The Politics of Caesar Augustus
In 31BC Augustus won the battle of Actium against his former colleague in the triumvirate, but now bitter rival, Antony and the queen of Egypt, Cleopatra, after having been in the triumvirate since 43BC.
This immediately faced him with a grating predicament; he now sought to fit his own position, as sole remaining member of the triumvirate, with the old republican system. He had several problems, one of which was that all through the civil war with Antony he had portrayed Antony to be a tyrant and a ruthless man who wanted to rule Rome for himself, as a dictator. This was potentially what he had now become, and so he had several possibilities; to retire, which could lead to another civil war, and he was too ambitious to do this; or to acquire total autocratic power, and be open to the same fate as Julius Caesar. In fact his plan was to create an image for himself that presented him as a head of state who would rule alongside the senate.
Octavian was too ambitious to withdraw, and so claimed to escort the senate and the people of Rome to a liberated and peaceful empire, upholding the traditions that Rome stood for, and shrewdly responding to public judgment.
He first looked to the triumvirate, who had been granted full emergency powers in 43BC because Rome was considered to be in need of repair. This did not mean the abolition of the senate, its assemblies and magistracies were all kept functioning, but could only advise the triumvirate, and could be overruled by them at any time. Octavian held on to the full emergency powers at the end of the battle of Actium and then set out to resolve the problem of the "state of emergency."
He knew he had to keep the army under control at this tim...
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...ommemorating his "valour, clemency, justice and piety", and proclaiming the virtues of the ideal ruler." These acts were successful because the Senate felt obliged to give him these honours and galvanised the image of a republican and not a tyrant.
He eventually commanded some twenty legions with his three provincia, while the other three proconsuls commanding a province each only had five or six, therefore giving him overall military supremacy.
The same year he was also given the name Augustus by the Senate, meaning "majesty", "venerable" or "revered one", and given the honour of first citizen know as princeps, a title with no power but traditional significance, After holding successive consulships for seven years, he was granted imperium, meaning he had the power to command an army and put a man to death, but with no trace of authoritarianism or monocracy.
During the Republic, the people of Rome had a major disinclination towards any sort of Royalty, which is why when Caesar attempted to lead undemocratically indefinitely, he disrupted one of the core stances that romans shared communally. Caesar over indulged in power when he retitled himself as ‘dictator in perpetuo’. “And as Caesar was coming down from Alba into the city they ventured to hail him as king. But at this the people were confounded, and Caesar, disturbed in mind, said that his name was not King, but Caesar, and seeing that his words produced an universal silence, he passed on with no very cheerful or contented looks…..But the most open and deadly hatred towards him was produced by his passion for the royal power.” Caesars egotism and self-importance made him uncherished by members of the senate. “Everybody knew that Caesar's ego would never allow him to play second fiddle to another senator, and it was equally well-known that another famous military leader, Pompey the Great, had similar ambitions. In January 49, more or less at...
...rned the essential plans that a leader would need to lead him troops. He also had the morale and spirits to keep the troops ready to fight for the freedom they wanted, as well as his ability to command such troops in placement and tactics.
1. In my nineteenth year, on my own initiative and at my own expense, I raised an army with which I set free the state, which was oppressed by the domination of a faction. For that reason, the senate enrolled me in its order by laudatory resolutions, when Gaius Pansa and Aulus Hirtius were consuls (43 B.C.E.), assigning me the place of a consul in the giving of opinions, and gave me the imperium. With me as propraetor, it ordered me, together with the consuls, to take care lest any detriment befall the state. But the people made me consul in the same year, when the consuls each perished in battle, and they made me a triumvir for the settling of the state.
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.
30 BC ~ Octavian was given the title of Imperator, which was used in the Eastern provinces. Imperium suggests unlimited imperium (or power) (Antiquity 2 Interpreting The Past) This was the first of many titles that were to be given to Octavian after his defeat of Mark Antony in 31 BC at the Battle of Actium. It indicates that the provinces thought Octavian was worthy of being honoured, and that the power he possessed at the time should remain his. Therefore this was the first factor that initiated the rise of Octavian.
He agreed, making a tactical decision to return power to the Senate, subsequently abandoning his control of the provinces and the armies. However, his troops remained loyal to him and his financial power remained unrivaled throughout the Roman Republic. Once again, the Senate proclaimed Augustus a victor of civil wars, and he resumed command of the provinces as well as the armies. This made him the overall leader and figurehead since he was a powerful political
At an early age, Tiberius was given military command and in his first campaign he won great renown with his troops and the Senate. He followed this up with another victory in Pannonia and for his efforts he received a triumph in Rome, the single greatest honor any general could receive. Augustus granted him the powers of a Tribune. Tiberius cared greatly for the welfare of his soldiers and they responded with respect and deep ...
Cassius Dio believes the Empire and Augustus owe quite a lot to the aid of Maecenas, Marcus Agrippa, and Livia. The trifecta aided Augustus in ruling and improving the empire, while sporadically corralling the Octavian mindset inside of Augustus. Augustus single-handedly appointed Agrippa to settle disputes that arose on the frontier, and in Rome. He was the ultimate plug-n-play general of the Empire, and proved his worth early on. Maecenas had a profound impact on Augustus’ decision to retain the power that he acquired after defeating Marc Antony and Cleopatra.
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.
Augustus Caesar was the one of the main powers in ancient Rome and a member of the second triumvirate. When one of the other members, Mark Antony, committed suicide along with his lover, Cleopatra, there was a lot of outrage being expressed by the entire general populace about what was going on with the state of their country. Augustus was now the undisputed political and militaristic power in Rome. Now that he had attained such power, he wanted to maintain it at all costs. To do this, he had to be backed by not only the Roman senate and Aristocracy; but also by Rome’s everyday citizen. In an effort to change public opinion about him, Augustus turned where many other leaders in history have; propoganda.
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.
After marching to 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 to Rome, victorious. After declaring himself Dictator for Life, Caesar was assassinated, and another Civil War ensued.... ...
Philosopher A: In the Republic, the Senate was the primary branch of the Roman government and held the majority of the political power. It controlled funds, administration and foreign policy, and had significant influence on the everyday life of the Roman people. When Augustus came to power, he kept the Senate and they retained their legal position. The Emperor’s rule was legitimized by the Senate as he needed the senators experience to serve as administrators, diplomats and generals. Although technically the most authoritative individual in Rome, Augustus strived to embody Republican values.
“Caesar was a brilliant general, a clever engineer, and administrator of genius, and a leader who demanded and commanded loyalty. He also was a corrupt politician” (Dando-Collins 4). Caesar would go on to be a dictator and his gain in power would corrupt him. He often bypassed the Senate, taking their power away. With Caesar’s growing power the Senate feared that they would soon lose their political relevance.
...ted the aristocracy and knew that no matter what they did they would not be granted the life and power they wanted. Even the tribune of the plebs and all of the powers the office had granted upon it would either work against them, or someone who was in support of them would be killed off by the aristocracy. Instead of killing the remaining members of the Senate off, he let them do it for him as there was many vacant seats as a result of the civil wars. Caesar decided to elect his friends of Gaul and Hispania to the new vacant positions instead of having more of his local enemies. Any restrictions Caesar still had were now eliminated. Caesar controlled all of Rome.