<P> Two days after the assassination , Mark Antony summoned the senate and managed to work out a compromise in which the assassins would not be punished for their acts , but all of Caesar 's appointments would remain valid . By doing this , Antony most likely hoped to avoid large cracks in government forming as a result of Caesar 's death . Simultaneously , Antony diminished the goals of the conspirators . The result unforeseen by the assassins was that Caesar 's death precipitated the end of the Roman Republic . The Roman lower classes , with whom Caesar was popular , became enraged that a small group of aristocrats had sacrificed Caesar . Antony , who had been drifting apart from Caesar , capitalised on the grief of the Roman mob and threatened to unleash them on the Optimates , perhaps with the intent of taking control of Rome himself . But , to his surprise and chagrin , Caesar had named his grandnephew Gaius Octavius his sole heir , bequeathing him the immensely potent Caesar name as well as making him one of the wealthiest citizens in the Republic . Upon hearing of his adopted father 's death , Octavius abandoned his studies in Apollonia and sailed across the Adriatic Sea to Brundisium . Octavius became Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus or Octavian , the son of the great Caesar , and consequently also inherited the loyalty of much of the Roman populace . Octavian , aged only 18 at the time of Caesar 's death , proved to have considerable political skills , and while Antony dealt with Decimus Brutus in the first round of the new civil wars , Octavian consolidated his tenuous position . Antony did not initially consider Octavius a true political threat due to his young age and inexperience , but Octavius quickly gained the support and admiration of Caesar 's friends and supporters . </P>
<P> Two days after the assassination , Mark Antony summoned the senate and managed to work out a compromise in which the assassins would not be punished for their acts , but all of Caesar 's appointments would remain valid . By doing this , Antony most likely hoped to avoid large cracks in government forming as a result of Caesar 's death . Simultaneously , Antony diminished the goals of the conspirators . The result unforeseen by the assassins was that Caesar 's death precipitated the end of the Roman Republic . The Roman lower classes , with whom Caesar was popular , became enraged that a small group of aristocrats had sacrificed Caesar . Antony , who had been drifting apart from Caesar , capitalised on the grief of the Roman mob and threatened to unleash them on the Optimates , perhaps with the intent of taking control of Rome himself . But , to his surprise and chagrin , Caesar had named his grandnephew Gaius Octavius his sole heir , bequeathing him the immensely potent Caesar name as well as making him one of the wealthiest citizens in the Republic . Upon hearing of his adopted father 's death , Octavius abandoned his studies in Apollonia and sailed across the Adriatic Sea to Brundisium . Octavius became Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus or Octavian , the son of the great Caesar , and consequently also inherited the loyalty of much of the Roman populace . Octavian , aged only 18 at the time of Caesar 's death , proved to have considerable political skills , and while Antony dealt with Decimus Brutus in the first round of the new civil wars , Octavian consolidated his tenuous position . Antony did not initially consider Octavius a true political threat due to his young age and inexperience , but Octavius quickly gained the support and admiration of Caesar 's friends and supporters . </P>
who was named sole heir after caesar 's assassination
who was named sole heir after caesar 's assassination
his grandnephew Gaius Octavius
his grandnephew Gaius Octavius