Philosopher A: Augustus saved the republic.
Philosopher B: Saved it? He turned it into an empire! Augustus ruined the republic.
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.
Philosopher B: After the fall of the Roman Republic in 27BC, the fundamental power shifted from the Senate to Augustus, the Emperor. However, Augustus knew that to keep the favour of the Roman people, he needed to keep up the façade of the Senate holding political power. Despite this, the Senate held no actual political power, although individuals still sought membership of the senate for dignitas and social status. During the reigns of the first Emperors, legislative, judicial, and electoral powers were all transferred from the Roman assemblies to the Senate. However, since the Senate was filled with individuals whom Augustus approved of, it acted only as a vehicle through which the Emperor exercised his autocratic powers.
In the Empire, the Emperor had complete jurisdiction over all policies and decisions. In the beginnings of the empire, h...
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The Senate - Ancient Rome for Kids. (n.d.). The Senate - Ancient Rome for Kids. Retrieved March 25, 2014, from http://rome.mrdonn.org/senate.html
The Timeline of the Life of Octavian, Caesar Augustus. (n.d.). The Timeline of the Life of Octavian, Caesar Augustus. Retrieved March 27, 2014, from http://applet-magic.com/caesaraugustus.htm
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APA formatting by BibMe.org.
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...
...allow senate to have an active role in his leadership, a notion which had been a fatal mistake for past censors of the Roman republic. Julius Caesar, the last leader of the Roman republic was conclusively at fault for the demolition of the constitutional society. His dictatorship and lack of respect for the democratic system lead to his death and the death of the republic. “The most open and deadly hatred towards him was produced by his passion for the royal power” (Plutarch)
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.
Rather than creating a government that was primarily a democracy like the Athenians, an aristocracy or a monarchy, the Roman constitution mixed these three elements, therefore creating three separate branches of government. The executives served as monarchical element, the Senate as the aristocratic and finally, the Assembly as the democratic element. A complex set of checks and balances existed between these three branches. The Executive branch enforced the law, and presided over the Senate and the legislative assemblies. They had supreme civil and military authority and held office for one year, then entered the Senate for life unless impeached. The Senate was a collection of citizens who served as the legislative branch of the government as well as an advisory body. Lastly, there was the Assembly of Tribes, which contained all citizens. Romans believed that authority comes from the people and the people 's consent is necessary, therefore, the Assembly was responsible for approved or rejected laws, decided issues of war and peace, and elected executive magistrates. Besides check and balance and separation of powers, many other concepts from Roman republicanism shaped American constitutionalism. The power to veto and filibusters, the practice of term limit, impeachment, and regularly scheduled elections were all included in the Roman’s unwritten
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.
Augustus persuaded the Roman people and Senate through briberies that he was not all-powerful, but a good person. He wanted everyone to see him as no less than the average Roman person. Through Res Gestae written by Augustus, he shows his lavish gifts and the ways in which he declined the throne a few times to move away from becoming Julius Caesar regiment. However, many people such as Dio Cassius and Tacitus were not fooled by his ways and knew that he had a plan the entire time to have absolute power, similar to that of Caesar. The Senate and magistracies were weaker under Augustus’ rule because he had maintained the Senate powers in his own hands. Due to this, many people did not oppose him. In the end, Augustus formed a monarch and use discretion to not show the people and the Senate of his true tactics.
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 historians (including Tacitus), and his reign is often portrayed as being detrimental to the welfare of the Roman Empire’ is invalid as he treated the senate fairly, created strong economics and security in the state and boosted the empire into an unprecedented state of prosperity. This hypothesis will be proven through this essay by analyzing factors such as Tiberius’ administration of the Empire, his relationship with the senate, his financial control, the effect of Sejanus over his rule and why were his last years as Emperor referred to as a ‘reign of terror’ by Tacitus.
Those elected to leadership were admitted in the Senate where public affairs were discussed. Power divisions during the time were complicated and no single person was entitled to too much power. Tribunes, which comprised of ten men, were put into place in order to monitor the Senate and ensure that the interests of the people were protected. However, this system began to fall apart since certain individuals wanted to have more power than others. Such persons started to compete for that power, and use it to exploit Rome’s politics. Subsequently, competition for power led to civil wars that paved the way to the growth of a one-man leadership. Gradually, dictatorship replaced republic government, and when Augustus rose to power, he became the sole and undisputed leader of Rome.
He claimed that he had transferred the Republic from his own power to that of the authority of the Senate. Because of this gesture the Senate adored him. They honored him. The people saw him as the restorer of peace and the Republic. When all along his goal was to hide his real power and legalize it. The historian Tacticus wrote, “He took on himself the functions of the Senate, the magistrates, and the laws”. Augustus did not derive his power from his titles or positions. He derived his power from his army’s loyalty and his ability to eliminate rivals. (Page
Augustus wanted to turn the republican government in Rome into an imperial government controlled by an emperor. This would be a difficult change to make, as the Romans did not want to be ruled by a tyrant. Therefore, he had to gain support from all groups. In the Res Gestae, Augustus writes, “I paid each Roman plebeian 300 sesterces from my inheritance… I bought grain with my own money and distributed twelve rations a piece.” This shows how he tried to gain support from the working class citizens. He also had to be extra careful not to seem like a tyrant, so he resigned from all offices to show his supposed lack of political ambition after he gained some power. To ensure there was no more chaos in Rome, Augustus was kind to foreign countries so that they did not declare war on the Romans. He did so through his foreign policy. In his Res Gestae, he states, “Representatives from the kings of India were often sent to me… and kings from many other lands along our borders sought our friendship by sending
The people of Rome had lived as a republic for a long time and gave security to their freedom, however with what the people had experience and gained because of Julius Caesar and Augustus this might’ve changed. According to Suetonius who was the secretary to Emperor Hadrian that after the overthrow of Antony Augustus asked Agrippa a Roman consul, statesman, general and architect and Maecenas the political advisor to Augustus about restoring the republican with Agrippa in favour and Maecenas against. Suetonius says that Augustus at first sided with restoring the republican but then decides to usurp himself the entire dominion of the state. He mentions that as a result of the civil war and public calamities that the people were becoming less averse to the idea of an absolute government and that whilst the republican had flourished that it was incompatible with the state of Rome at the time (Suetonius). Although Suetonius was born a while after Augustus because of his position he would have had access to good information though some of it might be unreliable however he is very open on the idea between a republican or absolute government looking at both sides and the circumstance of Rome. Because of the changing views of the people and the circumstances of Rome, Augustus was able to obtain power as the emperor of Rome during the first
Much like the US, the Roman Republic had three branches of government: the Consuls, the Senate, and the Assemblies. The Roman government had three elements, each of them possessing independent powers. The Consuls were the “supreme leaders” of the government, and they were the wealthy magistrates of Rome. The Senate proposed laws, just as the Senate in the US government does. Now the part left to the people, the Assemblies. The people could vote for who got into the Assemblies, where they had the final say in the making of a law. This clearly shows how similar the Roman Republic’s government is to the US’s, each of them elements having checks and balances and the people choosing who
This new Republican government, which was administered by the consuls, was not the easiest to transform. Because of the expansion in Italy, the government began to initiate political institutions. These institutions enforced laws and provided authority which were very similar to imperium. “The Romans had a clear concept of executive authority, embodied in their word imperium, or “the right to command” (Spielvogel 117). Since the Romans were very sensible in their actions, they made and implemented them only as needed. The most essential positions held were the few elected magistrates and the two consuls who were “chosen annually, administered the government and led the Roman army into battle” (Spielvogel 117). If the consul was otherwise occupied, either a dictator or praetor would assume responsibility for the time being.
His successor was approved by the Senate and his line of succession was secured without the impotent Senate ever posing a real threat. Though Augustus filled all the criteria for a perfect Roman citizen in theory, his actual motivations were based on ambition and furthering his personal goals. Cicero and all the other senators saw, in Augustus, a future lead by the antithesis of all that they believed in. The rise of Augustus, and by extension the rise of the Roman Empire, shows that how a person presents themselves and what their actual intentions are, can be vastly
The Roman Republic was founded in 509 BC after the ruling Tarquins abused their extensive power as monarchs and were overthrown. The goal of the Roman Republic was to have a strong government, governed equally by the patricians and the plebians, and to avoid another Roman Monarchy. For years Rome was guided by great men, such as Cincinnatus and Scipio Africanus, who led the Republic through hard times, conquering such enemies as the Etruscans and the Carthaginians. Large-scale war united Roman society in its common goals. However, after Scipio’s victory at Zama in 202 BC, a new Roman world began to take shape. Roman soldiers returned home from their victory to find that they could not pay for their farms, becoming “squatters” on their own lands after having to sell them to richer men. The Senate became corrupted, and despite the Gracchi brothers’ best efforts, the rich patricians soon monopolized nearly all aspects of the Republic, from trading and “farming” to governing the people. After marching on Rome, Sulla became dictator in 82 BC. After Sulla, the First Triumvirate: Pompey, Crassus, and Caesar, owned virtually all power in Rome, yet each had his own desire to defeat the other two and become Emperor. When Crassus died in battle, Caesar had his chance. He defeated Pompey and marched on Rome, victorious. After declaring himself Dictator for Life, Caesar was assassinated, and another Civ...