Augustus: First Emperor of Rome
“I found Rome built of bricks; I leave her clothed in marble.” - Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (cliojournal.wikispaces.com)
Augustus, born Gaius Octavius, also known Augustus Caesar or Octavian, or by his adopted name Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, is one the Rome’s most iconic emperors. Born on September 23 in the year 63 B.C., and the great-nephew of Julius Caesar, Augustus ascended to the throne after Caesar’s assassination, he was only nineteen years old.
To secure his rule of Rome, Augustus formed an alliance with the successful and ambitious general Marc Anthony and Lepidus and with them created the Second Triumvirate to hunt down and defeat Brutus and Cassius, the assassins that killed Caesar (Heritage
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He built and refurbished 82 temples used for worship of the old gods just to show Rome his concerns that Rome was moving away from the traditional beliefs that the Roman Culture was built upon. (Nagle, pg. 333). In additional to the temples, Rome was transformed into one of the most beautiful cities with impressive new buildings. Augustus was a patron to Virgil, Horace and Propertius, the leading poets of the day which he used to help prove his rule, mainly Virgil’s Aenied, which claimed his rule was preordained. (Nagle, pg. 335) Augustus also ensured that his image was promoted throughout his empire by means of statues and …show more content…
(n.d.). BBC News. Retrieved February 25, 2014, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/augustus.shtml
Grant, M. (n.d.). Augustus (Roman emperor). Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Retrieved February 26, 2014, from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/43047/Augustus
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Kagan, N. (2006). National Geographic concise history of the world: an illustrated timeline. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society.
Nagle, D. B. (2010). The ancient world: a social and cultural history (7th ed.). New York: Prentice Hall.
The Achievements of Augustus Caesar. (n.d.). The Achievements of Augustus Caesar. Retrieved February 28, 2014, from http://janusquirinus.org/essays/Augustus1.html
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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,
Caesar’s death brought turmoil to into Rome. Augustus was determined to avenge his adopted father’s death and vied with two of his chief rivals for power, Mark Antony and Lepidus. After some minor conflicts and disputes, both military and political, Augustus realized the importance and significance of making peace with his rivals. Through these small skirmishes, Antony was driven across the Alps, while Augustus was made senator and then consul. Soon after, Augustus and Antony were joined by Antony’s ally. They met and formed the Second Triumvirate to rule the Roman domains. Their alliance was sealed by a huge proscription in which 300 senators and 200 knights were killed. These were the Triumvir’s enemies.
At this point Caesar was praised by the Roman people for his various military victories and had been awarded several awards and honors by the senate. Having conquered much of the surrounding territories, spanning from northern Africa to Greece, and enacting several reforms, Caesar was in the process of acquiring the most power a single man had ever documented in the Roman republic.
Julius Caesar was a very influential figure in Roman history. Many features of the Roman Empire came from his reign as dictator. But what, specifically, were some of those great achievements? In this research paper, I will explain Julius Caesar’s youth, the Roman Republic before Caesar came to power, the Roman government before Caesar became dictator-for-life, the effects of Julius Caesar, the reasons for his assassination, and what affects there were when the public learned about his assassination.
3)Gwynn, David M. The Roman Republic: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2012. Print.
414-443. Antony Kamm The Romans: An Introduction Second Edition, Published in 2008, pages 47, 93. Dio Cassius Roman History (as presented in Antiquity 2). Augustus (Octavian) Res Gestae Divi Augusti (as presented in Antiquity 2). Eck, The Age of Augustus, p.45 (as presented in Antiquity 2).
The Roman Empire: In the First Century." PBS. Accessed May 06, 2014. http://www.pbs.org/ 7 empires/romans/empire/julius_caesar.html. The Roman Empire:
Nagle, Brendan D. (1979). The Ancient World: A Cultural and Social History. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
Howe, Helen, and Robert T. Howe. A World History: Ancient and Medieval Worlds. Volume 1. White Plains, NY: Longman, 1992. 533.
As the story goes, Rome was founding in 753 B.C. by two brothers Remus and Romulus who were raised by wolves. The two brothers started fighting over the leadership of the land. Eventually Romulus killed Remus and took control own his own. The city was only a small settlement at that time. As the civilization grew, the Etruscans took over. The Romans drove out the Etruscans in 509 B.C. By this time Rome had become a city. As the empire came to its peak it included lands throughout the Mediterranean world. Rome had first expanded into other parts of Italy and neighboring places during the Roman Republic, but made wider conquests and made a strong political power for these lands. In 44 BC Gaius Julius Caesar, the Roman leader who ruled the Roman Republic as a dictator was assassinated. Rome descended into more than ten years of civil war. After years of civil war, Caesar's heir Gaius Octavius (also known as Octavian) defeated his last rivals. In 27 B.C. the Senate gave him the name Augustus, meaning the exalted or holy one. In this way Augustus established the monarchy that became known as the Roman Empire. The Roman Republic, which lasted nearly 500 years, did not exist anymore. The emperor Augustus reigned from 27 BC to AD 14 and ruled with great power. He had reestabl...
In 44 BCE, Gaius Caesar was assassinated, leaving a power vacuüm for the leadership of the Roman Republic. A ruling body known as the second triumvirate was established between the potential rulers of Rome: Gaius Octavian, Mark Antony and Marcus Lepidus. In 36 BC, Octavian convinced the Senate to exile Lepidus. Shortly thereafter, tensions between Mark Antony and Octavian built. These tensions centered on Antony abandoning Octavian’s sister for Cleopatra, the Queen of Egypt and Antony’s lover.
Marcel Le Glay, Jean-Louis Voisin, Yann Le Bohec. A History of Rome. West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.
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.
The lack of war allowed the Roman Republic to stagnate and become self-indulgent. By the end of the Punic Wars, which combined these elements, Rome was sure to fail. Without a common thread uniting its society, the Roman Republic unraveled because it had nothing left holding it together. Works Cited (Plutarch, p. 269), (Holland, p. 14), (Plutarch, p. 319), (Holland, p. 33)
"Rome, History of Ancient Rome From Its Founding To Collapse." World History International: World History Essays From Prehistory To The Present. Web. 16 Dec. 2009. .