The Augustan Principate
'A Period of confusion, unrest, civil strife and violence of all kinds had finally culminated in the emergence of one man as the supreme arbiter of the destinies of the roman world.' Octavian was that man. During his triumph in 29B.C, Octavian (later to become Augustus) had returned to Rome a hero after having organized the East. Octavian had held the consulship in 31B.C up until 23B.C. The Augustan principate was the name given to the reformations Augustus had brought to the Republic. These values were in essence applicable to the format of the Empire was run for the next 200 years. What Augustus done most successfully was recognize that he needed to rectify the mistakes that his predecessors had made as well implementing some of their more successful ideas into his plans. The Augustan principate was laid down for the first time in 27 B.C, however Augustus himself rectified it furthermore in 23 B.C and in 18B.C. The individual success of Augustus is plain to see as he survived at the heart of the Empire until his death at an old age. In several ways the reforms under Augustus had directly links to the past, such as the involvement of Augustus with the arts at the time and the emphasis he placed on upholding roman morals. He also
'After 20 years the civil wars were ended, foreign wars buried, peace recalled, the fury of arms everywhere lulled to sleep; their force was restored to the laws, authority to the courts, it's majesty to the senate: the rule of magistrates was restored to its old forms- except 2 praetors were added to the 8. The ancient original form of the commonwealth was restored' Velleius Paterculus wrote this in 30 A.D, at a time when the reforms of 27 B.C were still in effect. This was the attitude of the time but how much was this truth. After Augustus laid down his powers, fears of a renewing of civil war arose. It was decided that a compromise should be reached where Caesar maintained great power (particularly in the military) as well as restoring the old system. In this respect Augustus learned from Caesar the dictator, who was assassinated for not restoring the Republic and putting himself virtually into the position of a king. Augustus quickly showed that the memories of Caesars fate were fresh in his mind and that he was willing to collaborate with the senate. held pro-consular power, which had been seen in the past. Although there were links to the past the emphasis of the Augustan principate was the new format that Augustus introduced. The 19th century historian Mommsen argued that the division of provincial responsibility between the Emperor and senate was legitamate; he termed the situation as a diarchy. This was one of the new situations created by the Augustan principate. One thing which was relatively new to Romans was the peace and stability enjoyed under the rule of Augustus. The main emphasis of the reforms were to tie the Emperor closer to the military, how did Augustus do this? He gave new powers to new constitutional positions and gave precedence to the Roman value of the hierarchical system. He also set about a reform of the providences. The above when examined more closely can give us a more accurate picture of the Augustan principate's foundations, whether old theories or new ideas. Whilst Augustus did embrace the lower class he also recognized that he had to satisfy the needs of the senatorial oligarchy. Augustus realized this in 23 B.C; he also realized that a senator's ultimate ambition was to become a consul. Augustus realized that his perpetual consulship was agitating the Senate. In 23 B.C. he resigned and arranged for republicans to become consuls for what remained. In doing this he created an opportunity for ambitious senators to take control of the consulship. Augustus realized that in order to make the complex situation he was now in work he would have to make sacrifices to the Senate, as they were his partners in his 'Diarchy'. Without the backing of the Senate he could just be another Caesar. Augustus also believed in the Roman value of pietas (loyalty to your family) and this became clear when he decided to appoint his favorite to succeed him. He wanted someone from the Julian family, his family. He also used family links that he had developed to strengthen his position at the head of the army. Augustus knew that poems like the Aeneid could help convince people that he was some kind of a demi-god (although he never would have wished to have become one when considering the fate of Caesar after he was pronounced a god in 44B.C.). Whether or not Augustus ever was a demi-god is unclear but what is clear is that he used the Roman morality system to his own end effectively. He used the writings he had seen to promote his rule in index. These values were all old traditional values that Augustus re-introduced in order to strike a cord with the Roman people, a return to old values, it has since been referred to as 'Legislating Morality'. Symes also says in his book The Roman Revolution 'The Priceps, now a monopolist
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2540
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)
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