Augustus has a deep concern for his people but an underlying selfishness that is easily seen in much of what he discusses in his first hand account of his own life story.
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
…show more content…
I say this because as I stated above nothing negative happened, he never speaks of losing a war or finding people who didn’t like him or facing any difficulties what so ever. And throughout history some of the best leaders have formed out of diversity in their society. A lot of accounts in history that are written in third person explain more than just the positive side of a person’s life, and this reveals why they male certain decisions. But it also makes the account more believable. Everyone struggles it’s just something that happens in life, but he seems very intent on people knowing only the good side of him and all of the good things he did it makes me wonder what he is leaving out or trying to cover up to be honest.
In conclusion, Augustus has written his personal account and presented himself as popular and successful leader. He did many things that helped society as well as did many things that did nothing long term. Augustus may have done things for only the betterment of himself but they did pay off when it all came to an
Augustus was born in Rome on September 23, 63 B.C. He was originally named Gaius Octavianus, but when his great-uncle, Julius Caesar, was murdered, he took his name. Augustus’ real father died when his son was only four. Augustus was adopted in Julius Caesar’s will and was left to be his heir at the age of eighteen. Caesar was very fond of his grand-nephew and he sent him to the College of Pontifices at the age of sixteen. When Caesar was assassinated, Augustus was in Illyria, where he was sent to serve. It was only when he returned to Italy that he learned he was his great-uncle’s heir.
After the assassination of Caesar, his nephew and adopted Son took it upon himself to bring to justice those who had murdered his great-uncle. In the quotation above, we see that the young Augustus , who did not yet have his own military command, had to raise his own army and fund them himself. Though the
Following the successful side of Julius Caesar leadership, Augustus hosted many games and other measures such as ensuring the Gods were frequently celebrated. Augustus made sure the water supply was improved, and public baths had been put in place, these acts kept society happy and gained Augustus’s popularity. To please the people and allow for peace, Augustus never claimed the title of “Emperor” or “King” as they were part of the reason for his uncle’s downfall. Augustus took the name of “Princeps” instead, which was a much safer and smarter option. Augustus received high office via the Senate and was also the head of Rome’s religious and political affairs. After many years of civil riots, Augustus was able to deliver peace and prosperity to Roman society and allowed for the 200 years of Pax Romana. Augustus could have put his power to use in an evil and self-serving way, but instead, he was generous with all of the society including
The aim of this paper is to factually analyze the thesis- “Augustus was the most important emperor in Roman history because he had great success in rebuilding Rome”. Before going into historical demonstration of this thesis something must be said of the republican system which was reigning in Rome before Augustus put an end to-
Julius Caesar (July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general, statesman, Consul, and author of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire. On March 15 44 B.C.E, the Roman dictator Julius Caesar was murdered. There are multiple accounts of this incident, while all accounts came after the death of Caesar, the writing on the incident portray Julius Caesar to have been a selfish dictator.
...e was outstanding as he was coherent to Augustus’ policy and kept the provinces content by governing them well. The financial status of the Empire was boosted 20 times that at his accession by building highways and saving money through hosting less games and repairing buildings. Tiberius followed in Augustus’ steps and made a respectful relationship with the Senate by showing courtesy to the consuls and the body as a whole. The rise of Sejanus prove devastating to Tiberius’ rule as his execution fueled Tacitus’ claim of a ‘reign of terror’ and angered the people of Rome. However, in his last years he did not let the administration of the Empire fall into appears. Through analysis of Tiberius’ rule, it is clearly seen that he treated the senate fairly, created strong economics and security in the state and boosted the empire into an unprecedented state of prosperity.
It is also interesting to note that Augustus is never referred to as an Emperor in this text- this is the best evidence of how the Res Gestae was tailored to please the people as much as possible, as the title Emperor shows the power Augustus had too clearly- the Romans had a hatred of dictators and tyrants inspired by the Roman Kingdom. Instead of referring to himself as Emperor, Augustus uses his consulship or tribunician power for a time frame,
The way that the document is written accomplishes this if the person reading it doesn’t know anything else about the history of Augustus as the first emperor of Rome. Augustus only includes his achievements and he leaves out any of his failures and shortcomings as emperor. He also frames every event in a way that makes him look good. Due to this, the document seems more like propaganda than a sincere reflection of his life to someone who knows about the history of his life as emperor. It doesn’t seem like Augustus’s intentions were for it to be a sincere reflection on his life, it seems more like propaganda to make him look good because it leaves out events that may reflect negatively on him. If Augustus had sincerely reflected on his life, I would have expected him to include his failures as well as his achievements. He might have mentioned things that he regrets and wishes he had done differently in his life. However, Augustus chose to only include events that make him look good. Therefore, the document seems more like propaganda to
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.
This was necessasy, as after Julius Caesar’s death, a period of civil wars ensued, where Augustus aimed to avenge Caesar’s death and consolidate his own role as principate. After this volatile period, Augustus implemented various reforms that brought peace and ‘good government’ to provinces. Eastern citizens showed their gratitude and loyalty in “a manner appropriate to local custom” (Hennessey, 1990). Henry Burton (1912), a credible historian, describes how the East had pre-established practices of placing divine honours onto living individuals that had syncretised from Hellenistic monarchs, including Alexander the Great, and Egyptian pharaohs. Through this, heroes of Rome such as Romulus, founder of the nation, were honoured as deities and considered of divine descent. It was therefore fitting for Augustus, who had founded a new and greater Rome, be “regarded as a god and accorded the same homage” (Burton, 1912). Thus, Augustus did not need to establish the cult, rather, enhance
Augustus needed to legitimize his powers. He did this by handing back his powers to the senate and the people of Rome. The senate protested, and voted to give Augustus the powers of proconsul imperium over provinces that needed military defence as well as make him consul. As these powers were given by the senate and the people, they were
Augustus Caesar was very ambitious leader. He is best known for bringing peace to Rome. Augustus was considered the first great roman emperor, because He didn’t care about wealth and fortune. Augustus cared about the people of Rome. He was a great military leader and was successful in most of his missions. He showed people that being a good ruler requires a lot of hard work and dedication. He was a very generous man. Augustus was greatly admired by the Roman people.
Octavian, or Caesar Augustus, was an effective ruler, implementing reforms that positively affected virtually all areas of life throughout the Empire. Social, economic, and political tensions that had led to so much violence in earlier years were calmed by Augustus's policies. Corruption and abuses of the people were also given attention by the Emperor. The borders of the Roman Empire grew dramatically under Augustus's rule, adding material wealth and manpower to Rome's already significant resources.
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.