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Augustus Caesar: The Greatest Ruler in the Ancient World Essay

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In the ancient world, some men were born into greatness while others dedicated their life to becoming great. Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar was part of the latter due to his achievements that set the foundation for an empire devastated by civil war. Despite the turmoil of the Roman Empire after the assassination of his adoptive father, Julius Caesar, he led Rome to social, political and economic prosperity and stability. His military tactics marked the beginning of a dynasty that saw a massive expansion of the Roman Empire. Thus, Augustus Caesar’s contributions to the Roman Empire mark him as the most influential ruler of the ancient world specifically due to the success of his social reforms, military expansions, and political innovations …show more content…

In fact, Augustus was so adamant on restoring the Roman religious values that he created a massive system of roads throughout the empire to not only facilitate trade but also to help spread his social and moral reforms throughout his entire Empire. Therefore, Augustus’ impeccable drive to restore the Roman society through rebuilding monuments, encouraging the influence of Roman art and culture as well as the revival of traditional Roman morals and religious values brought social stability to a nation devastated with chaos for the past century. This was the basis for the Pax Romana (Roman Peace) – a period of 200 years of Roman peace and prosperity[5] - initiated by Augustus thus making him undoubtedly one of the greatest men of the ancient world. Militarily, Augustus’ reign saw the introduction of various military reforms that introduced benefits for the soldiers, a permanent standing army, the Praetorian Guard and most importantly, a massive expansion of Roman territory. Although Augustus was not considered a great conqueror like his adoptive father, Julius Caesar, it was Augustus’ tactical planning that allowed him to expand the empire. For instance, he introduced various benefits for the Roman army

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