By the age of sixteen he was planning to join his great-uncle and serve in Caesar's army. Between 16 BC and 6 AD the frontier was advanced from the Rhine to the Elbe in Germany, and up to the Danube along its entire length. [165], Likewise, there was a food shortage in Rome in 22 BC which sparked panic, while many urban plebs called for Augustus to take on dictatorial powers to personally oversee the crisis. The best-balanced introduction to Augustus and his achievement is H. H. Scullard's study From the Gracchi to Nero, 5th ed. [145] It was not until AD 8 that a food crisis of this sort prompted Augustus to establish a praefectus annonae, a permanent prefect who was in charge of procuring food supplies for Rome. [244], An equally important reform was the abolition of private tax farming, which was replaced by salaried civil service tax collectors. Yet his ability to remain in power for 14 years testified to the affection for Augustus’s family and the acceptance of imperial rule as natural. AUGUSTUS (63 bce–14 ce), Roman emperor. He did his best to keep all conservative forms of government and keep most political shapes in tact. Recent but somewhat superficial accounts of Roman religion in the age of Augustus include Continuity and Change in Roman Religion, by J. H. W. G. Liebeschuetz (Oxford, 1979), pp. Saeculum Augustum, vol. Augustus. [185] It was recorded that the pious Tiberius walked in front of his brother's body all the way back to Rome. He did not change much about the cursus honorum (which, again, is the process of moving up the ranks of the Roman magistracies) and he saw the current republic magistrates as a special, executive position. He quickly formed strategic alliances, defeated his political rivals, and won a bitterly fought civil war. Octavian's power was based on his control of the army, his financial resources, and his enormous popularity. [153], Such orders, had they been given, would have been considered a breach of the Senate's prerogative under the Constitutional settlement of 27 BC and its aftermath—i.e., before Augustus was granted imperium proconsulare maius—as Macedonia was a Senatorial province under the Senate's jurisdiction, not an imperial province under the authority of Augustus. [97] Octavian used this to spread propaganda implying that Antony was becoming less than Roman because he rejected a legitimate Roman spouse for an "Oriental paramour". He began as a protector of agriculture but later became the god of…, Iceni Queen Boudicca (died 61) ruled over a small tribe of Celts who challenged the colonization plans of the Roman Empire in England. Suetonius reports that "he bore the death of his kin with far more resignation than their misconduct.". [181] The rebellious tribes of Asturias and Cantabria in modern-day Spain were finally quelled in 19 BC, and the territory fell under the provinces of Hispania and Lusitania. Trapped on land and sea, deserters of Antony's army fled to Octavian's side daily while Octavian's forces were comfortable enough to make preparations. [183] Horace dedicated an ode to the victory, while the monumental Trophy of Augustus near Monaco was built to honor the occasion. [208], The only other possible claimant as heir was Postumus Agrippa, who had been exiled by Augustus in AD 7, his banishment made permanent by senatorial decree, and Augustus officially disowned him. Octavian's aims from this point forward were to return Rome to a state of stability, traditional legality, and civility by lifting the overt political pressure imposed on the courts of law and ensuring free elections—in name at least.[120]. [111], Octavian pursued them and defeated their forces in Alexandria on 1 August 30 BC—after which Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide. He carefully steered public approval of his person and policies into religious channels. Whitehorne, John E. G. "The Divine Augustus as Theos Kaisar and Theos Sebastos." [127] Octavian became the most powerful political figure in the city of Rome and in most of its provinces, but he did not have a monopoly on political and martial power. [243], The measures of taxation in the reign of Augustus were determined by population census, with fixed quotas for each province. . In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. ." This reform greatly increased Rome's net revenue from its territorial acquisitions, stabilized its flow, and regularized the financial relationship between Rome and the provinces, rather than provoking fresh resentments with each new arbitrary exaction of tribute. The Roman Republic describes the period in which the city-state of Rome existed as a republican government (from 509 B.C. This page has been archived and is no longer updated. Antony was engaged in war against the Senate to avenge Caesar's murder and to further his own ambitions. Octavian sent only a tenth of those promised, however, which Antony viewed as an intentional provocation. It was there that Antony's fleet faced the much larger fleet of smaller, more maneuverable ships under commanders Agrippa and Gaius Sosius in the Battle of Actium on 2 September 31 BC. He was devious, untrustworthy, and bloodthirsty. Berlin and New York, 1986. Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service. Analecta papyrologica 3 (1991): 19–26. Meanwhile, in Sicyon, Antony's wife Fulvia died of a sudden illness while Antony was en route to meet her. He established the principate, the form of government under which Rome ruled its empire for three hundred years. Berkeley, 1990. Regardless of which of the many myths one prefers, no one can doubt the impact of ancient Rome on western civilization. Munich, 1998. [25] According to Nicolaus of Damascus, Octavius wished to join Caesar's staff for his campaign in Africa, but gave way when his mother protested. Fears, J. The following year Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide, and Octavian annexed Egypt to Rome. Nevertheless, his legacy proved more enduring. The senatorial provinces were those who remained in control of the senate, while the imperial provinces were now under control of the emperor. Instead of following Caesar's example and making himself dictator, Octavian in 27 BC founded the principate, a system of monarchy headed by an emperor holding power for life. [37] By June, he had gathered an army of 3,000 loyal veterans, paying each a salary of 500 denarii. [210][211] This element features in many modern works of historical fiction pertaining to Augustus's life, but some historians view it as likely to have been a salacious fabrication made by those who had favoured Postumus as heir, or other of Tiberius's political enemies. [31] This form of slander was popular during this time in the Roman Republic to demean and discredit political opponents by accusing them of having an inappropriate sexual affair. "Augustus and the Power of Tradition", in, Gruen, Erich S. (2005). As Lepidus and Octavian accepted the surrender of Pompeius's troops, Lepidus attempted to claim Sicily for himself, ordering Octavian to leave. This in effect gave Augustus constitutional power superior to all other proconsuls in the empire. Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. . The soldiers retired, but because Octavian was Caesar, he knew he could count on their support if the Senate challenged his authority. On his deathbed, according to Suetonius, he quoted a line used by actors at the end of their performance: "Since I've played well, with joy your voices raise/ And from your stage dismiss me with your praise. Bleicken, Jochen. "Augustus [119], Years of civil war had left Rome in a state of near lawlessness, but the Republic was not prepared to accept the control of Octavian as a despot. Augustus tried to improve morals by passing laws to regulate marriage and family life and to control promiscuity. [254] Other projects were either encouraged by him, such as the Theatre of Balbus, and Agrippa's construction of the Pantheon, or funded by him in the name of others, often relations (e.g. Syria (like Egypt after Antony) was governed by a high prefect of the equestrian class rather than by a proconsul or legate of Augustus. The era that began when Augustus defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra in the final war of the Roman Republic in 30 BC, and ended when the Roman Senate granted …