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 marking the beginning of an empire previously overwhelmed by chaos.
Socially, Augustus attempted to revive the traditional religious and moral values of the Roman society. Augustus was known for being a self-proclaimed “Restorer of the Republic”[1] and having been quoted as saying he “found Rome of brick and left it of marble”[2] clearly shows his ultimate goal of reviving Roman traditions and cultural values destroyed by the civil riots. His large scale reconstruction of the buildings and monuments destroyed during the civil war encouraged the survival of Roman art and culture. As a result, he increased the patriotism of the citizens and in the process, he increased his own popularity among the nation; a vital aspect to his long lasting reign. In fact, this was the basis for his introduction of new moral reforms that would restore the citizen’s faith and pride in the Roman Empire. Due to his strong belief in discouraging adultery while increasing the amount of legitimate Roman citizens...
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From ages past, the actions of conquerors, kings and tyrants had brought the Roman Republic to a stance that opposed any idea of a singular leader, of a single man that held total power over the entirety of the state. Their rejection of the various ruthless Etruscan rulers that had previously dictated them brought the Republic to existence in 509 BC , and as a republic their prominence throughout the provinces of the world exponentially expanded. Throughout these years, the traditions of the Romans changed to varying degrees, most noticeably as a result of the cultural influence that its subject nations had upon the republic, as well as the ever-changing nature of Roman society in relation to then-current events. However, it was not until the rise of Augustus, the first of a long line of succeeding emperors, that many core aspects of the Republic were greatly changed. These were collectively known as the “Augustan Reforms”, and consisted of largely a variety of revisions to the social, religious, political, legal and administrative aspects of the republic’s infrastructure. Through Augustus, who revelled in the old traditional ways of the past, the immoral, unrestraint society that Rome was gradually falling to being was converted to a society where infidelities and corruption was harshly looked upon and judged. The Roman historian Suetonius states, “He corrected many ill practices, which, to the detriment of the public, had either survived the licentious habits of the late civil wars, or else originated in the long peace” . Through Augustus and his reforms, the Republic was transformed into an Empire, and through this transformation, Rome experienced one of its greatest and stabl...
For thousands of years people have been talking about the great powerful Caesar. He is one of the greatest known dictators known to people today mostly because of all of the things he was able to accomplish during his rein as emperor. After reading primary sources about Caesar, it has given me a better understanding of what other people thought of him during this time period. It’s safe to say that Caesar was obsessed with power and respect from other people that would explain his thirst for war and land, which is one of his greatest strengths and helped in making Rome a great empire.
Livy’s The Rise of Rome serves as the ultimate catalogue of Roman history, elaborating on the accomplishments of each king and set of consuls through the ages of its vast empire. In the first five books, Livy lays the groundwork for the history of Rome and sets forth a model for all of Rome to follow. For him, the “special and salutary benefit of the study of history is to behold evidence of every sort of behaviour set forth as on a splendid memorial; from it you may select for yourself and for your country what to emulate, from it what to avoid, whether basely begun or basely concluded.” (Livy 4). Livy, however, denies the general populace the right to make the same sort of conclusions that he made in constructing his histories. His biased representation of Romulus and Tarquin Superbus, two icons of Roman history, give the readers a definite model of what a Roman should be, instead of allowing them to come to their own conclusion.
Morey, William C. "Outlines of Roman History, Chapter 19." Forum Romanum. 1901. Web. 24 Apr. 2011. .
Over the span of five-hundred years, the Roman Republic grew to be the most dominant force in the early Western world. As the Republic continued to grow around the year 47 B.C it began to go through some changes with the rise of Julius Caesar and the degeneration of the first triumvirate. Caesar sought to bring Rome to an even greater glory but many in the Senate believed that he had abused his power, viewing his rule more as a dictatorship. The Senate desired that Rome continued to run as a republic. Though Rome continued to be glorified, the rule of Caesar Octavian Augustus finally converted Rome to an Empire after many years of civil war. Examining a few selections from a few ancient authors, insight is provided as to how the republic fell and what the result was because of this.
Scarre, Christopher. Chronicle of the Roman Emperors: The Reign-by-reign Record of the Rulers of Imperial Rome. London: Thames and Hudson, 1995. Print.
Augustus cares about his people or that is how he portrays himself in his personal account of his life. He references things such as the money he gives to multiple causes, as well as his service to the people, and the positions they awarded him. He also portrays himself as being a just leader. For example he says “those who assassinated my father I drove into exile, avenging their crime by due process of the law”, he fairly punished them for their crime. Augustus also shows that he is in favor of true justice by saying that he would prefer to let someone live instead of killing them. Augustus’ name was important to him as was his history, and his traditions he mentions refusing offices that
Livius, Titus. The Early History of Rome. Trans. Aubrey De Sélincourt. London: Penguin Group, 2002. N. pag. Print.
Augustus created the office of emperor with the Augustan Principate, which was “to have no institutionalized authoritarian power, no perpetual dictatorship such as Julius Caesar had had himself voted early in 44, or anything like it (Stockton, 124).” Despite his wishes the people of Rome ended up giving Augustus eternal office, and powers to control the Senate with the rights to dictate agendas and veto (Stockton, 128). The people of Rome had created a position of absolute power, the exact thing Augustus was attempting to prevent. At the time the people of Rome could not have realized what they were creating in the office of emperor, for Augustus was a great man whose leadership created a great shadow over the shoulder of any future emperor.
Marcel Le Glay, Jean-Louis Voisin, Yann Le Bohec. A History of Rome. West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.
Heichelheim, Fritz, Cedric A. Yeo, and Allen M. Ward. A History Of The Roman People. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1984.
1. Tim Cornell, John Matthews, Atlas of the Roman World, Facts On File Inc, 1982. (pg.216)
3)Gwynn, David M. The Roman Republic: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2012. Print.
Gaius Julius Caesar, commonly known as Julius Caesar, is an important figure who laid the foundation of the Roman Empire. He is one of the most famous roman ruler, Rome as ever had. He helped to establish the transition from the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire, ended the Republic System when he was named Perpetual Dictator (44BC). And vastly created many other political and civil reforms. He was a very influential leader.
Philosopher A: In the Republic, the Senate was the primary branch of the Roman government and held the majority of the political power. It controlled funds, administration and foreign policy, and had significant influence of the everyday life of the Roman people. When Augustus came to power, he kept the Senate and they retained their legal position. The Emperor’s rule was legitimized by the senate as he needed the senators experience to serve as administrators, diplomats and generals. Although technically the most authoritative individual in Rome, Augustus strived to embody Republican values. He wanted to relate and connect to all parts of society including Plebeians. Through generosity and less extravagance, Augustus achieved a connection with the common people.