Augustus Caesar : The Enduring Legacy Of Augustus

The age of the Pax Romana is a substantial element in Roman history that will never be forgotten, being that it has affected many generations for over 200 years and is still important today. The Pax Romana is defined as the period in which the Roman Empire was enclosed with relative peacefulness and cultural achievement. A critical factor of the Pax Romana is acknowledging the man that started it all: Augustus Caesar.

“I love the name of honor, more than I fear death,” a quote said by one of the most famous Roman leaders named Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar was born in July 100 BC and he died on March 15, 44B.C. Caesar was a general, politician, and a dictator. Caesar was loved by many people for guiding them and providing safety for them, but he was also hated by a countless number of people. That hate ended up in him being murdered. He gave Rome hope for a better future and a promise of new land, jobs, and wealth. Caesar accomplished many things for his country like win many victories, developed the Julian calendar, and redistributed land to the poor. He used many different tactics and strategies to win his wars. Through brilliant military tactics, Julius Caesar, ruler of Rome from 49 B.C. to 44 B.C., guided the people of Italy and Rome to achieve many victories, allowing him to become a powerful ruler, hero, and inspiration and leaving a legacy that still shapes the world today.

Augustus was one of the main leaders during Pax Romana. His Rule was from 27 BC to 28 AD. He was one of the most important rulers in history because he helped to expand border and make peace for Rome. The Roman Empire was described as an autocratic government.

The Pax Romana was characterized by political stability, an increase of commerce, as well as cultural diffusion. Augustus was the emperor during this period, he got rid of the declining Senate and introduced the Principate; allowing an effective bureaucratic government to be introduced to Rome. Overtime Rome also granted the conquered populations the opportunity to become citizens. With the help of Rome’s technical innovations like roads, concretes, and arches the amount of trade that went on increased drastically. With military posts on these roads people felt safe traveling to other regions to trade. Because of this Rome’s culture and religion was able to diffuse, especially to the west. All these things were able to create a period of prosperity in Rome.

As well as the Roman Army and the Roman roads, the Pax Romana was another factor that led to the empire’s great success. Pax Romana, Latin for “Roman Peace”, was the peace established by the Romans in their empire, where the inhabitants benefitted from the law and order that was enforced by the Romans, and no more land was to be conquered. The Pax Romana was one of the most stable periods of the empire. This brought relative civilisation across the empire and kept the peasants happy, which was essential to keeping the empire under control.

During the reign of Augustus in 27 BC, progressive political ideologies were instituted that allowed the Roman Empire to last for centuries.  Augustus’s period of power was known as the “Pax Romana” and it was a time of peace and expansion into Egypt, Dalmatia, Pannonia, Noricum, Raetia, Africa, Germania and Hispania. Augustus strengthened the political organization of Rome through law and tax reform, protected borders and initiated building projects such as the Colosseum (Emmons, “Roman Empire”).  Additionally, Augustus created networks of roads, police, fire, and courier systems, and a standing army.  The relative freedom from conflict for such a lengthy period of time allowed Rome to prosper culturally, economically, and architecturally.

Augustus came into sole power after defeating Marc Antony and Cleopatra in the Battle of Actium. He exclaims that he wants to “retain the form but change the substance,” of the republic government. Some historians debate whether he was a power-hungry dictator or if he in fact had plans to work towards empowering and expanding the Roman empire. During his reign, he makes it so that he is the sole leader of Rome, and essentially assuming the role of an emperor but not technically an “emperor.” He removes the law that places a ten year waiting period between running for consul again, which we then see this lead to the senate giving him judicial power. For this reason, some people feel as though he was working for his personal ambition to achieve complete control.

In the late 1st century BC, the Republic of Rome was turning into a disaster, prone to greed, fighting over classes, powers, etc. There were many issues, the Republic was almost always in a crisis and this turned into many civil wars. Even though the idea of a republic is a good idea, no one knows how to deal with power or someone usually generals took to much power. Augustus was a great ruler because the republic was only

Pax Romana is Latin for Roman peace. The Pax Romana lasted approaching two centuries beginning toward the end of the BC period and extending almost halfway into the second century AD. For the Roman Empire, this was a period of peace and saw little military action or expansion. Caesar Augustus, previously known as Julius Caesar commenced the Pax Romana after Rome was no longer considered a republic and the civil wars within Rome ceased. Yet another event that marks the commencement of Pax Romana was the defeat of Marc Antony by Octavian Augustus at the famous battle of Actium. The Pax Romana, like any form of social change, was not immediate, but a feat that was accomplished over time. While there may have been peace in Rome, battles continued in the Alps and areas that are now known as Spain. There were many benefits to the Pax Romana and the paper puts focus on those, which are economic. The paper also references Plutarch, a prominent figure during this period, indicating a relationship between the Pax Romana and social mobility.

Along with Augustus’s military skills, he was politically and economically successful. Augustus is a better leader due to his great amount of political and economic success, like the civil service, the new currency and free trade, reorganization of the government, and he was a true statesman. First off, Augustus reorganized the government, and made it more honest. Augustus was able to maintain an honest government after the war. He was able to develop an efficient postal service, and established colonies. (6). This demonstrates that

Caesar Augustus’ life before he was emperor was just as filled with achievements and failings as it was after. Caesar Augustus at the age of 18 joined his uncle, Julius Caesar to a trip to Spain after his uncle’s triumph where he named Caesar Augustus his heir and adopted him as a son (Bunson, 1994, p. 45). He went to Greece to study philosophy, the arts of war and military training but came back shortly because Julius Caesar died in an assassination, and he became a senator (Bunson, 1994, p. 45). After his uncle’s death, he defeated Marc Antony in 43 B.C. and his troops wanted him the rank and power of the consul even being under aged, which he got (Bunson, 1994, p. 45). At 19 Caesar Augustus accepted the role as the heir of Julius Caesar (Nardo, 2003, p. 41) and changed his name to Augustus in 27 B.C. He made a 2nd triumvirate with Marcus Lepidus and for political reasons, he married Scribonia but divorced soon after and married Livia Drusilla (Bunson, 1994, p.

Julius Caesar's reign was an unfavorable and chaotic period for Rome, and after his death, a large portion of the empire was handed down to his adopted son, Gaius Octavian. From the ashes of his father, Octavian was able to build an Empire unparalleled. Later, the name Augustus was given to him by Senate. Augustus ostensibly maintained the form of the Roman Republic while in actuality creating the Roman Empire. He introduced the administrative reforms that led to the Pax Romana with its flourishing of trade and the arts. Although Augustus's ascension to power could have not been without it bequested by Julius, it was his use of art and propaganda that reinforced the legitimacy his position.

to break free, Antony lost the battle but he and Cleopatra managed to flee the battle early

In ancient history there have been many great leaders who had saved the Roman Empire from destruction and demise. The leaders and heroes of the Roman Empire are countless, but one leader stands out from all the rest. Augustus Caesar’s contributions to Roman history helped make Rome the dominant empire we know of today. Augustus Caesar was without a question the greatest political leader in the history of the Roman Empire.

Julius Caesar was a Roman statesman who lost it all to foolishly becoming a dictator with king like qualities. Caesars great-nephew, Augustus (then Gaius Julius Caesar) inherited through his late great-uncle, a civil-war torn, distressed country. Throughout the next 40 years from the beginning of Augustus’ reign in 27 BCE to his death in 14 AD, he transformed Rome into a place of great peace. Peace in Rome lasted from 27 BCE to 180 AD, long after Augustus’ death because of the development of the Principate, the reconstruction and social reform of Rome and the Pax Romana. Augustus’ Empire was undoubtedly the most important Empire in Roman history and the peace Augustus created was his greatest achievement during his reign.