A quick overview of the Emperor Augustus, son of Julius Caesar.

1. Haley Lynn Shoemaker
Ancient Near East
Exam #2
The Reign of Augustus
Imperator Caesar Divi Filius Augustus was born in 63 BCE in Rome under the name of
his biological father, Gaius Octavius Thurinus. He was part of the Second Triumvirate with Marc
Antony and Marcus Lepidus. They divided Rome among themselves and ruled as dictators.
Inevitably, the three began to make war against each other, and eventually Augustus triumphed
over his former allies. After this bloody rise to power, Augustus set himself up as the first
emperor of Rome, which he veiled thinly by retaining traditional institutions of the old Republic.
His reign began the “Pax Romana,” or the Peace of Rome, an era of relative calm and stability in
the burgeoning empire. Augustus then expanded the territory of Rome hugely, and began to
establish “buffer zones” of client states to secure the now far-flung borders. He also made
various improvements to the infrastructure of the Roman Empire; the most crucial of these were
a standard system of taxation in Rome and her territories, an empire-wide courier system and a
network of roads radiating outward from Rome. Finally, Augustus died at the age of 75 in 14 CE,
and he was followed as emperor by his adopted son Tiberius. Views about the reign of Augustus
in the centuries following his death were understandably mixed. In spite of this, Augustus was
deified after his death, and his name, Caesar Augustus, became the official title of the emperor.
Augustus was named Julius Caesar’s son and the heir to his estate in Caesar’s will. In 43
BCE, he allied himself with Mark Anthony and Marcus Lepidus in the Second Triumverate,
which lasted from 43 BCE - 33 BCE. It was ultimately consumed by the rivalry between the

2. power-hungry Augustus and the equally ambitious Antony. Lepidus allied himself briefly with
Antony, but he tried to take control of Antony’s army and was exiled from the Triumvirate.
Augustus waged a successful and effective war of propaganda against Marc Antony. He turned
public opinion against Antony using Antony’s relationship with Cleopatra VII. The two finally
met at the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE. Augustus soundly defeated Marc Antony and pursued
him to Egypt in 30 BCE, where Antony and Cleopatra famously committed suicide. Augustus
then took control of Alexandria and Egypt.
Having defeated Marc Antony, Augustus was well placed to take control of Rome, which
after the death of Caesar and the resulting civil wars was nearly lawless and economically
troubled. Despite this, Romans were unanimously opposed to having an all-powerful ruler.
Augustus was politically savvy enough to know that the aristocracy and the plebeians alike
would revolt if he tried to openly create an absolute monarchy. Thus, he embraced the forms of
the Republic, publicly returning power to the Senate while privately and gradually increasing his
personal sphere of control. The Senate asked him to retake control of the provinces and gave him
ten years to tame these chaotic and barbaric lands. This act gave Augustus control of the majority
of the Roman legions and tacitly confirmed that held power over the Senate. Indeed, throughout
his reign Augustus used the Senate to wield power while avoiding pesky civil wars and
rebellions born of the Roman aversion to monarchy. Augustus conquered substantial new land,
reorganized and standardized taxation of those under Roman rule, and connected the ever-
growing empire by constructing roads and founding a courier service.
The Senate gave Augustus the titles of “Augustus” and “Princeps” in 27 BCE. The title
“Augustus” was a powerful acknowledgement of his unique position, as it had deep religious and
cultural connotations; “Princeps” was an affirmation of his Republicanism, declaring him first

3. among equals. In addition to these, Augustus had previously taken to calling himself “Imperator
Caesar Divi Filius,” which constantly reinforced his military victories and his familial ties to the
mythic Julius Caesar; now his title highlighted his position outside the Roman political structure
while simultaneously reassuring a Roman audience of his submission to that same structure.
Augustus made various reforms to the infrastructure of Rome. He institutionalized the
police force and a fire fighting service. He created a standing army for the new Empire. In 20
BCE, he also financed a building project that would change that fate of Rome: he began to build
roads. Later, these roads were expanded into the provinces, and these roads literally paved the
way for the endless process of expanding, securing and re-securing Rome’s territory, and carried
Roman culture throughout the western world.
After his death, Augustus was deified. In many ways he continued to rule Rome from
beyond the grave: his very name because synonymous with control of the Roman Empire; his
unofficial sphere of influence later became the official powers of the emperor; he built upon his
adoptive father’s framework, strengthening the practice of worshiping the emperor as a demigod;
and finally, he had a flourishing cult that lasted until the official adoption of Christianity as the
Imperial religion in 391 CE. Yet despite his godhood, many Roman historians found fault with
Augustus. A common theme runs through criticisms the reign of Augustus, a dichotomy best
illustrated by Tacitus. In his Annals, Tacitus partially accepts Augustus’ dictatorship, pointing to
Rome’s need for a leader following the death of Julius Caesar; he also praises the peace,
expansion and technological improvements of Augustus’ reign; however, he ultimately
concludes that national duty was merely an excuse for Augustus to exercise his lust for power.
The debate between viewing Augustus as a savior or as a tyrant still flourishes in universities to
this day.

4. In conclusion, Augustus changed Rome forever. Under his guidance, the faltering
Republic evolved into an Empire that lasted until the fall of the Constantinople in 1453. He used
a combined strategy of war and political intruigue to gain ultimate power, but used that power to
improve the lives of Romans and to strengthen the Roman civilization. He brought two centuries
of relative peace to his beloved war-obsessed Rome. He became a symbol as powerful as that of
Rome herself, and like Rome, he was a complex mixture of nationalistic loyalty, legendary
megalomania and seemingly unlimited ambition.