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Augustus(ôgŭs`təs, əgŭs`–), 63 B.C.–A.D. 14, first Roman emperor, a grandson of the sister of Julius CaesarCaesar, Julius
(Caius Julius Caesar), 100? B.C.–44 B.C., Roman statesman and general. Rise to Power
Although he was born into the Julian gens, one of the oldest patrician families in Rome, Caesar was always a member of the democratic or popular party.
..... Click the link for more information. . Named at first Caius Octavius, he became on adoption by the Julian gens (44 B.C.) Caius Julius Caesar Octavianus (Octavian); Augustus was a title of honor granted (27 B.C.) by the senate.
The Second Triumvirate
When Octavius was a youth, Caesar took a great interest in his education and made him his heir without the boy's knowledge. Octavius was in Illyricum when Caesar was killed, and he promptly set out for Rome to avenge the dictator's death. Before he reached the city, he heard that he was Caesar's heir. At Rome, AntonyAntony
or Marc Antony,
Lat. Marcus Antonius, c.83 B.C.–30 B.C., Roman politican and soldier. He was of a distinguished family; his mother was a relative of Julius Caesar.
..... Click the link for more information. was in control, and Octavian was recognized by CiceroCicero
(Marcus Tullius Cicero) or Tully,
106 B.C.–43 B.C., greatest Roman orator, famous also as a politician and a philosopher. Life
Cicero studied law and philosophy at Rome, Athens, and Rhodes.
..... Click the link for more information. and the senate as a leader against him. Antony went north to take Gaul and was defeated (43 B.C.) at Mutina (modern Modena).
Octavian secured the consulship and made an alliance with Antony and LepidusLepidus
, family of the ancient Roman patrician gens Aemilia. Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, d. 152 B.C., was a consul in 187 and 175 B.C., a censor in 179 B.C., and pontifex maximus [high priest] from 180 B.C.
..... Click the link for more information. (d. 13 B.C.) as the Second TriumvirateTriumvirate
, in ancient Rome, ruling board or commission of three men. Triumvirates were common in the Roman republic. The First Triumvirate was the alliance of Julius Caesar, Pompey, and Marcus Licinius Crassus formed in 60 B.C.
..... Click the link for more information. . Having proscribed the enemies of the triumvirate and the assasins of Caesar, Octavian and Antony went east and defeated (42 B.C.) the army of Marcus Junius BrutusBrutus
, in ancient Rome, a surname of the Junian gens. Lucius Junius Brutus, fl. 510 B.C., was the founder of the Roman republic. He feigned idiocy to escape death at the hands of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (see under Tarquin).
..... Click the link for more information. and Caius CassiusCassius
, ancient Roman family. There were a number of well-known members. Spurius Cassius Viscellinus, d. c.485 B.C., seems to have been consul several times. In 493 B.C. he negotiated a treaty establishing equal military assistance between Rome and the Latin cities.
..... Click the link for more information. Longinus at Philippi. Octavian's forces then attacked Sextus PompeiusPompeius, Sextus
, d. 35 B.C., Roman commander; one of the sons of Pompey the Great. He fought for his father at Pharsalus, then went to Egypt and, after the battle of Thapsus, to Spain, where he continued warring against Caesar's followers after the death of his elder brother
..... Click the link for more information. , who controlled Sicily and Sardinia; Marcus Vipsanius AgrippaAgrippa, Marcus Vipsanius
, c.63 B.C.–12 B.C., Roman general. A close friend of Octavian (later Emperor Augustus), he won a name in the wars in Gaul before becoming consul in 37 B.C. He organized Octavian's fleet and is generally given much credit for the defeat (36 B.C.
..... Click the link for more information. defeated (36 B.C.) Pompeius at Mylae.
Consolidation of Power
While his enemies were being defeated abroad, Octavian also had been consolidating his power in Rome. He was helped by the growing impatience of Rome with Antony's alliance with Cleopatra, and he had himself appointed (31 B.C.) general against Antony. After the naval battle off ActiumActium
, promontory, NW Acarnania, Greece, at the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. There are vestiges of several temples and an ancient town. At Actium was fought the naval battle (31 B.C.
..... Click the link for more information. , which Agrippa won over Antony and Cleopatra, Octavian controlled all Roman territories. Although he began to reform the city and the provinces, he never returned control of the state back to the people.
He did, however, give the impression that Rome had gone from a military dictatorship to constitutional rule. He established no court, and he considered himself, at least publicly, not the ruler, but rather the first citizen of the republic. The senate delighted to honor him: in 29 B.C. he was made imperator [Lat.,=commander; from it is derived emperor], in 28 B.C. princeps [leader; from it is derived prince], in 27 B.C. augustus [august, reverend], in 12 B.C. pontifex maximus [high priest], and a month (Sextilis) was renamed Augustus (August) in his honor.
In his effort to hold the borders set by Caesar, he attempted to create a buffer state of the German territory between the Rhine and the Weser (or the Elbe). This led to a rebellion in A.D. 9 by ArminiusArminius
, d. A.D. 21, leader of the Germans, called Hermann in modern German. He was a chief of the Cherusci (in an area of present-day Hanover) when the Romans were pushing east from the Rhine toward the Elbe.
..... Click the link for more information. in which VarusVarus
(Publius Quinctilius Varus) , d. A.D. 9, Roman general. In 13 B.C. he was consul with Tiberius Claudius Nero (later emperor as Tiberius) and later was governor of Syria. Although unsuited for the position, he was appointed governor of Germany by Augustus. In A.D.
..... Click the link for more information. was defeated. This was the only real reverse Augustus suffered.
Reforms and Policies
Augustus's reforms, which were far-reaching, fostered a revival of Roman tradition. He divided the provinces into two classes—senatorial, ruled by a proconsul chosen by the senate with a term of one year, and imperial, in charge of a governor solely responsible to Augustus with an indefinite term. To control the provinces Augustus encouraged local autonomy in administrative matters and allowed ethnic customs and cultural patterns to to flourish. He also spread the army throughout the empire; before this Italy had been burdened with a huge standing army.
Augustus studied the plans of Caesar for colonization throughout the empire. In economic policy, he supported business and industry. He made taxation more equitable and had general censuses taken. Knowing that the roads were the arteries of the empire, he lavished expenditures on them. He built a new forum, beautified the streets, improved housing conditions, and set up adequate police and fire protection. He was munificent to arts and letters, and he was a close friend of MaecenasMaecenas
(Caius Maecenas) , d. 8 B.C., Roman statesman and patron of letters. He was born (between 74 B.C. and 64 B.C.) into a wealthy family and was a trusted adviser of Octavian (Augustus), who employed Maecenas as his personal representative for various political missions.
..... Click the link for more information. and a patron of Vergil, Ovid, Livy, and Horace. He was succeeded by his stepson TiberiusTiberius
(Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus) , 42 B.C.–A.D. 37, second Roman emperor (A.D. 14–A.D. 37). He was the son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla and was originally named Tiberius Claudius Nero. He campaigned (20 B.C.) in Armenia, became (19 B.C.
..... Click the link for more information. .
See biographies by A. Everitt (2006) and A. Goldsworthy (2014); V. Ehrenberg and A. H. M. Jones, Documents Illustrating the Reigns of Augustus and Tiberius (2d ed. 1955); R. Syme, The Roman Revolution (1939); G. W. Bowersock, Augustus and the Greek World (1965); F. Millar and E. Segal, ed., Caesar Augustus: Seven Aspects (1984).
(up to 44 B.C., Gaius Octavius; from 44 B.C., Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus; from 27 B.C., Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian Augustus). Born Sept. 23, 63 B.C.; died Aug. 19, A.D. 14. Roman emperor from 27 B.C.
Octavian was the grandnephew of Julius Caesar, who adopted him in his will. After Caesar’s death in 44 B.C., Octavian expected to become his successor with the support of Caesar’s soldiers and veterans, although he as yet had held no magistracies. Receiving no support from the consul Mark Antony, Octavian sided with the Senate against him during the Mutina War in 43 B.C. Afterward, when the Senate refused to grant him a consulate, he broke with the Senate and concluded an alliance (the Second Triumvirate) with Antony and another Caesarist, Lepidus. In 42 B.C. the triumvirs defeated the armies of Brutus and Cassius, the murderers of Caesar, at Philippi in Macedonia. After defeating Antony’s allies in 40 B.C. during the Perusine War and winning a victory over Sextus Pompey in 36 B.C., Octavian deposed Lepidus and initiated a war against Antony. His victory at Actium in 31 B.C., over Antony and the Egyptian queen Cleopatra VII brought the civil war period to an end. By this time, all the government power was concentrated in Octavian’s hands. At the Senate’s meeting of Jan. 13, 27 B.C., he declared his intention to retire from public office, but “giving in” to the requests of the senators, he accepted a number of powers that virtually secured supreme power after him. After this, the Senate bestowed the title Augustus (glorified by the gods) on Octavian.
Augustus’ authority was formally based on traditional republican public and legal norms: he was a princeps of the Senate, held the imperium (that is, military power) of the higher magistrates, had the powers of a people’s tribune for life, was elected consul many times, and was high priest (from 12 B.C.). Although the republican institutions were retained, this already was a special form of monarchy known as the principate.
An extremely careful politician and an excellent diplomat, Augustus understood that the Romans were exhausted by the civil wars; for this reason, all legislative enactments were passed under the slogan of restoring the old paternal order and peace (Pax Romana). In politics it was characteristic for Augustus to maneuver between different social groups. While retaining the Senate’s prestige, he at the same time decreased its political role. Higher officials became recruited from the equites, whose numbers increased because of the Italian municipal nobility and soldiers who were promoted to commanders. To counteract the magistracies, which lost their real purpose, Augustus set up bureaucratic machinery. His policy toward the plebeians was that of “bread and spectacles.” The imperial authority’s support was the army, especially the praetorians. A series of laws enacted by Augustus strengthened the principles of slavery. Augustus’ policy regarding the provinces helped create a class of people interested in preserving Roman rule; all the Roman provinces were divided into those under the jurisdiction of the Senate and those under the jurisdiction of the emperor.
In the first years of his reign, Augustus conducted aggressive wars. Under his rule, the conquest of Spain was completed, and the provinces of Egypt, Moesia, Pannonia, and Germania were organized. However, rebellions in some provinces (in Pannonia in A.D. 6–9) and the defeat of the Romans in the Teutoburg Forest in A.D. 9 forced Augustus to give up any further campaigns.
Much construction was completed in Rome during Augustus’ reign, including the Altar of Peace [Ara Pacis], the Forum of Julius, and the Forum of Augustus. His reign also coincided with the Roman golden age of literature—the age of such writers as Vergil, Horace, Ovid, Tibullus, Proper-tius, and Titus Livy.
REFERENCEMashkin, N. A. Printsipat Avgusta. Moscow, 1949. (With bibliography.)
I. L. MAIAK