Augustus

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Augustus (Latin: IMP•CAESAR•DIVI•F•AVGVSTVS;^[1] September 23, 63 BC – August 19, AD 14), known as Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (English Octavian; Latin: GAIVS•IVLIVS•CAESAR•OCTAVIANVS) prior to 27 BC, was the first and among the most important of the Roman Emperors. Augustus accumulated political power since his youth due to blood relation and reputation with his grand uncle Julius Caesar. Roughly a year after Julius was assassinated in 44 BC, Augustus used his political power and martial might to form the Second Triumvirate over Rome. While Augustus eventually became the sole ruling emperor, the other two members of this ruling triumvirate weren't as fortunate; Mark Antony was forced to commit suicide and Marcus Lepidus was forced into exile.

Although he preserved the outward facade of the Roman Republic and governmental power vested in the Roman Senate, Augustus ruled in actuality as an autocrat for 41 years, longer than any subsequent Emperor other than Theodosius II. The period of Augustus' reign is the dividing line between the Republic and the Roman Empire. He ended a century of civil wars in Rome and initiated an era of peace, prosperity, and imperial greatness known as the Pax Romana, or Roman peace, which lasted for more than 200 years. He made crucial reforms to the Roman system of taxation, and the period of his reign left behind many erected monuments in his honor. He was revered as a deity by the Roman people, and granted many titles such as pater patriae, "father of the country".^[2]

[edit] Early life

Main article: Early life of Augustus

Augustus was born in Rome (or Velletri) on September 23, 63 BC with the name Gaius Octavius.^[3] His father, of the same name, came from a respectable but undistinguished family of the equestrian order and was governor of Macedonia.^[4]

Shortly after Octavius's birth, his father gave him the cognomen of Thurinus, possibly to commemorate his victory at Thurii over a rebellious band of slaves.^[5] His mother, Atia, was the niece of Julius Caesar, soon to be Rome's most successful general and Dictator. Octavius spent his early years in his grandfather's house near Veletrae (modern Velletri).

In 59 BC, when he was four years old, his father died. He was brought up by his mother and his stepfather, Lucius Marcius Philippus.^[6]

In 52 or 51 BC, Octavius delivered the funeral oration for his grandmother Julia, elder sister of Caesar.^[7] He donned the toga virilis four years later,^[8] and was elected to the College of Pontiffs.^[9] According to Nicolaus of Damascus, Octavius wished to join Caesar's staff for his campaign in Africa but gave way when Atia protested.^[10] The following year, 46 BC, she consented for him to join Caesar in Hispania, where he planned to fight the forces of Pompey, Caesar's enemy who was already dead by then, but he fell ill and was unable to travel.

When he had recovered, he sailed to the front, but was shipwrecked; after coming ashore with a handful of companions, he made it across hostile territory to Caesar's camp, which impressed his great-uncle considerably.^[8] Velleius Paterculus reports that Caesar afterwards allowed the young man to share his carriage.^[11] When back in Rome, Caesar deposited a new will with the Vestal Virgins, naming Octavius as the prime beneficiary.^[12]

[edit] Rise to power

[edit] Heir to Caesar

When Caesar was killed on the Ides of March (the 15th) 44 BC, Octavius was in Apollonia, Illyria, studying and undergoing military training. Rejecting the advice of some army officers to take refuge with the troops in Macedonia, he sailed to Italia in order to ascertain if he had any potential political fortunes or security.^[13] After landing at Lupiae near Brundisium, he learnt of the contents of Caesar's will, and only then did he decide to become Caesar's political heir as well as heir to his estate.^[14][13] Having no legitimate children alive (his daughter Julia had died in 54 BC), Caesar had adopted his great-nephew Octavius as his son and main heir. Owing to his adoption, Octavius assumed the name Gaius Julius Caesar. Roman tradition dictated that he also append the surname Octavianus (Octavian) to indicate his biological family; however, no evidence exists that he ever used that name, as it would have made his modest origins too obvious.^[15][16] Mark Antony later charged that Octavian had earned his adoption by Caesar through sexual favours, though Suetonius describes Antony's accusation as political slander.^[17]

In order to make a successful entry into the echelons of the Roman political hierarchy, Octavian could not rely economically on his presently limited funds.^[18] Octavian first demanded a portion of the funds that were alotted by Caesar in the intended war against Parthia in the Middle East.^[18] Octavian began to bolster his personal forces with Caesar's veteran legionaries and troops designated for the Parthian war, gathering support by emphasizing his status as heir to Caesar.^[19][13] Augustus also made the bold move of appropriating the annual tribute that had been sent from Rome's Near Eastern province to Italy, without any official permission to do so.^[16] On his march to Rome through Italy, Octavian's presence and newly-acquired funds attracted many, winning over Caesar's former veterans stationed in Campania.^[16]

Arriving in Rome on May 6th, 44 BC,^[16] Octavian found the consul Mark Antony, Caesar's former colleague, in an uneasy truce with the dictator's assassins. The assassins were granted a general amnesty on March 17, yet Antony succeeded in driving most of them out of Rome due to his "inflammatory" eulogy given at Caesar's funeral, mounting public opinion against the assassins.^[16] Although Marc Antony was amassing political clout, Octavian still had opportunity to rival him as the leading member of the faction which supported Caesar. Marc Antony had lost the support of many Romans and supporters of Caesar when he at first opposed the motion to elevate Caesar to divine status.^[20] Octavian failed to persuade Antony to relinquish Caesar's money to him, but managed to win support from Caesarian sympathizers during the summer.^[21] In September, the Optimate orator Marcus Tullius Cicero began to attack Antony in a series of speeches; with opinion in Rome turning against him and his year of consular power nearing its end, Antony attempted to pass laws which would lend him control over Cisalpine Gaul, which had been assigned as part of his province, from Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus, one of Caesar's assassins.^[22] Octavian meanwhile built up a private army in Italy by recruiting Caesarian veterans, and won over two of Antony's legions with the enticing offer of monetary gain.^[23][24] Antony then besieged Decimus Brutus at Mutina. The resolutions passed by the Roman Senate to stop the violence were not accepted by Antony, as the Senate had no army of its own to challenge him; this situation spelled opportunity for Octavian, who was already known to have armed forces.^[24] Cicero was also known to defend Octavian against Antony's taunts that Octavian lacked noble lineage of consular ancestors, with Cicero stating of Octavian, "we have no more brilliant example of traditional piety among our youth."^[25] In this unlikely alliance orchestrated by the arch anti-Caesarian senator Cicero, the Senate made Octavian a fellow senatorial member who could vote alongside the former consuls.^[24] In addition, Octavian was granted imperium (commanding power), which made his command of troops legal, sending him to relieve the siege along with Hirtius and Pansa (the consuls for 43 BC).^[26][24] In April of 43 BC, Antony's forces were defeated at the Battles of Forum Gallorum and Mutina, forcing Antony to retreat to Transalpine Gaul. However, both consuls were killed, leaving Octavian in sole command of their armies.^[27][28]

The senate attempted to give command of the consular legions to Decimus Brutus, but Octavian refused to surrender them. In July, an embassy from Octavian entered Rome and demanded that he receive the consulship. When this was refused, he marched on the city with eight legions. He encountered no military opposition in Rome, and on August 19, 43 BC was elected consul with his relative Quintus Pedius as colleague.^[29] Meanwhile, Antony formed an alliance with Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, another leading Caesarian.^[30]

[edit] The Second Triumvirate

In a meeting near Bologna in October of 43 BC, Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus formed a junta called the Second Triumvirate.^[31] This was an explicit grant of special powers lasting five years and supported by law passed by the plebs, unlike the unofficial First Triumvirate formed by Gnaeus Pompey Magnus, Julius Caesar and Marcus Licinius Crassus.^[32][31] The triumvirs then set in motion proscriptions in which 300 senators and 2,000 equites branded as outlaws were deprived of their property and, for those who failed to escape, their lives.^[33] This issued decree by the triumvirate was motivated in part by a need to raise money in order to pay their troops' salaries for the upcoming conflict against Caesar's assassins, Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus.^[34] Incentive was given for Romans to capture those listed in the proscription due to rewards given for their arrest, while the assets and properties of those arrested were seized as profit by the triumvirs.^[33] This measure by the triumvirs went beyond a simple purge of those allied with the assassins. Octavian objected to enacting the proscriptions at first because he wanted to spare the life of his newfound ally Cicero (who was to be listed on the proscriptions).^[33] However, Antony's hatred of Cicero was unyielding, and Cicero fell victim to the occassion.^[33] The manhunt and killing of so many Republican senators allowed the triumvirs to fill in the gaps of their positions with their own loyal cronies; this replacement called the "Roman revolution" by 20th century historians had far-reaching implications in that it wiped out the old order and established a sturdy political foundation for the Augustan form of leadership to come.^[35]

On January 1 42 BC, the Senate recognised Caesar as a divinity of the Roman state, "Divus Iulius". Octavian was able to further his cause by emphasizing the fact that he was Divi filius, "Son of God".^[36] Antony and Octavian then sent 28 legions by sea to face the armies of Brutus and Cassius, who had built their base of power in Greece.^[35] After two battles at Philippi in Macedonia in Octobor of 42 BC, the Caesarian army was victorious and Brutus and Cassius committed suicide. Marc Antony would later use the examples of these battles as a means to belittle Octavian, as both battles were decisively won with the use of Antony's forces.^[37] Octavian was branded a coward by Antony for handing over direct military control to Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa instead.^[37]

After the battle, a new territorial arrangement was made between the members of the Second Triumvirate. While Antony would leave Gaul, the provinces of Hispania, and Italia in the hands of Octavian, Antony traveled east to Egypt where he allied himself with Queen Cleopatra VII, the former lover of Julius Caesar and mother of Caesar's infant son, Caesarion. Lepidus was left with the province of Africa, stymied by Antony who conceded Hispania to Octavian instead.^[38] Octavian was left with the decision on where in Italy to settle tens of thousands of veterans of the Macedonian campaign whom the triumvirs had promised to discharge, as well as the tens of thousands who had fought on the republican side with Brutus and Cassius (who could easily ally with a political opponent of Octavian if not appeased).^[38] There was no more government-controlled land to allot as settlements for their soldiers, so Octavian had to choose one of two options: alienating many Roman citizens by confiscating their land, or alienating many Roman soldiers who could mount a considerable opposition against him in the Roman heartland; Octavian chose the former.^[39] There were as many as 18 Roman towns affected by the new settlements, with entire populations driven out or at least given partial evictions.^[40] Widespread dissatisfaction with Octavian encouraged many to rally at the side of Lucius Antonius, who was brother of Marc Antony and supported by the majority in the Senate.^[40] However, Lucius took a political and martial gamble in opposing Octavian, since the Roman army still depended on the triumvirs for their salaries; in the end, Lucius and his allies became holed up in a defensive siege at Perusia (modern Perugia), where Octavian forced their surrender in early 40 BC.^[40] Lucius was spared due to his kinship with Antony, the strongman of the East, yet Augustus showed no mercy for the allies of Lucius; on March 15, the anniversary of Julius Caesar's assassination, he had 300 Roman senators and equestrians executed for allying with Lucius.^[41] This bloody event somewhat sullied Octavian's career and was criticized by many, such as the Augustan poet Sextus Propertius.^[41]

While in Rome, Octavian asked for a divorce from Clodia Pulchra, the daughter of Fulvia and her first husband Publius Clodius Pulcher. Since his marriage with Clodia was never consummated, he returned her to her mother with a letter informing her that he was returning her in "mint" condition. Fulvia, Mark Antony's wife, decided to take action. Together with Lucius Antonius, Mark Antony's brother, she raised eight legions in Italy to fight for Antony's rights against Octavian. The army occupied Rome for a short time, but eventually retreated to Perusia (modern Perugia). Octavian besieged Fulvia and Lucius Antonius in the winter of 41 BC–40 BC, starving them into surrender. Fulvia was exiled to Sicyon, where she died of a sudden illness, while Antony was en route to meet her. Octavian and Scribonia, whom Octavian married after divorcing Clodia, conceived Octavian's only natural child, Julia, who was born the same day that he divorced Scribonia to marry Livia Drusilla.

While in Egypt, Antony had been engaged in an affair with Cleopatra VII of Egypt that resulted in three children, Alexander Helios, Cleopatra Selene II and Ptolemy Philadelphus. Aware of his deteriorating relationship with Octavian, Antony left Cleopatra. Fulvia's death allowed for the two triumvirs to effect a reconciliation. Octavian gave his sister, Octavia Minor, in marriage to Antony in 40 BC. During their marriage, Octavia gave birth to two daughters (known as Antonia Major and Antonia Minor). In 37 BC, Antony deserted Octavia and went back to Egypt to be with Cleopatra.

Sextus Pompeius, son of the first Triumvir and still a renegade general following Caesar's victory over Pompey, was established in Sicily and Sardinia as part of an agreement reached with the Second Trimvirate in 39 BC.^[42] The agreement soon broke down when Octavian managed to take control of Sardinia and, after the Second Triumvirate was extended for another five year period in 37 BC^[43] Octavian and Lepidus launched a joint operation against Sextus in Sicily. Despite setbacks for Octavian Sextus was eventually defeated, fleeing to the east where he was put to death on the orders of Antony. Lepidus, whose forces were swollen to 22 legions when he took the surrender of some of the Pompeian troops, claimed Sicily for himself and ordered Octavian to leave. Weary of fighting however, his troops deserted to Octavian and whilst Lepidus was permitted to retain the office of Pontifex Maximus he was ejected from the Triumvirate, his public career at an end.^[44] The Roman dominions were now divided between Octavian in the West and Antony in the East.

While Antony occupied himself with military campaigns against the Parthians and a romantic affair with Cleopatra, Octavian built a network of allies in Rome, consolidated his power, and spread propaganda implying that Antony was becoming less than Roman because of his preoccupation with Egyptian affairs and traditions. In 32 BC the senate officially declared war on the Cleopatra's foreign regime in Egypt, in order to avoid the stigma of yet another civil war in Rome. It was quickly decided: in the bay of Actium on the western coast of Greece, after Antony's men began deserting, the fleets met in a large battle in which many ships were burned and thousands on both sides were slain. Octavian defeated his rivals who then fled to Egypt. He pursued them, and after another defeat, Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide. Having exploited his position as Caesar's heir to further his own political career Octavian was only too well aware of the dangers in allowing another to do so and, reportedly commenting that "two Caesars are one too many", he ordered Caesarion to be killed whilst sparing Cleopatra's children by Antony.^[45][46]

[edit] Octavian becomes Augustus

The western half of the Roman Republic had sworn allegiance to Octavian prior to Actium in 31 BC. After Actium and the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra, Octavian was then in a position to rule the entire Republic. 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. At the same time, Octavian could not simply give up his authority without risking further civil wars amongst the Roman generals, and even if he desired no position of authority whatsoever, his position demanded that he look to the well-being of the city of Rome and the Roman provinces. Marching into Rome, he forced the Roman Senate to name him consul; as such, he was now legally in command of the legions of Rome, although he had given up his personal armies.

[edit] First settlement

In 27 BC, Octavian officially returned power to the Roman Senate and offered to relinquish his own military supremacy over Egypt.

Reportedly, the suggestion of Octavian's stepping down as consul led to rioting among the Plebeians in Rome.^{[citation needed]} A compromise was reached between the Senate and Octavian's supporters, known as the First Settlement. Octavian was given proconsular authority over the Western half and Syria — the provinces that, combined, contained almost 70% of the Roman legions.

The Senate also gave him the titles Augustus and Princeps. Augustus, from the Latin word Augere, "to increase," was a title of religious rather than political authority. According to Roman religious beliefs, the title symbolized a stamp of authority over humanity, and in fact nature, that went beyond any constitutional definition of his status. Additionally, after the harsh methods employed in consolidating his control, the change in name would also serve to separate his benign reign as Augustus from his reign of terror as Octavian. Princeps translates to "first-citizen" or "first-leader". It had been a title under the Republic for those who had served the state well; for example, Pompey had held the title.

In addition, Augustus was granted the right to hang the corona civica, the "civic crown" made from oak, above his door, and have laurels drape his doorposts. This crown was usually held above the head of a Roman general during a triumph, with the individual holding the crown charged to continually repeat "memento mori" ("Remember, you are mortal"), to the triumphant general. Additionally, laurel wreaths were important in several state ceremonies, and crowns of laurel were rewarded to champions of athletic, racing, and dramatic contests. Thus, both the laurel and the oak were integral symbols of Roman religion and statecraft; placing them on Augustus's doorposts was tantamount to declaring his home the capital. However, it must be noted that none of these titles, or the civic crown and laurels, granted Octavian any additional powers or authority; for all intents and purposes the new Augustus was simply a highly-honored Roman citizen, holding the consulship within the city and acting as proconsul in territories abroad.^{[citation needed]}

The actions of the Roman Senate in regards to Octavian were quite unusual. However, this was not the same body of patricians that had assassinated Caesar. Both Antony and Octavian had purged the Senate of suspect elements and planted it with their loyal partisans. It remains unknown how free a hand the Senate had in these transactions or what backroom deals were made, if any.

[edit] Second settlement

In 23 BC, Augustus renounced the consulship, but retained his consular imperium, leading to a second compromise between Augustus and the Senate known as the Second Settlement. Augustus was granted the power of a tribune (tribunicia potestas), though not the title, which allowed him to convene the Senate and people at will and lay business before it, veto the actions of either the Assembly or the Senate, preside over elections, and the right to speak first at any meeting. Also included in Augustus' tribunician authority were powers usually reserved for the Roman censor; these included the right to supervise public morals and scrutinize laws to ensure they were in the public interest, as well as the ability to hold a census and determine the membership of the Senate. No tribune of Rome ever had these powers, and there was no precedent within the Roman system for combining the powers of the tribune and the censor into a single position, nor was Augustus ever elected to the office of censor. Julius Caesar had been granted similar powers, wherein he was charged with supervising the morals of the state, however this position did not extend to the censor's ability to hold a census and determine the Senate's roster. Whether censorial powers were granted to Augustus as part of his tribunician authority, or he simply assumed these responsibilities, or, as Augustus indicates in his Res Gestae, he somehow retained consular authority, is still a matter of debate.

In addition to tribunician authority, Augustus was granted sole imperium within the city of Rome itself: all armed forces in the city, formerly under the control of the prefects and consuls, were now under the sole authority of Augustus. Additionally, Augustus was granted imperium proconsulare maius, or "imperium over all the proconsuls" (literally: greater proconsular authority), which translated to the right to interfere in any province and override the decisions of any governor. With maius imperium, Augustus was the only individual able to receive a triumph as he was ostensibly the head of every Roman army.

Many of the political subtleties of the Second Settlement seem to have evaded the comprehension of the Plebeian class. When, in 22 BC, Augustus failed to stand for election as consul, fears arose once again that Augustus, seen as the great "defender of the people", was being forced from power by the aristocratic Senate. In 22, 21, and 19 BC, the people rioted in response, and only allowed a single consul to be elected for each of those years, ostensibly to leave the other position open for Augustus.^[47] Finally, in 19 BC, the Senate voted to allow Augustus to wear the consul's insignia in public and before the Senate, with an act sometimes known as the Third Settlement. This seems to have assuaged the populace; regardless of whether or not Augustus was actually a consul, the importance was that he appeared as one before the people.

With these powers in mind, it must be understood that all forms of permanent and legal power within Rome officially lay with the Senate and the people; Augustus was given extraordinary powers, but only as a proconsul and magistrate under the authority of the Senate. Augustus never presented himself as a king or autocrat, once again only allowing himself to be addressed by the title princeps.^{[citation needed]} On March 6 12 BC, after the death of Lepidus, he additionally took up the position of pontifex maximus, the high priest of the collegium of the Pontifices, the most important position in Roman religion.^[48] On February 5, 2 BC, Augustus was also given the title pater patriae, or "father of the country".^[49][50]

Later Roman Emperors would generally be limited to the powers and titles originally granted to Augustus, though often, in order to display humility, newly appointed Emperors would often decline one or more of the honorifics given to Augustus. Just as often, as their reign progressed, Emperors would appropriate all of the titles, regardless of whether they had actually been granted by the Senate. The civic crown, which later Emperors took to actually wearing, consular insignia, and later the purple robes of a Triumphant general (toga picta) became the imperial insignia well into the Byzantine era, and were even adopted by many Germanic tribes invading the former Western empire as insignia of their right to rule.

[edit] Succession

Almost immediately after the First Settlement, Augustus fell ill. By 26 BC, Augustus had become bedridden, and the problem of succession came to the forefront. Augustus himself passed his signet ring and government documents to his close friends, Marcus Agrippa and Maecenas respectively. While Augustus recovered enough to make short trips and public appearances by 24 BC, and was certainly fully recovered by 23 BC, his illness seems to have brought the issue to the forefront of Augustus' plans.

Noted Augustan historian Ronald Syme argues that indications pointed toward his sister's son Marcellus, who had been married to Augustus' daughter Julia the Elder. Other historians dispute this, instead indicating a preference for Marcus Agrippa, who was arguably the only one of Augustus's associates who could have controlled the legions. After the death of Marcellus in 23 BC, Augustus married his daughter to Agrippa. This union produced five children, three sons and two daughters: Gaius Caesar, Lucius Caesar, Vipsania Julia, Agrippina the Elder, and Postumus Agrippa, so named because he was born after Marcus Agrippa died. Shortly after the Second Settlement, Agrippa was granted tribunician power and seems to have administered the eastern half of the empire from Samos in the Cyclades.

Augustus' intent to make Gaius and Lucius Caesar his heirs was apparent when he adopted them as his own children, and personally ushered them into their political careers by serving as consul with each. Augustus also showed favor to his stepsons, Livia's children from her first marriage, Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus and Tiberius Claudius, granting them military commands and public office, and seeming to favor Drusus after granting him a triumph after subjugating a large portion of Germany.

After Agrippa died in 12 BC, Livia's son Tiberius was ordered to divorce his own wife and marry Agrippa's widow, Augustus's daughter. Tiberius shared in Augustus' tribune powers, but shortly thereafter went into retirement, reportedly wanting no further role in politics. A somewhat apocryphal tale tells of Augustus's various attempts to convince Tiberius to return, even going so far as to pretend to have fallen ill and be on his deathbed; Tiberius reportedly responded by anchoring his vessel off the coast of Ostia until word had reached him that Augustus would be well, then sailing straightway for Rhodes. After the early deaths of both Lucius and Gaius in 2 and 4 respectively, and the earlier death of his brother Drusus (9 BC), Tiberius was recalled to Rome, where he was adopted by Augustus on the condition that he, in turn, adopt Germanicus, continuing the tradition of presenting at least two generations of heirs to Augustus's powers.

On August 19, AD 14, Augustus died, and Tiberius was named his heir. His famous last words were "Did you like the performance?"-referring to the play-acting and regal authority that he had put on as emperor. The only other possible claimant, Postumus Agrippa, had been banished by Augustus, and was put to death around the same time. Who ordered his death is unknown, but the way was clear for Tiberius to assume his stepfather's powers.

[edit] Augustus' legacy

Augustus was deified soon after his death, and both his borrowed surname, Caesar, and his title Augustus became the permanent titles of the rulers of Roman Empire for fourteen centuries after his death, in use both at Old Rome and New Rome. In many languages, caesar became the word for emperor, as in German (Kaiser) and in Russian (Tsar). The cult of Divus Augustus continued until the state religion of the Empire was changed to Christianity in the 4th century following the Edict of Milan. Consequently, there are many excellent statues and busts of the first emperor. He had composed an account of his achievements, the Res Gestae Divi Augusti, to be inscribed in bronze in front of his mausoleum.^[51] Copies of the text were inscribed throughout the empire upon his death.^[52] The inscriptions in Latin featured translations in Greek beside it, and were inscribed on many public edifices, such as the temple in Ankara dubbed the Monumentum Ancyranum, called the "queen of inscriptions" by historian Theodor Mommsen.^[53] There are a few other written works by Augustus that have not survived. This includes his poems Sicily, Epiphanus, and Ajax, an autobiography of 13 books, a philosophical treatise, and a written rebuttal to Brutus' Eulogy of Cato.^[54]

Many consider Augustus to be Rome's greatest emperor; his policies certainly extended the empire's life span and initiated the celebrated Pax Romana or Pax Augusta. He was intelligent, decisive, and a shrewd politician, but he was not perhaps as charismatic as Julius Caesar, and was influenced on occasion by his third wife, Livia (sometimes for the worse). Nevertheless, his legacy proved more enduring.

Although the most powerful individual in the Roman Empire, Augustus wished to embody the spirit of Republican virtue and norms, and to level with the lay people. He achieved this through various means of generosity and a cutting back of lavish excess. In the year 29 BC, Augustus paid 400 sesterces each to 250,000 citizens, 1,000 sesterces each to 120,000 veterans in the colonies, spent 700 million sesterces in purchasing land for his soldiers to settle upon, and restored 82 different temples in order to display his care for the Roman pantheon of deities.^[55] If the latter examples displayed his generosity, then a grand act of his modest frugality came in the following year of 28 BC, when he melted down 80 silver statues erected in his likeness and in honor of him.^[55]

In looking back on the reign of Augustus and its legacy to the Roman world, its longevity should not be overlooked as a key factor in its success. As Tacitus wrote, the younger generations alive in AD 14 had never known any form of government other than the Principate.^[56] Had Augustus died earlier (in 23 BC, for instance), matters might have turned out differently. The attrition of the civil wars on the old Republican oligarchy and the longevity of Augustus, therefore, must be seen as major contributing factors in the transformation of the Roman state into a de facto monarchy in these years. Augustus' own experience, his patience, his tact, and his political acumen also played their parts. He directed the future of the empire down many lasting paths, from the existence of a standing professional army stationed at or near the frontiers, to the dynastic principle so often employed in the imperial succession, to the embellishment of the capital at the emperor's expense. Augustus' ultimate legacy was the peace and prosperity the empire enjoyed for the next two centuries under the system he initiated. His memory was enshrined in the political ethos of the Imperial age as a paradigm of the good emperor, and although every emperor adopted his name, Caesar Augustus, only a handful, such as Trajan, earned genuine comparison with him. His reign laid the foundations of a regime that lasted for 250 years.

[edit] Revenue reforms

Probably Augustus's most important legacy from the standpoint of its impact on the subsequent success of the Empire was his reform of Rome's public revenue system. Three of these reforms, in particular, are considered to have had substantial beneficial effects on both the fairness of the tax system and its effects on the Empire's economic prosperity.

The first reform was to bring a much larger portion of the Empire's expanded land base under consistent, direct taxation from Rome, instead of exacting varying, intermittent, and somewhat arbitrary tributes from each local province, as Augustus's predecessors had done. 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 second and equally important reform was the abolition of private tax farming and its replacement with salaried civil service tax collectors. The tax farmers had gained great infamy for their depredations, as well as great private wealth, by winning the right to tax local areas. Rome's revenue was the amount of the successful bids, and the tax farmers' profits consisted of any additional amounts they could forcibly wring from the populace with Rome's blessing. The more rapacious the tax farmer, the more he could afford to bid on the next area, and the more onerous the people's tax burdens became. Lack of effective supervision, combined with tax farmers' desire to maximize their profits, had produced a system of arbitrary exactions that was often barbarously cruel to taxpayers, widely (and accurately) perceived as unfair, and very harmful to investment and the economy. Its abolition was an enormous relief to the people, and perhaps more than any other factor explains not only the Empire's great prosperity for the next two centuries, but also Augustus's great personal popularity during his lifetime.

The third reform, the use of Egypt's immense land rents to finance the Empire's operations, resulted from Augustus's conquest of Egypt and the shift to a Roman form of government. As it was effectively considered Augustus's private property rather than a province of the Empire, it became part of each succeeding emperor's patrimonium. The highly productive agricultural land of Egypt yielded enormous revenues that were available to Augustus and his successors to pay for public works and military expeditions, as well as bread and circuses for the population of Rome. The diversion of this land rent to Rome's coffers was probably even beneficial to the Egyptian economy and people, as Rome provided better infrastructure and public administration in return for the money than the pharaohs had ever done.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Month of August

The month of August (Latin: Augustus) is named after Augustus; until his time it was called Sextilis (named so because it had been the sixth month of the original Roman calendar and the Latin word for six was sex). Commonly repeated lore has it that August has 31 days because Augustus wanted his month to match the length of Julius Caesar's July, but this is an invention of the 13th-century scholar Johannes de Sacrobosco. Sextilis in fact had 31 days before it was renamed, and it was not chosen for its length (see Julian calendar). According to a senatus consultum quoted by Macrobius, Sextilis was renamed to honour Augustus because several of the most significant events in his rise to power, culminating in the fall of Alexandria, fell in that month.

[edit] Building projects

See also Category:Augustan building projects.

Augustus boasted that he 'found Rome brick and left it marble'. Indeed, marble first came into extensive use during the reign of Augustus, while the Corinthian order of architectural style was dominant in the imperial phase of Rome.^[57] Although this did not apply to the Subura slums, which were still as rickety and fire-prone as ever, he did leave a mark on the monumental topography of the centre and of the Campus Martius, with the Ara Pacis (Altar of Peace) and monumental sundial, whose central gnomon was an obelisk taken from Egypt, the Temple of Caesar, the Forum of Augustus with its Temple of Mars Ultor, and also other projects either encouraged by him (eg Theatre of Balbus, Agrippa's construction of the Pantheon) or funded by him in the name of others, often relations (eg Portico of Octavia, Theatre of Marcellus). Even his own mausoleum was built before his death to house members of his family.