Augustus (Octavian) was the first Roman Emperor, ruling Rome and its vast territories from 27 BC to 14 AD. He created the Praetorian Guard to protect himself from any assassination attempt, thus preventing the fate of Julius Caesar. His birth name was Gaius Octavius (known as Octavian) as he belonged to the Gens Octavia (a Gens was a patrilineal clan or family). Thus, his forebears were of plebeian origins. Having defeated his political enemy, Mark Antony, in 31 BC at the Battle of Actium, he was named emperor and was bestowed the honorary title of 'Augustus' by the Senate. He was heir, grandnephew, and adopted son of Julius Caesar. He was also given the religious title of 'Pontiff', which means 'chief priest'. He was married to Livia Drusilla, a smart woman who exerted great influence on Augustus, especially on political matters.
Gaius Octavius was born in Rome in 63 BC. In 59 BC, when he was four years old, his father, a military, died. As a result, he would be raised by his grandmother Julia, who was Julius Caesar's sister. After Caesar’s assassination in 44 BC, 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. 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, to revenge the assassination of his greatgrand uncle. In 42 BC, the triumvirs defeated the armies of Brutus and Cassius, the murderers of Caesar, at Battle of Philippi in Macedonia.
Since Mark Antony was an ambitious consul who planned to rule Rome alone, the alliance of the Second Triumvirate collapsed and another civil war broke out. 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 (which means 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 BC). 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 with the purpose restoring the old paternal order and peace (Pax Romana). Therefore, he was very respectful of all the Roman political institutions.
Augustus was intelligent and had common sense. He knew how to maneuver between different social and political 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 a bureaucratic machinery. His policy toward the plebeians was amiably and protective, increasing their quota of free wheet. The imperial authority’s support was the army, especially the Praetorian Guard. 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; thus, 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 6–9 AD) and the defeat of the Roman Legions in the Teutoburg Forest, Germany, in 9 AD forced Augustus to give up any further attempt to conquer all of Germania. 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. Augustus died in 14 AD and he was succeeded by Tiberius.
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| Above, marble bust of Augustus, which was sculpted in 30 BC. |