian's victory ended was now followed by two centuries of peace. These were the first two centuries of the Roman Empire, beginning in 30 B.C. QUESTIONS I. Describe the aims and fate of the Gracchi. Describe the con- test between Marius and Sulla. What was Sulla's policy after the death of Marius ? II. Describe the career of Pompey. How did Julius Caesar prepare the way for his dictatorship? Trace the struggle between Caesar and Pompey. How did Caesar complete the conquest of the Mediterranean world ? What were his reforms and plans ? III. How did Caesar Augustus make himself head of Rome?