Evaluate Augustus’ Relations with the Senate
Evaluate Augustus’ relations with the Senate.
After a century of civil wars and wide-spread fear and chaos, a new and promising leader arose, who, despite his comparably humble origins was soon to be called Augustus, the revered one, by the Senators. This once, dominant body placed hope in this single man and bestowed numerable honours upon him, concentrating the power of patronage and promotion through which he eventually outranked all the other Senators in the state.
By general consent of the Roman Senators, he arose as the one who would restore the Roman Republic. Despite Augustus’ claim to have restored the Republic, the Roman State, during the larger part of his rule, qualifies as a new form of government, namely the Principate, which was to remain the dominant form of government for the centuries to come. However, the Senate prevailed, continuing to meet and discuss important matters of the State. Opinions ranged from a Diarchy with Augustus being the mere executive and loyal servant of the Senate, to the view that it was a clear Monarchy of Augustus with a senate whose only task was to approve the Emperors will.
Augustus had comparably humble origins therefore the relationship between himself and the Senate was an unequal one [needless to say, the young boy had not reached the minimum age for joining the Senate and so, many Senators would have been at minimum very hesitant to consider him as an unconditional equal]. As the adopted son and heir of the assassinated Julius Caesar, Augustus considered it his duty to avenge his father’s death and take care of the State. The Senate granted him the status of a Senator, placed him in charge of the military actions against Mark Antony and bestowed the title of pro-practor upon him. Awarding private citizens with special authority was not an uncommon occurrence in time of emergencies. In this case, however, it was an unprecedented practice by the Senate, which ‘had never granted before now imperium and the charge
After a century of civil wars and wide-spread fear and chaos, a new and promising leader arose, who, despite his comparably humble origins was soon to be called Augustus, the revered one, by the Senators. This once, dominant body placed hope in this single man and bestowed numerable honours upon him, concentrating the power of patronage and promotion through which he eventually outranked all the other Senators in the state.
By general consent of the Roman Senators, he arose as the one who would restore the Roman Republic. Despite Augustus’ claim to have restored the Republic, the Roman State, during the larger part of his rule, qualifies as a new form of government, namely the Principate, which was to remain the dominant form of government for the centuries to come. However, the Senate prevailed, continuing to meet and discuss important matters of the State. Opinions ranged from a Diarchy with Augustus being the mere executive and loyal servant of the Senate, to the view that it was a clear Monarchy of Augustus with a senate whose only task was to approve the Emperors will.
Augustus had comparably humble origins therefore the relationship between himself and the Senate was an unequal one [needless to say, the young boy had not reached the minimum age for joining the Senate and so, many Senators would have been at minimum very hesitant to consider him as an unconditional equal]. As the adopted son and heir of the assassinated Julius Caesar, Augustus considered it his duty to avenge his father’s death and take care of the State. The Senate granted him the status of a Senator, placed him in charge of the military actions against Mark Antony and bestowed the title of pro-practor upon him. Awarding private citizens with special authority was not an uncommon occurrence in time of emergencies. In this case, however, it was an unprecedented practice by the Senate, which ‘had never granted before now imperium and the charge
Bibliography: Publishing (2003), 134-152. * Brunt, P.A. “The Role of the Senate in the Augustan Regime” Classical Quarterly 34.2 (1984): 423-444. * Eck, Werner. The Age of Augustus. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2003. * Rowell, Henry Thompson. Rome in the Augustan Age. Norman: University of Oklahoma * Press, 1962. * Stobart, J.C. “The Senate under Augustus” in Classical Quarterly 2.4 (1908): 296-303. * Syme, Ronald. The Augustan Aristocracy, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1986. * Syme, Ronald. The Roman Revolution. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1939. * Talbert, Richard. “Augustus and the Senate” in Greece & Rome 31.1 (1984): 55-63.