Securing the approval of the population would have been a particularly significant requirement for Augustus because the concept of a man ruling alone was a notion that opposed the longstanding political belief that it was dangerous for one man to have the opportunity to obtain too much power. [183], Conquering the peoples of the Alps in 16 BC was another important victory for Rome, since it provided a large territorial buffer between the Roman citizens of Italy and Rome's enemies in Germania to the north. Augustus was an administrative genius who brought consistent taxation and implemented many … [188] Before the final fight with Antony, Octavian's campaigns against the tribes in Dalmatia were the first step in expanding Roman dominions to the Danube. [244], The measures of taxation in the reign of Augustus were determined by population census, with fixed quotas for each province. [4] Despite his success, Gallus incurs Augustus' displeasure by erecting monuments to himself and is recalled to Rome, tried by the Senate and convicted of various unspecified charges and banished. He chases an army of Bastarnae, which was raiding a Roman allied tribe, back over the Haemus (Balkan) mountains but fails to bring them to battle. Antony traveled east to Egypt where he allied himself with Queen Cleopatra VII, the former lover of Julius Caesar and mother of Caesar's infant son Caesarion. Octavius mentions his father's equestrian family only briefly in his memoirs. Blackburn, Bonnie and Holford-Strevens, Leofranc. [266] Among the best known of many surviving portraits are the Augustus of Prima Porta, the image on the Ara Pacis, and the Via Labicana Augustus, which shows him as a priest. [30] Mark Antony later charged that Octavian had earned his adoption by Caesar through sexual favours, though Suetonius describes Antony's accusation as political slander. [6], LOWER DANUBE: The proconsul of Macedonia, M. Licinius Crassus, grandson of Crassus the triumvir, launches the conquest of Moesia. "[265] The early images did indeed depict a young man, but although there were gradual changes his images remained youthful until he died in his seventies, by which time they had "a distanced air of ageless majesty". The result of these wars was a major expansion of the empire that Augustus inherited from the Roman Republic, although the attempted conq… Some of them were powerful enough to influence the number of votes for men running for offices in Rome. [[12]] This enabled him to override the imperium of any provincial governor and potentially have military authority in any province; however, Augustus … Octavian's aims from this point forward were to return Rome to a state of stability, traditional legality, and civility by lifting the overt political pressure imposed on the courts of law and ensuring free elections—in name at least.[120]. He also awarded the title "Queen of Kings" to Cleopatra, acts that Octavian used to convince the Roman Senate that Antony had ambitions to diminish the preeminence of Rome. [115], After Actium and the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra, Octavian was in a position to rule the entire Republic under an unofficial principate[116]—but he had to achieve this through incremental power gains. The Roman world was largely free from large-scale conflict for more than two centuries, despite continuous wars of imperial expansion on the Empire's frontiers and the year-long civil war known as the "Year of the Four Emperors" over the imperial succession. Both consuls were killed, however, leaving Octavian in sole command of their armies. In the year 29 BC, Augustus gave 400 sesterces (equal to 1/10 of a Roman pound of gold) each to 250,000 citizens, 1,000 sesterces each to 120,000 veterans in the colonies, and spent 700 million sesterces in purchasing land for his soldiers to settle upon. During the summer, he managed to win support from Caesarian sympathizers and also made common with the Optimates, the former enemies of Caesar, who saw him as the lesser evil and hoped to manipulate him. Mark Antony had lost the support of many Romans and supporters of Caesar when he initially opposed the motion to elevate Caesar to divine status. [91], Octavian and Lepidus launched a joint operation against Sextus in Sicily in 36 BC. [1][2] The reign of Augustus initiated an era of relative peace known as the Pax Romana. [218][224], Many consider Augustus to be Rome's greatest emperor; his policies certainly extended the Empire's life span and initiated the celebrated Pax Romana or Pax Augusta. Under his consulship, however, the Senate had little power in initiating legislation by introducing bills for senatorial debate. Lepidus was left with the province of Africa, stymied by Antony, who conceded Hispania to Octavian instead. [190] However, Maria Brosius explains that Augustus used the return of the standards as propaganda symbolizing the submission of Parthia to Rome. [203] Augustus also showed favor to his stepsons, Livia's children from her first marriage Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus (henceforth referred to as Drusus) and Tiberius Claudius (henceforth Tiberius), granting them military commands and public office, though seeming to favor Drusus. [126][127], While Octavian acted as consul in Rome, he dispatched senators to the provinces under his command as his representatives to manage provincial affairs and ensure that his orders were carried out. He first appeared on coins at the age of 19, and from about 29 BC "the explosion in the number of Augustan portraits attests a concerted propaganda campaign aimed at dominating all aspects of civil, religious, economic and military life with Augustus's person. Fearing another civil war, Augustus steered clear of naming himself as dictator or sole leader; instead, he took upon himself the role of consul or tribune. [179], Augustus chose Imperator ("victorious commander") to be his first name, since he wanted to make an emphatically clear connection between himself and the notion of victory, and consequently became known as Imperator Caesar Divi Filius Augustus. [146] Although Augustus had resigned as consul, he desired to retain his consular imperium not just in his provinces but throughout the empire. [146], This power allowed him to convene the Senate and people at will and lay business before them, to veto the actions of either the Assembly or the Senate, to preside over elections, and to speak first at any meeting. [223] Historians are able to analyze excerpts of letters penned by Augustus, preserved in other works, to others for additional facts or clues about his personal life. The expedition consists of 10,000 troops including allies, and 130 freight-ships. [155] Although Primus was found guilty, some jurors voted to acquit, meaning that not everybody believed Augustus's testimony, an insult to the 'August One'. His illness of early 23 BC and the Caepio conspiracy showed that the regime's existence hung by the thin thread of the life of one man, Augustus himself, who suffered from several severe and dangerous illnesses throughout his life. Augustus also placed significant importance on the bond of marriage. Marcellus Augustus Stovall (September 18, 1818 – August 4, 1895) was an American soldier and merchant. [152] Later, Primus testified that the orders came from the recently deceased Marcellus. Rome’s first civil war stemmed from a ruthless power struggle between the politician-generals Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Sulla. This was a period of 45 years when almost every year saw major campaigning, in some cases on a scale comparable to the Second Punic War (218–201 BC), when Roman manpower resources were stretched to the limit. [109], Antony's fleet sailed through the bay of Actium on the western coast of Greece in a desperate attempt to break free of the naval blockade. [220] Copies of the text were inscribed throughout the Empire upon his death. As a child, Augustus presumably saw little to none of his famous great-uncle, who was out invading Gaul. His biographer Suetonius, writing about a century after Augustus's death, described his appearance as: "... unusually handsome and exceedingly graceful at all periods of his life, though he cared nothing for personal adornment. [241] The 3rd-century historian Cassius Dio acknowledged Augustus as a benign, moderate ruler, yet like most other historians after the death of Augustus, Dio viewed Augustus as an autocrat. [187], Yet arguably his greatest diplomatic achievement was negotiating with Phraates IV of Parthia (37–2 BC) in 20 BC for the return of the battle standards lost by Crassus in the Battle of Carrhae, a symbolic victory and great boost of morale for Rome. Gallus was counting on the assistance of the Nabataean Arabs of NW Arabia, whose king Obodas was a Roman ally and contributed 1,000 warriors under his chief secretary, Syllabus. In fact, he dated his 'reign' from the completion of the Second Settlement, 1 July 23 BC. [98] In 36 BC, Octavian used a political ploy to make himself look less autocratic and Antony more the villain by proclaiming that the civil wars were coming to an end, and that he would step down as triumvir—if only Antony would do the same. Of the many factors which led to the civil wars, two are of crucial importance for understanding his career. [152] Even worse, the involvement of Marcellus provided some measure of proof that Augustus's policy was to have the youth take his place as Princeps, instituting a form of monarchy – accusations that had already played out. The defeat of Antony gave Augustus complete power over Rome and its people. [93], Lepidus surrendered to Octavian and was permitted to retain the office of Pontifex Maximus (head of the college of priests), but was ejected from the Triumvirate, his public career at an end, and effectively was exiled to a villa at Cape Circei in Italy. [2], EGYPT: The prefectures Aegypti (governor of Egypt) Gaius Cornelius Gallus quells two local revolts in Heroonpolis in the Nile delta and in the Thebaid. This desire, as well as the Marcus Primus Affair, led to a second compromise between him and the Senate known as the Second Settlement. He donned the toga virilis four years later,[23] and was elected to the College of Pontiffs in 47 BC. One of the largest battles in the history of Rome’s civil wars was fought at Philippi in two parts. [158], With the powers of a censor, Augustus appealed to virtues of Roman patriotism by banning all attire but the classic toga while entering the Forum. By the year 13, Augustus boasted 21 occasions where his troops proclaimed "imperator" as his title after a successful battle. [32][33] After landing at Lupiae near Brundisium, Octavius learned the contents of Caesar's will, and only then did he decide to become Caesar's political heir as well as heir to two-thirds of his estate. Search The Augustus. [153], Such orders, had they been given, would have been considered a breach of the Senate's prerogative under the Constitutional settlement of 27 BC and its aftermath—i.e., before Augustus was granted imperium proconsulare maius—as Macedonia was a Senatorial province under the Senate's jurisdiction, not an imperial province under the authority of Augustus. [101] These defectors gave Octavian the information that he needed to confirm with the Senate all the accusations that he made against Antony. [151] He was defended by Lucius Lucinius Varro Murena, who told the trial that his client had received specific instructions from Augustus, ordering him to attack the client state. Publicly, though, his last words were, "Behold, I found Rome of clay, and leave her to you of marble" ("Marmoream se relinquere, quam latericiam accepisset"). The careers of many clients and adherents depended on his patronage, as his financial power was unrivaled in the Roman Republic. The Empire's frontiers were on the ocean, or distant rivers. He establishes a puppet-state called Triacontaschoenos under a local petty king to act as a buffer-zone between Egypt and Aethiopia (i.e. [20] Philippus claimed descent from Alexander the Great, and was elected consul in 56 BC. [19] His mother married a former governor of Syria, Lucius Marcius Philippus. By the middle of the 1st century B.C. This battles list includes any Augustus battles, conflicts, campaigns, wars, skirmishes or military engagements of any kind. This caused them to insist upon Augustus's participation in imperial affairs from time to time. )[206][207], After the early deaths of both Lucius and Gaius in AD 2 and 4 respectively, and the earlier death of his brother Drusus (9 BC), Tiberius was recalled to Rome in June AD 4, where he was adopted by Augustus on the condition that he, in turn, adopt his nephew Germanicus. [145][157] Also included in Augustus's tribunician authority were powers usually reserved for the Roman censor; these included the right to supervise public morals and scrutinize laws to ensure that they were in the public interest, as well as the ability to hold a census and determine the membership of the Senate. Born on September 23, 63 B.C., Augustus grew up in a town about 25 miles southeast of Rome. ALPS: Augustus despatches an army under Aulus Terentius Varro Murena against the Salassi tribe of the Val d'Aosta region of the northwestern Alps. His complexion was between dark and fair. In 22, 21, and 19 BC, the people rioted in response, and only allowed a single consul to be elected for each of those years, ostensibly to leave the other position open for Augustus. The century in which Augustus was born was a period of rapid change and, finally, civil war for Rome. The will would have given away Roman-conquered territories as kingdoms for his sons to rule, and designated Alexandria as the site for a tomb for him and his queen. [154] Murena disbelieved Augustus's testimony and resented his attempt to subvert the trial by using his auctoritas. He achieved this through various means of generosity and a cutting back of lavish excess. [247] Instead of a legate or proconsul, Augustus installed a prefect from the equestrian class to administer Egypt and maintain its lucrative seaports; this position became the highest political achievement for any equestrian besides becoming Prefect of the Praetorian Guard. The police force was divided into cohorts of 500 men each, while the units of firemen ranged from 500 to 1,000 men each, with 7 units assigned to 14 divided city sectors. [nb 4] Aware of his deteriorating relationship with Octavian, Antony left Cleopatra; he sailed to Italy in 40 BC with a large force to oppose Octavian, laying siege to Brundisium. Its reliefs depicted the imperial pageants of the praetorians, the Vestals, and the citizenry of Rome. [150] In late 24 or early 23 BC, charges were brought against Marcus Primus, the former proconsul (governor) of Macedonia, for waging a war without prior approval of the Senate on the Odrysian kingdom of Thrace, whose king was a Roman ally. At the same time, Octavian could not simply give up his authority without risking further civil wars among the Roman generals and, even if he desired no position of authority whatsoever, his position demanded that he look to the well-being of the city of Rome and the Roman provinces. Citizens of Rome and Italy paid indirect taxes, while direct taxes were exacted from the provinces. The wars of Augustus are the military campaigns undertaken by the Roman government during the sole rule of the founder-emperor Augustus (30 BC – AD 14). Following their victory at the Battle of Philippi (42 BC), the Triumvirate divided the Roman Republic among themselves and ruled as de facto dictators. Caesar Augustus (23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) was the first Roman emperor, reigning from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. The key attraction was that this region produced aromatic substances such as frankincense and myrrh, which were greatly prized in Rome. [117][118] Marching into Rome, Octavian and Marcus Agrippa were elected as consuls by the Senate. The result of these wars was a major expansion of the empire that Augustus inherited from the Roman Republic, although the attempted conquest of Germania ended in total defeat despite the enormous deployment of resources involved. [251] Marble could be found in buildings of Rome before Augustus, but it was not extensively used as a building material until the reign of Augustus. According to the second opposing opinion: filial duty and national crisis had been merely pretexts. [83] Octavian showed no mercy, however, for the mass of allies loyal to Lucius; on 15 March, the anniversary of Julius Caesar's assassination, he had 300 Roman senators and equestrians executed for allying with Lucius. "[241], The Anglo-Irish writer Jonathan Swift (1667–1745), in his Discourse on the Contests and Dissentions in Athens and Rome, criticized Augustus for installing tyranny over Rome, and likened what he believed Great Britain's virtuous constitutional monarchy to Rome's moral Republic of the 2nd century BC. Syria (like Egypt after Antony) was governed by a high prefect of the equestrian class rather than by a proconsul or legate of Augustus. [185] The capture of the Alpine region also served the next offensive in 12 BC, when Tiberius began the offensive against the Pannonian tribes of Illyricum, and his brother Nero Claudius Drusus moved against the Germanic tribes of the eastern Rhineland. This time, he settled his discharged soldiers outside of Italy, while also returning 30,000 slaves to their former Roman owners—slaves who had fled to join Pompeius's army and navy. [103][104] In late 32 BC, the Senate officially revoked Antony's powers as consul and declared war on Cleopatra's regime in Egypt. Both campaigns were successful, as Drusus's forces reached the Elbe River by 9 BC—though he died shortly after by falling off his horse. [137] This was a clever ploy by Augustus; ceasing to serve as one of two annually elected consuls allowed aspiring senators a better chance to attain the consular position, while allowing Augustus to exercise wider patronage within the senatorial class. [94] Octavian had the Senate grant him, his wife, and his sister tribunal immunity, or sacrosanctitas, in order to ensure his own safety and that of Livia and Octavia once he returned to Rome. [216] Shotter suggests that Augustus's deification obliged Tiberius to suppress any open resentment that he might have harbored, coupled with Tiberius's "extremely conservative" attitude towards religion. Res Gestae Divi Augusti ("the achievements of the deified Augustus"): ... Wars, both civil and foreign, I undertook throughout the world, and when victorious I spared all citizens who sued for pardon. [60][61], The senate heaped many more rewards on Decimus Brutus than on Octavian for defeating Antony, then attempted to give command of the consular legions to Decimus Brutus. All of them taken together formed the basis of his auctoritas, which he himself emphasized as the foundation of his political actions. [229], The Corinthian order of architectural style originating from ancient Greece was the dominant architectural style in the age of Augustus and the imperial phase of Rome. However, he combined an overriding concern for his personal interests with a deep-seated patriotism, based on a nostalgia of Rome's antique virtues. Augustus dramatically enlarged the Empire, annexing Egypt, Dalmatia, Pannonia, Noricum, and Raetia, expanding possessions in Africa, and completing the conquest of Hispania, but suffered a major setback in Germania. Rome now ceased to be a republic. Antony fell on his own sword and was taken by his soldiers back to Alexandria where he died in Cleopatra's arms. Adultery was commonplace in Rome when Augustus took over, so in response he put laws in place that punished those who committed adultery. ), and had extended the borders of the Africa Province to the east and south. He was immensely hardworking and tried as hard as any democratic parliamentarian to treat his senatorial colleagues with respect and sensitivity. [75], This claim was rejected by Appian, who maintained that Octavian shared an equal interest with Lepidus and Antony in eradicating his enemies. [135] Further, he was causing political problems by desiring to have his nephew Marcus Claudius Marcellus follow in his footsteps and eventually assume the Principate in his turn,[nb 5] alienating his three greatest supporters – Agrippa, Maecenas, and Livia. However, the sources agree that enacting the proscriptions was a means by all three factions to eliminate political enemies. [129] Augustus is from the Latin word Augere (meaning to increase) and can be translated as "the illustrious one". [77] Antony and Octavian then sent 28 legions by sea to face the armies of Brutus and Cassius, who had built their base of power in Greece. In the beginning of his Annals, the Roman historian Tacitus (c. 56–c.117) wrote that Augustus had cunningly subverted Republican Rome into a position of slavery. The lengthy civil wars had finally ended. Battle of Philippi and division of territory, Primary reasons for the Second Settlement, The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the, He acted on the orders of Marcellus and Augustus – see Southern, p. 108 and Eck (2003), p. 55. If someone was to succeed to Augustus's unofficial position of power, he would have to earn it through his own publicly proven merits. [182] The rebellious tribes of Asturias and Cantabria in modern-day Spain were finally quelled in 19 BC, and the territory fell under the provinces of Hispania and Lusitania. He was devious, untrustworthy, and bloodthirsty. [196], Some Augustan historians argue that indications pointed toward his sister's son Marcellus, who had been quickly married to Augustus's daughter Julia the Elder. At birth he was named Gaius Octavius after his biological father. [192] Victory in battle was not always a permanent success, as newly conquered territories were constantly retaken by Rome's enemies in Germania. [36][37][38] Historians usually refer to the new Caesar as Octavian during the time between his adoption and his assumption of the name Augustus in 27 BC in order to avoid confusing the dead dictator with his heir. He had composed an account of his achievements, the Res Gestae Divi Augusti, to be inscribed in bronze in front of his mausoleum. Scribonia gave birth to Octavian's only natural child, Julia, the same day that he divorced her to marry Livia Drusilla, little more than a year after their marriage. Eder, Walter. [244], The use of Egypt's immense land rents to finance the Empire's operations resulted from Augustus's conquest of Egypt and the shift to a Roman form of government. [142], Augustus bestowed only properties and possessions to his designated heirs, as an obvious system of institutionalized imperial inheritance would have provoked resistance and hostility among the republican-minded Romans fearful of monarchy. He, Mark Antony, and Marcus Lepidus formed the Second Triumvirate to defeat the assassins of Caesar. [48] Octavian failed to persuade Antony to relinquish Caesar's money to him. When Lepidus grew old and lazy, and Anthony's self-indulgence got the better of him, the only possible cure for the distracted country had been government by one man. Born Gaius Octavius and also known as Octavian, Augustus Caesar is famous for transforming the Roman Republic, marred by civil wars, into a stable monarchic Empire which would last for around 1400 years. Thanks to his prestige or auctoritas, his wishes would usually be obeyed, but there might be some difficulty. The only other times Augustus would serve as consul would be in the years 5 and 2 BC,[141][145] both times to introduce his grandsons into public life. Traditionally, proconsuls (Roman province governors) lost their proconsular "imperium" when they crossed the Pomerium – the sacred boundary of Rome – and entered the city. He had clear, bright eyes ... His teeth were wide apart, small, and ill-kept; his hair was slightly curly and inclined to golden; his eyebrows met. After the civil war, Augustus became the first Roman emperor in 31 BC. The century in which Augustus was born was a period of rapid change and, finally, civil war for Rome. Together with Lucius Antonius, she raised an army in Italy to fight for Antony's rights against Octavian. The tens of thousands who had fought on the republican side with Brutus and Cassius could easily ally with a political opponent of Octavian if not appeased, and they also required land. He therefore followed the advice of Arius Didymus that "two Caesars are one too many", ordering Caesarion, Julius Caesar's son by Cleopatra, killed, while sparing Cleopatra's children by Antony, with the exception of Antony's older son. [40] After a warm welcome by Caesar's soldiers at Brundisium,[41] Octavian demanded a portion of the funds that were allotted by Caesar for the intended war against the Parthian Empire in the Middle East. [186] It was recorded that the pious Tiberius walked in front of his brother's body all the way back to Rome. [218] Shotter states that Tiberius focused his anger and criticism on Gaius Asinius Gallus (for marrying Vipsania after Augustus forced Tiberius to divorce her), as well as toward the two young Caesars, Gaius and Lucius—instead of Augustus, the real architect of his divorce and imperial demotion. This came about because it was overseen by Agrippa when he served as aedile, and was even funded by him afterwards when he was a private citizen paying at his own expense.
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