The Roman Empire was the phase of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by an autocratic form of government. It succeeded the 500 year-old Roman Republic (510 BC - 1st century BC), which had been weakened by the conflict between Gaius Marius and Sulla and the civil war of Julius Caesar against Pompey and Marcus Brutus.[3] Several dates are commonly proposed to mark the transition from Republic to Empire, including the date of Julius Caesar's appointment as perpetual dictator (44 BC), the victory of Caesar's heir Octavian at the Battle of Actium (September 2, 31 BC), and the Roman Senate's granting to Octavian the honorific Augustus. (January 16, 27 BC).[4] The timeline starts from Julius Caesar's appointment as dictator for life (44 BC), and goes to the end of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty (69 AD).