Augustus made many positive and effective contributions during his reign. One of the many highlights was the Pax Romana which lasted for two centuries. The Pax Romana was the age when Romans had peace for over two hundred years. Augustus prevented the loss of many Romans by minimising expansions and battles which helped increase the population of Romans and their dominance. Another influence instigated by Augustus was the ‘honest’ tax system.…
What do the accounts of two Roman emperors reveal about the strategies leaders use to improve their institutions? In the first century BCE, Rome was struggling to govern effectively, take care of its citizens, and deal with bordering nations. Augustus came to power in 27 BCE and his reign oversaw the successful transition from the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire (McKay 156). Just before his death in 14 CE, he wrote his autobiography, Res Gestae Divi Augusti, which details the impressive accomplishments of his long career. This text can be compared to an account of another Roman Emperor, Constantine, who served roughly 300 years later, from 306 to 312 CE. Roman historian Eusebius wrote a detailed biography of Constantine, called The Life of the Blessed Emperor Constantine, and this essay will focus on his description of a significant event in Constantine’s life, his conversion to Christianity. Although Emperors Augustus and Constantine both strived for similar goals of uniting Rome and bringing it to the forefront of the world, these two accounts, Res Gestae Divi Augusti and the Life of the Blessed Emperor Constantine, show that each ruler’s…
Augustus quietly retained the ultimate control over the senate and the Roman government, but kept the appearances of being confined by the government’s constraints (Greer & Lewis, p. 121). Augustus was successfully able to unite all of the different conquered city-states of the Roman Empire under one rule by allowing each to retain their own identity – yet encouraging them to adopt the Roman rule. This was a huge driving force for the success of his reign over the empire as it inadvertently discouraged rebellion and revolt (UNRV,…
During its reign many illustrious leaders including Augustus and the Five Great Emperors governed the Roman Empire. Rome’s revolutionary government was the one of the main reasons the Empire survived as long as it did, with the exception of the military. The probable cause of the corruption of the emperors is because humans are not meant to be idols. Emperors such as Tiberius, Nero and Elagabalus engaged in immoral and self-absorbed behavior. Nero, an emperor whose reign preceded the fall of the Western Empire, is considered to be the most insane to exist.…
Roman history was known for having many bad emperors and Nero was amongst one of them. He became famous for his self-indulgence and cruel behavior. He was the last emperor from his period. Nero was the first to persecute Christians and set a model for that religion's oppression that went on and on for many years. Augustus had brought and secured harmony to the Roman Empire and during his reign he combined a range of powers. Caligula four years as emperor were bizarre and after his assassination, his uncle, Claudius came into power. Often depicted as a mug, he was able to show his capability as an emperor from time to time. After Claudius died, Nero came to power.…
Augustus insisted on restoring temples,reviving ancient Roman cults, reformed priesthoods, and even encouraged attendance of public religious festivals. His man focus was restoration of the relationship between God and Roman destiny. Not only did he make reformation towards religion but towards the restoration of traditional Roman virtues within the family structure. Marriage was being strongly encouraged and procreation to have large families were greatly rewarded by Augustus. He actually penalized those who didn't marry and made sure that laws were created to ensure that women didn't have extramarital affairs.…
Augustus’ rule restored morale in Rome after a century of discord and corruption and ushered in the famous pax Romana–two full centuries of peace and prosperity. He instituted various social reforms, won numerous military victories and allowed Roman literature, art, architecture and religion to flourish. Augustus ruled for 56 years, supported by his great army and by a growing cult of devotion to the emperor. When he died, the Senate elevated Augustus to the status of a god, beginning a long-running tradition of deification for popular emperors.…
This loss of power brought about a series of civil wars fought among generals with the backing of their distinct armies. Julius Caesar eventually prevailed when in 49 BCE he rode into Italy with his army against the orders of the Senate. In 44 BCE he declared himself dictator for life, but was murdered by a crew of strict republicans on the Ides of March 44 BCE. This once again plunged Rome into civil war and while Caesar's heir, his grand-nephew Octavian, and Marc Antony initially joined sides to avenge his death, they soon turned against each other and Octavian eventually triumphed over Antony and his ally, Cleopatra. Octavian was given the honorific title 'Augustus' in 27 BCE and ruled Rome for the next 40 years. While he claimed to have restored the Republic, Augustus held many important administrative and religious positions simultaneously and so, in fact, became the first emperor. He attempted to maintain control over the Empire by improving road systems and augmenting town growth. He also united the Empire through his use of the arts as a form of self-promotion and to promote the themes of his administration, such as peace, allegiance to Rome, and respect for tradition. He visually improved the city by constructing new buildings that were worthy of the powerful Empire. He made art into the materialization of Roman government which was an idea continued by his descendants and was declared a god-- as had been his father, Julius Caesar-- at his death in 14…
Proper worship of the gods was believed to ensure peace, fertility and prosperity. All citizens were expected to be involved in religious rituals as they were believed to be necessary to win the favour of the gods. The Roman State Cult was centred on the worship of the gods Jupiter, the protector of the state, Juno, protector of women and Minerva, patroness of craftsmen. From the time of Augustus, an imperial cult developed under the influence of Greek hero cults and concepts of divine kingship. The emperor was worshipped at both Pompeii and Herculaneum and Augustales, who were the priests of Augustus, were appointed to administer the cult.…
Early Christianity positively impacted and influenced the Roman Empire before 300 AD in several way, such as: knowing Christ as the redeemer, welcoming a new religion full of joy and hope to believers of that era, and the acknowledgment of God as the ultimate reality. During the Roman Empire era leaders and philosophers dealt with all matters from a logical and practical space. Therefore, the people of the Roman era were given hope and joy through the knowledge that God can forgive their sins, deliver them from the enemy and restore them through Christ as their redeemer. This provided the people of the Roman Empire a peace knowing that in their culture breaking man made rules and not keeping the Roman laws promised death and condemnation,…
Augustus was given a much idealized body to make him seem more of a prominent leader and reliable. It does show divine rule but this was mostly represented to show him as a leader of the Roman Empire. The statue is dressed in roman cloths but also war armor to show not only his political power of controlling armies and an entire empire but that he also has war experience and authority over the armies that he controls. He was respected by everyone to the point where they idealized him and saw him more than a human. Augustus was conserved military strategic and took over many territories and expanded him power every time he did so. He showed a higher since of morality or long term thinking when he said that he doesn’t like to completely wipe out people or towns, because they can be of use to the empire later on. He was seen as a very professional politician and military leader with his high success in both. Even though he was able to represent all this a statue other cultures did this in different ways and got results as…
Religion played a key role in the daily life and social system of Ancient Rome. Religion included the worship of many gods and more gods were often adopted from conquered areas. Because most religions were polytheist at the time, the Romans rarely disallowed a cult from a conquered region to continue. A few cults ran into controversy and opposition from citizens or government, such as the cult of Deus Sol Invictus, and that of Isis. Romans were also not keen on monotheistic religion which explains their separation from the Jews. But above all other religions, the Romans disagreed with, persecuted and were threatened most by Christianity. The introduction of Christianity to the Roman Empire challenged a key cohesive element of Roman custom and culture -- religion -- and ultimately contributed to the Empire 's disintegration.…
The imperial spirit is all about the need to dominate and rule over everything, the need to conquer or be conquered.…
Religion in the Roman Empire had a large scale affect on society and politics. In the 1st c. AD the Roman Empire was the largest empire in the world and it had many enemies surrounding it. The problems lay not only outside of the empire but internally also. There are corrupt and power-hungry leaders. The first assassination of a Roman Emperor is committed during this time. Another problem develops. Peoples religious views are changing and talk of a single god who is going to send a savior and new king develop. These Christians, as they call themselves, are proclaiming all over the Empire denouncing the Roman civil religion. The emperors cannot have that so they look to end this new problem with persecution which should end it quickly. The emperors could not suppress Christianity, however, and in time Christianity would take over the empire and it would be the pagans who would begin to be persecuted.…
For centuries, scholars from different fields attempt to interpret and establish their theories concerning the relationship between the Mystery cults of Late Antiquity and early Christianity. Several scholars appear to unelaborate illustrate the differences and the similarities of those two religious paths, while others adhere to either the one or the other side of the coin. One should keep in mind, though, that all those written theories stand chances of being flawed, no matter how influential they might appear, due to the fact that we do not have clear detail and material about the formation and the beginning of Christianity. Thus, we should be sceptical when studying about the genesis and the development of early Christianity, and be critical…