Augustus 's Success As A Military Monarchy

The tenor of his auto-biographical account is one of propaganda. Augustus, in truth maintained power for himself yet portrays his reasoning in Res Gestae that he ruled wisely and with the consent of his people. Augustus claims he “handed over the state from [his] power to the dominion of the senate and Roman people” and “had no greater power than the others who were colleagues with me in each magistracy.” He later proclaims he is awarded by vote the moniker father of Rome. Clearly the tone is one of propaganda since it is his perception of reality, thus a biased account of the actual methods in which he gained his title, Emperor of

The Deeds of the Divine Augustus By Augustus can answer all sorts of questions regarding how Augustus portrays himself. Augustus views himself almost as the greatest among men. After the Julius Creaser was declared a deity he demanded that he be called creaser and saw himself as “Divi filius” or “the son of the divine”. Almost like he was trying to use godliness of the former emperor to ensure to be viewed more highly or even be considered a deity himself. Upon Augustus’s death, Augustus left behind three scrolls. One of which scrolls instructed to have all of his accomplishments on a list, to be inscribed upon tablets made out of bronze and to be placed in front of the entry to his mausoleum. This inclines that he wants to be remembered for

In the early first century AD, the Roman Empire was subject to autocratic rule and the old Republic was long dead. Augustus had been ruling for forty years and most of that time he was loved and praised by the Senate and the people of Rome. Throughout his reign, Augustus had the one lingering problem of finding a successor to take over the role of Emperor. He had chosen 3 different heirs in his time of rule; however, they all passed before they had the chance to inherit Augustus’ esteemed power. His fourth choice, Tiberius, was the one to succeed Augustus. He was often referred to, by Augustus, as an outstanding general and the only one capable of defending Rome against her enemies. The statement, ‘Tiberius is condemned by many ancient

In “The Deeds of the Divine Augustus” Augustus portrays Rome as a dignified cut above the rest. In this reading, we learn about the ruling of Augustus and how he feels entirely responsible for all the successes of Rome. I believe that this writing is not a display of the “real Rome” but rather a depiction of its author. Throughout “The Deeds of the Divine Augustus” Augustus repeatedly refers to himself in the text and how all these successes are a result of his leadership. An example of this is when Augustus states, “In my nineteenth year, on my own initiative and at my own expense, I raised an army with which I set free the state, which was oppressed by the domination of a faction.” There are

Everyone knows of Augustus Caesar, the first Roman emperor. There is a whole month named after him. Augustus was a great leader favored by the people and by neighboring countries. But most people don’t know that he also banished his daughter and granddaughter, that his potential heirs kept mysteriously dying, and that he was extremely egotistical. Even though he expanded his empire more than any other leader had before and reformed the entire government of Rome, he still had many pitfalls that kept him from being a perfect leader.

Augustus and his successors built a system of imperial government to administer the empire’s vast territories and link them to the capital. This system, which allowed the provinces some measure of independence while being subject to Roman taxation and military control—functions crucial for the maintenance of the empire—proved quite efficient. Augustus settled former soldiers in the provinces, thus spreading Roman political and cultural influence and securing his power in distant lands. In addition the Senate was okay with their emperor spreading his influence in the second century AD at least half of the Senate members were non-romans.The period of peace and prosperity inaugurated by Augustus persisted until the end of the second century, the

He preserved all of the traditional offices while slowly taking many of the offices for him self. He was both consul and tribune. Commander and chief of the military and the senate also gave him direct control of many provinces, these provinces supplied men for his armies and food for them also, not to the senate. Augustus knew the importance of religion in roman society, he then named himself pontifex maximus which means supreme priest. He encourages the construction of temples dedicated to Rome and Augustus. None of these innovations in his ruling method altered the Roman constitution. The laws he did change however were the laws of the provinces of Rome which made them more romanized, so Augustus could be open about his actions so the senate would not bring him down and be with him. The Romans had a strong sense of there traditions and were fascinated by there history they loved when they could point out how the gods operated in there empire and allowed them much conquest of the western world. Before Augustus it looked for the romans as if the gods had left them, for they killed each other in revolutions and civil wars. Augustus’s many military victories and expansion of the empire through land and a political sense, show that the gods where on his side. He glorified Rome by hiring painters, sculptures, architects, and painters to design and build beautiful structures. He has paved the way for future Roman emperors to come.

One of the sympathetic sources towards Augustus was, Suetonius, who thought Augustus was a great leader and honorable man in his position as emperor. According to Mellor in, “Augustus and the Creation of the Roman Empire," Document 14 explains how Suetonius was a biographer for Augustus and a Roman historical writer, that was much different from the “subjective judgments” taken from Tacticus. In Mellor, Document 14, Suetonius says, “… (Augustus) he would not allow himself to be called “Sire” even by his children or his grandchildren either in jest or earnest and he forbade them to use such flattering terms even among themselves" (Mellor 92). An example of Augustus’ modesty and relationship with his own family and his respect for his commoners. Suetonius gives us the impression that Augustus is a religious man of the people, who wants unity for his countrymen and divinity for himself. Suetonius relays the message of "his expression," and

When Augustus conquered new territory he did so with mercy to the citizens of the area he was invading. Whether the area was already under the Roman Empire, or a new territory, the citizens who wished to be pardoned were spared. In return for their cooperation, the Roman Empire supported the elites and aristocrats of new territory, and the areas were allowed to remain mostly autonomous. Augustus fostered loyalty from these territories by offering citizenship to compliant officials who remained loyal to the Roman Empire. With the expansion of the empire came wealth and stability for Rome. The wealth gained through spoils of war were used to give bonuses to soldiers of the Roman army; by maintaining a stable army Augustus could continue expanding the empire and putting down revolts within the empire. Along with this, Augustus encouraged client kingdoms over provinces to minimize the necessity for military implementation. Augustus instead prioritized using roman military forces in the conquering of Spain and Gaul. This strategic economic and military mindset is what allowed Augustus to add more territory than

To change an empire from a Republic to a Monarchy, is in itself a great achievement, but to be that one man that successfully changes the way of old to the original form of state is an amazing fete. The will to achieve this, and the desire must be great and you must truly be remarkable, although in saying that, having your forefathers pave the way, assist in reaching that goal. This is what Augustus achieved, he became greatest man in Rome, the highest achievement one might endeavour, outdoing his forefathers. He played the game of Roman politics against some of the greatest minds, brilliantly and shaped what is now known as the “Great Roman Empire”.

     Two problems facing the late Roman Empire was the instability and non unification caused by inner family civil wars. Rome's rapid expansion, after the Punic Wars, resulted in changes that permanently divided the state. Both Aristocrats and Plebeians wanted total control of Rome and tried to destroy each other. Civil war was the the only way to solve problems in politics. Consequently, the power of the military became strong. Control of Rome's armies changed from the government to the generals because the soldiers began to listen to their generals rather than to the Government. On dismissal from military service, the soldiers had no farms to return to, and they

He had now reached a state of political perfection. A state he arguably and narcissistically deemed necessary to establish a Rome of greater equality, efficiency and profitability, a state in which he could covertly dictate. The Principate was made a permanent establishment; his rule would only end in death. Changes were still required, past mistakes must be corrected, time was poor. His mission was nearing completion. Rome was now under the autocratic rule of Augustus, the senate and the people were none the wiser. The republic was far from restored, the republic could not be restored, the republic was flawed. The people and the senate must not know.

To reassure Roman Citizens that prosperity was evident Augustus set about reconstructing the city of Rome. Coins from the period (http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=443) illustrate the ‘health of the republic’ which was an essential part in reinforcing the feelings of stability that the Augustus wanted his people to encompass. The use of propaganda was also in an attempt to bolster his power. The reconstruction of the city involved creating essential services such as roads and aqueducts and also glorified Augustus and set in stone his achievements.

On the 23rd of September 63BC a baby boy was born. Little did his family know that this amazing child was going to be one of the greatest politicians in Rome, he was also going to touch the lives of many Roman Citizens and to be remembered by thousands of people many years after his death. He was to rule an empire that stretched from Spain to Judea. Turn the Mediterranean Sea into a peaceful Roman Lake and was eventually to be worshipped as a god. The future Emperor of Rome was called Gaius Julius Octavious, whom we all know now as Augustus.

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.