[242] In his Memoirs of the Court of Augustus, the Scottish scholar Thomas Blackwell (1701–1757) deemed Augustus a Machiavellian ruler, "a bloodthirsty vindicative usurper", "wicked and worthless", "a mean spirit", and a "tyrant". [232], Although the most powerful individual in the Roman Empire, Augustus wished to embody the spirit of Republican virtue and norms. [137] This was a clever ploy by Augustus; ceasing to serve as one of two annually elected consuls allowed aspiring senators a better chance to attain the consular position, while allowing Augustus to exercise wider patronage within the senatorial class. [187] Before the final fight with Antony, Octavian's campaigns against the tribes in Dalmatia were the first step in expanding Roman dominions to the Danube. For instance, Romulus Augustulus was technically a usurper who ruled only the Italian peninsula and was never legally recognized. This provided an opportunity for Octavian, who already was known to have armed forces. The will would have given away Roman-conquered territories as kingdoms for his sons to rule, and designated Alexandria as the site for a tomb for him and his queen. In 305, following Maximian's abdication, Constantine's father became Emperor Constantius I. Constantine then joined his father on a military campaign and fought alongside him in Britain. [149], A second problem later arose showing the need for the Second Settlement in what became known as the "Marcus Primus Affair". His ears were of moderate size, and his nose projected a little at the top and then bent ever so slightly inward. Sextilis in fact had 31 days before it was renamed, and it was not chosen for its length (see Julian calendar). [82], Lucius and his army were spared, due to his kinship with Antony, the strongman of the East, while Fulvia was exiled to Sicyon. [19] His mother married a former governor of Syria, Lucius Marcius Philippus. "The Political History of Iran Under the Arsacids", in. Legally, it was closed to patricians, a status that Augustus had acquired some years earlier when adopted by Julius Caesar. It was there that Antony's fleet faced the much larger fleet of smaller, more maneuverable ships under commanders Agrippa and Gaius Sosius in the Battle of Actium on 2 September 31 BC. The Triumvirate was eventually torn apart by the competing ambitions of its members; Lepidus was exiled in 36 BC, and Antony was defeated by Octavian at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC. [210][211] This element features in many modern works of historical fiction pertaining to Augustus's life, but some historians view it as likely to have been a salacious fabrication made by those who had favoured Postumus as heir, or other of Tiberius's political enemies. Augustus died in AD 14 at the age of 75, probably from natural causes. The event was celebrated in art such as the breastplate design on the statue Augustus of Prima Porta and in monuments such as the Temple of Mars Ultor ('Mars the Avenger') built to house the standards. He suffered from no delusions of grandeur. [168] All the accused were sentenced to death for treason and executed as soon as they were captured—without ever giving testimony in their defence. Augustus rejected monarchical titles, and instead called himself Princeps Civitatis ("First Citizen"). There had certainly been peace, but it was a blood-stained peace of disasters and assassinations.[238]. Adopted son and son-in-law of Antoninus Pius. To further cement relations of alliance with Mark Antony, Octavian gave his sister, Octavia Minor, in marriage to Antony in late 40 BC. [32][33] After landing at Lupiae near Brundisium, Octavius learned the contents of Caesar's will, and only then did he decide to become Caesar's political heir as well as heir to two-thirds of his estate. The style of government instituted by Augustus is called the Principate and continued until reforms by Diocletian. The only other times Augustus would serve as consul would be in the years 5 and 2 BC,[141][145] both times to introduce his grandsons into public life. The Roman world was largely free from large-scale conflict for more than two centuries, despite continuous wars of imperial expansion on the Empire's frontiers and the year-long civil war known as the "Year of the Four Emperors" over the imperial succession. [143], The situation was so serious that Augustus himself appeared at the trial, even though he had not been called as a witness. After his father's death, Constantine fought to take power. The contemporary Roman jurist Marcus Antistius Labeo (d. AD 10/11), fond of the days of pre-Augustan republican liberty in which he had been born, openly criticized the Augustan regime. After the demise of the Second Triumvirate, Augustus restored the outward façade of the free Republic, with governmental power vested in the Roman Senate, the executive magistrates, and the legislative assemblies. This caused them to insist upon Augustus's participation in imperial affairs from time to time. [172][173] On 5 February 2 BC, Augustus was also given the title pater patriae, or "father of the country". [186], To protect Rome's eastern territories from the Parthian Empire, Augustus relied on the client states of the east to act as territorial buffers and areas that could raise their own troops for defense. [234] Had Augustus died earlier (in 23 BC, for instance), matters might have turned out differently. On 6 March 12 BC, after the death of Lepidus, he additionally took up the position of pontifex maximus, the high priest of the college of the Pontiffs, the most important position in Roman religion. For example, Augustus' official name was Imperator Caesar Divi Filius Augustus. [146], This power allowed him to convene the Senate and people at will and lay business before them, to veto the actions of either the Assembly or the Senate, to preside over elections, and to speak first at any meeting. Alexander the Great served as king of Macedonia from 336 to 323 B.C. Out of this came the Nicene Creed, which affirmed that Jesus was a divine being. [52][53] Octavian meanwhile built up a private army in Italy by recruiting Caesarian veterans and, on 28 November, he won over two of Antony's legions with the enticing offer of monetary gain. [165], Likewise, there was a food shortage in Rome in 22 BC which sparked panic, while many urban plebs called for Augustus to take on dictatorial powers to personally oversee the crisis. [140][141] This was a surprise to many who believed Augustus would have named an heir to his position as an unofficial emperor. Armies, provinces, fleets, the whole system was interrelated. His father, also named Gaius Octavius, had been governor of Macedonia. [25][29][34], Upon his adoption, Octavius assumed his great-uncle's name Gaius Julius Caesar. May 2008. [74] Marcus Velleius Paterculus asserted that Octavian tried to avoid proscribing officials whereas Lepidus and Antony were to blame for initiating them. Since the question of what constitutes an emperor can be ambiguous, and dating the "fall of the Western Empire" arbitrary, this list includes details of both figures. [150] Some time prior to 1 September 22 BC, a certain Castricius provided Augustus with information about a conspiracy led by Fannius Caepio. Augustus's health had been in decline in the months immediately before his death, and he had made significant preparations for a smooth transition in power, having at last reluctantly settled on Tiberius as his choice of heir. [240] The 3rd-century historian Cassius Dio acknowledged Augustus as a benign, moderate ruler, yet like most other historians after the death of Augustus, Dio viewed Augustus as an autocrat. In 289, Constantine's father left Helena to marry the stepdaughter of Maximian, the Western Roman emperor. The coercion that frequently resulted was implied in this formulation. [177] Augustus's accumulation of powers was now complete. [83] This bloody event sullied Octavian's reputation and was criticized by many, such as Augustan poet Sextus Propertius. 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. Jones, A. H. M. "The Imperium of Augustus". Chosen by Constantine VIII to marry his daughter Zoe and succeed him as emperor. This division was consistently in place after the death of Theodosius I in 395, which historians have dated as the division between the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire. Augustus dramatically enlarged the Empire, annexing Egypt, Dalmatia, Pannonia, Noricum, and Raetia, expanding possessions in Africa, and completing the conquest of Hispania, but suffered a major setback in Germania. [162], In addition, the credit was given to Augustus for each subsequent Roman military victory after this time, because the majority of Rome's armies were stationed in imperial provinces commanded by Augustus through the legatus who were deputies of the princeps in the provinces. This in effect gave Augustus constitutional power superior to all other proconsuls in the empire.

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