Trey Counterman
Professor Baldwin
3/22/15
Fascinating Rulers of the Roman Empire and Early Middle Ages Throughout the Roman Empire and Early Middle Ages countless rulers existed who have captivated the interest of many historians. These compelling leaders led the way to change and progress with new building reforms and art that is still acknowledged as revolutionary today. Three of the fascinating rulers who captivated the interests of historians are Augustus, Nero, and Justinian. During each of their reigns, these rulers inspired new law codes, economic reforms, artistic innovations, and religious reform. While each ruler possessed unique skills and beliefs, each emperor had similarities in how they came to power. Art flourished and building forms renovated the various cities in The Roman Empire and Early Middle East under the reign of Augustus, Nero, and Justinian.
The first emperor of Rome was Augustus. Augustus came to power after the assassination of his adopted father, Julius Caesar, who was in actuality, his great-uncle. He possessed political skills, and was a master of propaganda. His main goal was to restore the Roman Republic and avoid any traps set by monarchy (The West: A Narrative History pg. 157). During his reign, art and agriculture flourished. Augustus incorporated law codes which restored peace to the area. Augustus put in place the Julian Laws. The intentions of the Julian Laws were to make an attempt to increase the population and
In 27 BCE, Octavian appointed himself as the first Roman Emperor. After being a republic for approximately 700 years, Rome was now an empire. The Roman Empire grew to be one of the greatest empires in history, conquering the majority of Europe, the Asia Minor, and much of North Africa. Rome went through a time of peace called Pax Roma. During Pax Roma many contributions were made such as arts and architecture. The Roman Empire declined because of its weakened military. The military began to weaken due to laziness, the land was easy to invade, and there we many different leaders throughout the empire.
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.
Rome was a very large and powerful city by the first BC but the reign of Augustus transformed it into an imperial city. In 31 BCE, Augustus became the supreme commander of the Roman Republic. During the Augustan Revolution, art and architecture pushed a political agenda. Art portraying Augustus remains common throughout his reign. The art and architecture helped reinforce Augustus’ political message that he was the restorer of Rome.
In the year 63 B.C Augustus became the first emperor of Rome, after the assassination of his adoptive father Julius Caesar in 44 B.C. Augustus raised an army at the age of 19 to overthrow the tyrant leader Mark Antony, whom gained power of Rome after the assassination of Julius Caesar. After overthrowing the tyrannical system, Augustus liberated his father, and was offered dictatorship by the people of Rome. Augustus rejected the title of dictator on more than one occasion; he instead titled himself princeps civitatis: the first among citizens. In his reign Augustus completed many building projects, including the repair and rebuilding of aqueducts, roads, and sewers that had been neglected over time. The expansion of the Roman Empire under Augustus was extensive, stretching from Egypt to Spain including
Nero, who took the throne after his mother poisoned Claudius, the current emperor, ruled from 54 to 68 AD. At first, Nero was the picture-perfect emperor. He lowered taxes, allowed more freedom to the Senate, granted permission to slaves who wanted to sue their unfair owners, and rid Rome of capital punishment. Eventually, Nero
During the times of the Roman Empire many emperors came to power, however, there were not only emperors who helped Rome, but there were some who hurt it instead. After the death of Julius Caesar, Octavian, soon to be known as Augustus Caesar, came to power and was the first of many successful emperors. Augustus along with Vespasian, Titus, Trajan, and Hadrian were many of the emperors that helped the Roman Empire grow and prosper as a whole. However, there were also some emperors who hurt or degraded Rome, such as, Nero, Domitian, and Commodus. As a result of these many emperors and their ways of ruling, Rome’s Senate began to grow weaker and weaker until it was no longer in existence.
Augustus was the first Roman emperor. His actually name is Octavian. The last emperor of Rome is Romulus Augustulus.
Augustus was born Gaius Octavius Thurinus, the Roman senate, in the year 27 BC, bestowed upon him the name Augustus the exalted one. His reforms of the Roman government were crucial. Under Augustus,the new emperor, it was important to establish border security. He made adjustments between inherited traditions and a changed economic, political and social reality.
Another ruler that piqued my interest happens to be Khafre. Although I don't know very much about any art that was dedicated directly to him, other than paintings in his tomb. The Great Sphinx was erected to symbolize the death of Khafre. As well as a pyramid. To preserve his legacy, as well as his body and anything directly related to him!
Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian hereinafter referred to “Augustus”, was given the title of imperium by age of 19, to gain this, he amassed a private army and marched on the Senate in Revenge for his adopted father’s murder. Augustus developed a peaceful and cultural Ancient Rome . In contrast, both Caesar and Sulla before him, were appointed to dictator under the Lex Valeria (Valerian law) , both had ultimate goals of monarchy, but where Caesar, used the people to ascertain if this would be accepted , Sulla ruled with an iron fist.
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.
Rome had seen many leaders step up to the plate in order to rule over Rome with absolute power. There were many who only wanted to exercise their power over the people, those who only wanted the army’s strength, and those who only wanted to advance the senate and laws than help the people or watch the army. However, there were a few emperors who were able to rise above these issues and bring about a seemingly peaceful time in Rome. I have chosen the three, in my opinion, best emperors of Rome, who were able to take command of Rome and make a huge impact. The three emperors that I chose were Sulla, Julius Caesar, and last but not least Augustus.
The Great Roman spent more than 20 years in driving the Vandals, Huns, and Franks from Italy and North Africa. He restored most of the empire to Roman control. Of more lasting importance was his 'Corpus Juris Civilis' a legal code that became the foundation of law in most western European countries. Justinian the Great Roman is the best emperor because of how he grew up, what he accomplished, and what he influenced after his death in 15 November 565 .
Nero initially copied Augustus ' reign- treating the senate respectfully, granting more freedoms, using legislation almost solely to maintain and improve public order, e.g. Banning public
Gaius Octavius, better known to historians as Augustus, succeeded his great uncle Julius Caesar following his assassination. In his wake, Augustus would become the first Emperor of the newly formed Roman Empire and bring massive, sweeping revisions to Roman law as well as centralize the government, military and economic currency of the Empire. He also reemphasized the importance of art, music and literature in Roman culture, bringing about a new era of historically important artists, poets, sculptors, scribes and philosophers. While the beginnings