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Caesar and the downfall of the Roman republic
Caesar and the downfall of the Roman republic
The story of julius caesar
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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 …show more content…
the plebeians and saved Rome from their broken society. Not only did Augustus save Rome from their war-torn society, but he restored Rome from a crumbling government. “Okay that all sounds great, but how did Augustus “restore” the republic.” Instead of utilising his new-found power to control the people of Rome which resulted in the downfall of his adoptive father, Julius, Augustus was careful to present all of his political decisions as a collaborative decision between many authoritative figures within Rome.
Augustus was the basis for the time of the Principate period, which is a period where the rulers of the new found monarchy attempted to incorporate aspects of the Roman Republic within the powerful empire. Augustus tried his best to maintain conservative forms of government. Augustus’s sole ambition was to remove the hatred and chaos that had resulted from the civil wars. Thankful for Augustus working to restore power back to the Roman senate in his new reforms, the grateful Senate granted him the name Augustus meaning sacred. January, 27 BC, Octavian humbly resigned his powers within Rome, However Augustus received them back from the Senate shortly after. Augustus’s military genius marked the start of a dynasty which saw an extensive expansion of the Roman
Empire. A coin seen from 29BC displays Augustus’s military successions, the currency could be seen throughout the whole Roman Empire, and everyone looked up to him. The are many descriptions of Augustus’s victories on the coin such as “victoria” for victory and ships to represent his naval victory, the battle of Actium. As well as the depiction of Augustus in a-a chariot drawn by four horses on the back portrays Augustus’s triumph and when Augustus was given multiple honours from the Senate, honours by the Senate prove that he must have been a hero to them in their period. Augustus refined the role of the Senate, yet he did not completely abolish it to keep the Romans settled and avoided the same mistakes his uncle made. The effectiveness of Augustus’ ruling is evident by the perceptions his people had of him. Tiberius stated in his eulogy of the dead Augustus “And so for all these excellent reasons you made him leader as Father of the People, honoured him with (amongst other things) a lengthy series of consulships and finally proclaimed him as a demigod and declared him to be immortal. Also, he directed his power to the “first man of state”, Princeps Senatus. Changing all of this meant that power was controlled by the state rather than purely Augustus's desire. He was making such an impact on his people that the senate declared him a god. Being declared a god is a tremendous honour and demonstrates how good of a leader Augustus was. Overall, Augustus can only be named a hero! he was certainly not a villain.
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...
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,
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.
In the Res Gestae, he often speaks of being offered positions of power and turning them down. He also speaks of how he donated his own money to the Roman people and building projects. However, some of his actions before he became emperor often went against that image. Augustus also chooses to omit the fact that he had immense power as emperor. Following the assassination of Julius Caesar, Augustus was named as his heir and began a rivalry with Marc Antony for power. He engaged in many deceitful acts, such as slandering Marc Antony and Cleopatra to turn the Roman people against them. In the end Marc Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide. Augustus doesn’t discuss the events from this period of time in detail. Augustus wanted to be seen as humble. He often spoke of turning down positions of power that he was offered by the people and the senate. However, he chooses to omit the fact that he was given Mauis Imperium in 23 BC which gave him immense power. This gave him the power to command any official in the empire. Augustus also wanted to present the image of being well-liked and respected. In the Res Gestae, he often mentions honors and positions he was offered due to the senate and people being so impressed with his accomplishments. However, not everyone was always impressed with Augustus or liked him. He completely omits any mention of the Perusine War. The Perusine War took place in 40 BC. Aristocrats opposed
It was the senate that gave Augustus his power and many titles, yet he managed to manipulate them from the outset, on 16th January, Octavian was given the title Augustus, the revered one. Augustus wanted to convince the people that he was merely the first citizen at a free community. Augustus form of government is now known as the principate. The roles and responsibilities of the senate 1have amended overtime.
He wanted to relate and connect to all parts of society, including the 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 dignity and social status.
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.
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. This marked the beginning of the Roman Empire, where the ruling was carried out through Augustus’ policies. Augustus’ foreign policy focused on the expansion of the Roman Empire. However, scholars have argued as to whether Augustus’ policy was out of aggressive conquest and greediness or simply, defensive imperialism.
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.
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.
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...
...the Pax Romana, a time of peace and prosperity in Roman history that lasted over 200 years. He did however, fool the people of Rome. He ruled as type of despot, hiding behind the illusion of a false republic. Augustus was careful to not raise the eyebrows of the citizens. With the senate was still intact, Augustus seemed to have somebody to prevent him from becoming too powerful. However, the power of the senate was weak compared to his, and he had the power to do what he wanted. This type of power, placed in the hands of an individual, would be passed on to other emperors after Augustus, some of whom would abuse that power. Rome would see the repeat of many of its former problems, and much blood would be spilled trying to prevent one person from having too much power; the Roman were back to back to where they started before 509 B.C., only they weren’t aware of it.
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.
...tablish the principate, where he established several legates to help govern the expanding empire. The system allowed the Emperor to remain in control, but also step away and allow others to take the lead if need be. Had Augustus not set this new form of government into play, Rome would have been torn apart several years before the fall of the Empire. His form of government proved strong enough to support the likes of Caligula and Tiberius, who was more concerned with his special interest museum than being Emperor.
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...