Augustus Caesar Essay -- Classics Rome Emperor Essays

Augustus Caesar Works Cited Missing Augustus Caesar, the Rome's first true Emperor was the historical figure who had the greatest impact upon the western world between the dawn of civilization and the end of the middle ages. Augustus Caesar (31B.C. - 14 A.D.) was originally named Gaius Octivian, the name Augustus was granted by the Roman Senate, which means magnificent. The success of Augustus was he developed an honest government, and during his reign, he rebuilt many structures to improve the Roman Empire, which included temples and roads with classical style. He created an efficient postal service that encouraged free trade among the region. The soul power of Augustus had established him to distribute the long standing of Rome. Augustus Caesar did not gain his position easily. He was the adopted heir of Julius Caesar, and he attained his position and held it without meeting with the same fate as his Uncle Julius Caesar. Augustus had to bring the people to his side and win the support of the military in order to gain his trust from the senate. He had raised his own military. Meanwhile, many of the senate was against Mark Antony, who was the right hand man of Julius Caesar and also wanted to become the heir. The leader of the senate, Cicero, realized Augustus was a useful alley, ordered Angustus to make war on Antony and forced him to retreated to Gaul, but Cicero failed to do so (Scarre, 17). Because during 43B.C. "Augustus marched on Rome with his army, and compelled the senate to to accept him as a consul" (Scarre, 17). Later on, Augustus met Antony and Lepidus and the three of them started to form a triumvirate, which excluded the senate power. They divided three parts of the Roman Empire. Antony took the east, Augustus took the west, and Lepidus away to Africa, since he was no long an equal partner (Scarre, 17). Augustus started to gain some reputation in the west; meanwhile Antony had left and conquered Egypt in order to gain his popularity. Unfortunately he married the queen of Egypt, Cleopatra, which was a disgraceful to Rome. Augustus raised an army of his own to fight Antony. The battle took place in Actium, and Augustus won the battle. In addition, Egypt was also conquered by Augustus and it became a new territory of Rome. "Augustus's overall policy was to keep the military establishment at the minimum ne... ... had brought people a better living. Augustus developed a very efficient postal service before the end of his reign, which gave the Romans the advantage to trade freely with other provinces. But the postal system was only used for imperial use and not for public use. He create the postal services by choosing a "Commissioner of the Roads near Rome", and their duty was to discharge to the assigned leader for each trunk road, and "carried out by couriers stationed along the main roads, which the couriers would answer questions relating to the dispatches that he carried, performed the whole journey, with changes of horses, in the same carriage" (Homles, 35). Even though, the postal systems were only for imperial use, the letters that they wrote were indebted. Augustus Caesar was a sole ruler during his reign; he stayed in power for almost half a century. He worked for the past and the future consciously, brought peace and prosperity to the people in the past and also in the future. Augustus succession was to control Rome in a wise way, without affecting the senate. After he died at the age of seventy-five, the people of the Roman Empire worshipped him as a god.