Augustus 27 B.C.-14 A.D
Augustus or 'Auggie' as I have come to call him, was the first real Roman emperor, to replace the old Roman republic, which dated back to 509 BC, with a system of monarchy headed by emperors. His reign brought Rome peace and stability after a century of civil war, and provided a model government that it would be hard for his successors to eqial. Gaius Octavius, as he was originally known, was only 18 when in 43 BC his great-uncle, and dictator Julius Caesar, was assassinated. When his will was finaly opened, Octavius was named as Caesar's heir, and he was posthumously adopted as the dictator's son. He became known formally as Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, but he called himself Caesar, so as to appeal to the dictator's veterans and supporters. However, modern scholars, call him Octavian, to avoid confusion with the dictator Caesar.
The years 44 to 31 BC saw a great struggle for dominance between Octavian and Caesar's deputy Marcus Antonius, known to the rest of us as Mark Antony. The senate, which was led by Cicero, supported Octavian, who defeated Antony in 43 and took the consulship by force. Not long after, Octavian changed sides, forming the 'second triumvirate' with Antony and Lepidus. Some 300 senators, including Cicero, were murdered, and Caesar's assassins, Brutus and Cassius, were destroyed at Philippi (42). While Antony remained in the east, Octavian retained a hold on Italy. The relations between the triumvirs were formalised at Brundisium (40); Lepidus was given Africa, and Antony married Octavian's sister Octavia. In 36, Octavian defeated Pompey's son Sextus Pompeius at Naulochus, and also ousted Lepidus from the triumvirate. Mobilising public opinion against Antony, who had married Cleopatra and was setting up a dynasty to rule over the eastern Roman empire from Alexandria, Octavian declared war on Cleopatra alone (to disguise the fact that he was initiating a civil war), and defeated Antony at Actium in 31.
Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide, and Octavian was left as sole ruler of the empire (to which Egypt was now added) - in the same position that Caesar had been in after winning the civil war against the republicans in 45. Instead of following Caesar's example, however, and making himself dictator, Octavian in 27 BC founded the principate (from princeps, 'the leading man'), a system of monarchy headed by an emperor holding power for life. His powers were hidden behind constitutional forms, and he took the name Augustus in order to make a break with his former image. Further constitutional settlements in 23 and 19 accomplished the necessary fine-tuning, leaving him with the modest-sounding 'tribunician power' as the power he chose to emphasise - under the old republic, tribunes of the plebs (elected representatives of the plebs, who were originally the non-privileged class of citizens) had been relatively junior officials. Nevertheless, he retained ultimate control of all aspects of the Roman state, with the army under his direct command. At home, he embarked on a large programme of reconstruction and social reform.
Rome was transformed by impressive new building ('I found Rome a city of brick and left it a city of marble' - Augustus), and through his agent Maecenas he extended his patronage to Virgil, Horace and Propertius, the leading Roman poets of the day. Virgil's epic poem the Aeneid, which gives a central place to Augustus, was published on the poet's death in 19, and reflects the new mood. Augustus also ensured that his image was everywhere promoted by means of statues and coins - but he was more careful than Caesar not to present himself as a god. Abroad, he created a standing army for the first time, and embarked upon a vigorous campaign of expansion designed to make Rome safe from the barbarians beyond the frontiers, and to secure the Augustan peace. His stepsons Tiberius and Drusus undertook the task (Augustus had married their mother Livia in 38). Between 16 BC and AD 6 the frontier was advanced from the Rhine to the Elbe in Germany, and up to the Danube along its entire length. But Drusus died in the process (9 BC), and in AD 9 the annihilation of three Roman legions in Germany (out of 28 overall), in the Varian disaster, led to the abandonment of Germany east of the Rhine.
The lost territory was never to be recovered. With such important projects in hand, there was obviously no point yet in undertaking the conquest of Britain (so we had a wee bit more breathing space). Augustus was determined to be succeeded by someone of his own blood, but he had no sons, only a daughter, Julia, the child of his first wife Scribonia. His nephew Marcellus and his beloved grandsons Gaius and Lucius pre-deceased him, so he reluctantly made Tiberius, a man he had never warmed to, his heir. Military disaster, the loss of his grandsons and a troubled economy clouded his last years. He became more dictatorial, exiling the poet Ovid (AD 8), who had mocked his moral reforms. When he died in AD 14 he left behind an account of his achievements, the Res Gestae, in which he claimed to have restored the republic. In the sense that he had established lasting peace and saved Rome from disintegration, this was true; but in providing that his position should pass to a successor, he had ended the republic for ever. Until the fall of the empire, Rome was ruled by emperors, not by senate and people; and all the emperors assumed the title Augustus. Augustus was posthumously deified.
ROMAN IMPERIAL DYNASTIES:
Augusttus-Children: Natural: Julia the Elder Adoptive: Gaius Caesar, Lucius Caesar, Agrippa Postumus and Tiberius
Tiberius-Children: Natural: Julius Caesar Drusus Adoptive: Germanicus
Caligula-Children: Natural: Julia Drusilla Adoptive: Tiberius Gemellus
Cladius-Children: Natural: Claudia Antonia, Claudia Octavia and Britannicus Adoptive: Nero
Nero-Children: Natural: Claudia AugustaThe words above have been edited from various sources and have a few of my own interpretations!
The period of my collection
• The Twelve Caesars That's the main men to you and I
The Julio Claudian Dynasty Augustus I Claudius I Nero I Agrippa
The Flavian Dynasty Vespasian I Titus I Domitian
• The Adoptive Emperors or so we're told!
• The Civil War some serious falling out between 193-197 A.D.
• The Severan Period Only five emperors in this family including the nasty Caracalla
• The Collapse of Order almost 50 years of trouble up ahead
• The Secessionist Empire it was that Postumus who set things going
• The British Secessionist Empire Carausius goes it alone
• The Tetrarchy time for the great reform
• The Constantinian Dynasty a military dictatorship and the tale of three sons
• The Waning of the Empire the last century and the end of an era
• The Western Puppet Emperors oh dear! more trouble
• The Eastern Emperors slightly more peace
I might include othe pages as I progress. Plus if you would like to share a reciprical link, please email me at info@dadscoins.co.uk
