The OG empire builder who couldn't pick a successor—daddy issues, but make it ancient Rome.
Augustus is reputed to have been a violent, adventurous, power-hungry and unscrupulous warlord. Yet as founder of the Roman Empire, he ushered in a period of peace and prosperity. Drawing on the analysis of several historians, this documentary traces an extraordinary destiny: posthumously adopted by his great-uncle Julius Caesar, Octavian, the future Augustus, accepted an inheritance fraught with consequences. Having made his own empire prosper, he wrote his political will at the age of 76, without naming an heir. How was the succession of this childless strategist organized?
Production
Juicy reenactments that walk the line between prestige TV and History Channel cheese.
Writing
Historians serving spicy takes on 2,000-year-old power moves.
Director
Stefan Ludwig
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The title's 'Liebe, Macht und Schwert' (Love, Power and Sword) structure mirrors German tabloid conventions—suggesting the filmmakers wanted to lure soap opera fans into accidental education.
Johanna Egger playing Livia continues a long tradition of casting attractive actors as figures whose actual appearance went unrecorded—ancient history's revenge on the male gaze, perhaps.
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