Augustus Flashcards
It is easier to trace the sequence of events in his rise to power than it is to understand how and why he succeeded
Wallace-Hadrill
After the death of Caesar - Antony lost the trust of all groups.
Welch
In his will Caesar adopted Octavian as his son and named him his principal heir to three quarters of his estate.
Suetonius
By elevating Octavian to patrician rank and conferring public honours upon him Caesar was arguably revealing his intention for Octavian to be his successor.
Eck
After gaining Caesars army Octavian then marched on Rome in a state of high treason using funds from Caesars Parthian campaign.
Eder
By Celebrating Games and declaring a comet was a sign Caesar should be made a god - In this way he gained considerable popularity.
Eck
The Senate needed Octavians troops to force Antony to accept their resolutions - this was a special stroke of luck.
Eder
On the proscriptions - Octavian demonstrated his own cruelty clearly enough in chilling examples.
Eck
The proscriptions decimated the leading senatorial class appallingly_the triumvirs were then able to fill the gaps with their own people_ These and other measures led to a far-reaching shift in leadership_Ronald Syme called it the Roman revolution. Even though the structure of society remained essentially unchanged republican traditions were so weakened that they could be replaced by something new_ the Augustan form of rule could later be erected.
Eck
I drove into exile the murderers of my father avenging their crime through tribunals established by law [43 BC]; and afterwards when they made war on the republic I twice defeated them in battle [42 BC].
Res Gestae
The Settlement of the Veterans was - an important foundation for his ultimate victory.
Eck
The marriage of Livia represented_ one of the most important decisions of Octavians life. Octavian was now the champion of Republicans.
Shotter
On Octavians marriage to Livia - he was passionately in love with her.
Eck
The Treaty of Brundisium was cemented with the marriage of Antony to Octavia.
Plutarch
Antony consented to provide 120 ships to Octavian while Octavian promised to send 20000 legionaries to the East (he later sent only one tenth.
Eck
On his return to Rome after defeating Sextus Pompey he was honoured with a triumph for defeating the pirates.
Res Gestae
On Octavians triumph after defeating Setus Pompey - It seemed that the Senate could not do enough to honour the man who was now sole ruler in the West.
Eck
He proceeded pointedly to restore law and order in Italy_ A return to the constitution of the Republic seemed feasible. That it did not materialize was due to Antony who threw himself into the arms of the foreign queen Cleopatra. The heir of Caesar changed from ruthless power monger to defender of Roman ideals and protector of Rome in the imminent conflict with the power of evil Antony and Cleopatra.
Eder
Antony rejected Octavia his legitimate spouse and a Roman for an - Oriental paramour.
Eck
On Antonys defeat by the Parthians after claiming he had won - It was a propaganda debacle.
Eck
Antony also named one of his sons by Cleopatra King of Armenia and called Cleopatra Queen of Kings. - _it was only a question of who would declare war firs.
Eck
On the war declared on Cleopatra - Of course the war was aimed at Antony but it could not be presented as a civil war.
Eder
The west was prepared by Octavian for a war that was a great national crusade to defend Romes integrity against Oriental barbarism and corruption.
Shotter
_ the decisive battle took place at Actium. The victory of the Caesarian Party was a certainty long before the battle. On this side commander and soldier alike were full of ardour on the other was general dejection; on the one side the rowers were strong and sturdy on the other weakened by privations; on the one side ships of moderate size not too large for speed on the other vessels of a size that made them formidable in appearance only; no one was deserting from Caesar to Antony while from Antony to Caesar someone or other deserted daily_
Velleius Paterculus
On The Battle of Actium - As the historians describe it Actium was not much of a battle.
Wallace-Hadrill
Octavians triumph was to persuade not only his own side but much of Antonys of the superior justice of his cause. That was achieved by systematic denigration of Antony.
Wallace-Hadrill
After I had extinguished civil wars by universal consent I gained control over all affairs.
Res Gestae
On Antonys defeat at Actium - This date if any marks a turning point_ the Republic finally and irrevocably ends and the Empire or Principate the rule of imperatores or principes begin.
Wallace-Hadrill
No one knew a system of imperial government would be developed and - that helps explain the paradox that he set about creating a new system by restoring the old one.
Wallace-Hadrill
Egypts wealth was used to pay for the campaigns enhance his triumph and adorn Rome - The Romans forgot all their unpleasant experiences and viewed his triumph with pleasure.
Dio Cassius
Following Actium - Octavians efforts were directed at returning Rome to an ordered state of affairs.
Eder
In January 29 BC Octavian closed the gates to the (symbolic of peace) for the first time in 200 years - to symbolise the start of a new era.
Eck
August 29 BC_he celebrated a three-day triple triumph for his victories of which - Rome had never seen anything like_
Eck
The gates to the Temple of Janus on the Quirinal which had been closed no more than twice since the foundation of Rome he closed three times during a far shorter period as a sign that the Empire was at peace on land and at sea.
Suetonius
Only two questions remained to be clarified: What form the government would take now that the civil wars were over and what position Octavian would occupy in it?
Eck
On the timing of the settlements -Tactically it was mainly a question of choosing the right moment_
Eck
Augustus created a new order that had the Battle of Actium at the heart of its mythology. The battle was the symbol of salvation the rescue of Rome from destruction.
Wallace-Hadrill
On the Settlements - a staged negotiated process had begun in 28 BC when Octavian handed back the courts to the people.
Welch
The First Settlement -He would continue to hold the consulship each year He would be for a ten year period proconsul of an extended province (Gaul Spain and Syria and he still retained Egypt.
Dio Cassius
ON the First Settlement - Rome could be governed through his consulships.
Shotter
On the First Settlement - his command over the extended province - meant unquestioned control over almost the entire military establishment.
Gruen
Augustus tore his clothes in protest in front of the public when they appealed for him to be dictator.
Gruen
The year 23 BCE created a crisis.
Gruen
Augustus domination then derived from two sources. A framework for government existed in the powers with which he had been invested and for which he was accountable; the means to make himself the centre of an administrative system had its roots in a concept hallowed by Republican tradition_auctoritas. The existence of this provided him with the means to exercise an all-embracing patronage.
Shotter
Augustus gave the tribunician power he received a high public profile probably because it presented him as the traditional champion of the people.
Chisholm and Ferguson
Both his tribunician power and imperium gave him authority which outstripped precedents and were a sharp break with the constitutional underpinnings of the Republic_he had no annual office from he had to step down nor did he share his office with a colleague. He had power without office which gave continuity and he could associate a partner (a junior) in his powers independent of magistracies and of Republican conventions to solve the problem of a successor.
Gruen
Since there was no room for an all-powerful figure within the res publica he placed himself outside it
Wallace-Hadrill
Imperium can be defined as - the power vested by the state in a person to do what he considers to be in the best interests of the state.
AHM Jones
As early as 36 BC Augustus was also concerned with posterity_he had his speeches published
Yavetz
On building an image - His main object was to change his image from that of a ferocious tyrant to one of pater patriae.
Gibbon
On building an image - He understood the contribution of sympathetic historians poets sculptors and architects.
Yavetz
On Augustus gaining power through the settlements - Republican traditions had been so weakened they could be quite easily replaced.
Syme
Thus Augustus had avoided the abrasive and unacceptable way of dominating the senate and its members that had proved to be the undoing of Caesar. He had as Tacitus insists found a method more pervasive and more cynical_ he had brought them under the wing of patronage and used_ part whilst appearing to do no more than to uphold the integrity of the Republican system
Shotter
The Senate was to be the most prestigious organ of the city again.
Nicolet
He increased the minimum level of wealth to become a Senator at least a million sesterces so there was - a significant barrier between the senatorial and equestrian orders.
Eck
Augustus also - choked off what brought the nobility the fame and popularity that they used to be elected_he monopolised triumphs public monuments lavish shows and coins (largely after 19BC) for the imperial house. Rome turned from a place of competition to an imperial showplace.
Wallace-Hadrill
In sum then under Augustus virtually all the men who occupied positions of power and responsibility in politics the army and government administration were at the same time members of the senate just as they had been under the republic.
Eck
All the conditions were thus fulfilled for the Senate to maintain its role as the centre of political power yet paradoxically the opposite occurred. After the late 20s BC the Senate ceased to be the body that initiated policy; the impulses that shaped politics no longer originated within it_ Augustus now occupied the sole centre of power and all the senators took their orientation from him_. As time passed and the rolls contained fewer and fewer survivors of the old days the majority of senators had no direct experience of a Res Publica without a Princeps at its head.
Eck
Senatorial Reforms - No real responsibility rested on the shoulders of the Senate in regard to foreign policy although Augustus contrived to make it appear it did have some role eg: Augustus brought Antiochus Commagene before the Senate in 29 BC on charges of killing a Roman envoy; but most decisions were made by Augustus with some advice from others.
Jones
Senatorial Reforms - Augustus went out of his way to revive the traditional senate carefully preserving the conventional pattern and number of magistracies reviewing its membership and procedures arguably improving its efficiency_. Of course the whole tone of the imperial senate is quite different from that of the republic on as is most conspicuous in its new preoccupation with devising new honours for Augustus himself_ but then a Roman could retort that this nobility had no right to power in the first place. Powerful cliques were a menace to the freedom and sovereignty of the people.
Wallace-Hadrill
Senatorial Reforms - Augustus personal power was unique and was subject to none of the traditional checks yet he administered the state using the Republican forms which he expanded rather than radically changed.
Chisholm and Ferguson
Senatorial Reforms - He also fixed the age at which the quaestorship could be held to 25 years old. This meant that only experienced qualified people held the position.
Jones
Senatorial Reforms - The senate as a body it is true continued to sit in judgement as before_ and the people and the plebs moreover continued to meet for the elections; but nothing was done that did not please Caesar. It was he at any rate who selected and placed in nomination some of the men who were to hold office and though in the case of others he adhered to the ancient custom and left them under the control of the people and the plebs yet he took care that none should be appointed who were unfit or as the result of partisan cliques or bribery.
Dio Cassius
Senatorial Reforms - In the first years after 27 BC there were some hard-fought campaigns for the consulship but from 19BC on there is hardly any documentation of contested elections. - This probably reflects the growing power of the princeps.
Eck
Senatorial Reforms - As the princeps made decisions about which men were suitable for the various magistracies there was a much surer opportunity of achieving the efficient management of the empire.
Shotter
Senatorial Reforms - Senators then almost without noticing it were brought into the service of the Respublica no longer using the Republica to fulfill their ambitions.
Eck
Senatorial Reforms - Augustus who preferred evolution to revolution made such use as he could of existing institutions and practices even when he foresaw the gradual decline in their importance or even their eventual disappearance and at the same time built up beside them gradually and often tentatively a new fabric subject to his own control as the framework of the Imperial State. For the successful achievement of this task it was necessary to enlist the willing cooperation of the old governing order and also tap the resources of administrative ability which the class hitherto excluded from the highest offices could supply; and in these respects his triumph was conspicuous_ Augustus had a keen eye for the qualities which distinguish great administrators and was able to secure their loyal service.
Jones
Senatorial Reforms - He used members of his family his friends and also members of his household following the Republican tradition of a member of a great family holding high office.
Chisholm and Ferguson
Augustan Reforms - Augustus needed to bring the population under control. His overriding concern was order and stability_ they stabilised his own regime
Wallace-Hadrill
Augustan Reforms - Augustus is arguably the single most important figure in Roman history. In the course of his long and spectacular career he put an end to the advancing decay of the Republic and established a new basis for Roman government that was to stand for three centuries. This system termed the Principate was far from flawless but it provided the Roman Empire with a series of rulers who presided over the longest period of unity peace and prosperity.
Fagan
Augustan Reforms - I built the Senate House and the Chalcidicum_ the temple of Apollo on the Palatine_ the temple of the divine Julius_In my sixth consulship [28 BC] I restored eighty-two temples.
Res Gestae
Augustan Reforms - He appointed a nightly watch to be on their guard against accidents from fire; and to prevent the frequent inundations he widened and cleansed the bed of the Tiber.
Suetonius
Augustan Reforms - Augustus financial reforms were - far-reaching and of lasting value.
Stevenson
Augustan Reforms - He was himself assiduous in his functions as a judge and would sometimes prolong his sittings even into the night; if he were indisposed his litter was placed before the tribunal or he administered justice reclining on his couch at home; displaying always not only the greatest attention but extreme lenity.
Suetonius
Augustan Reforms - Augustus religious activities amounted to a very real reform of Roman ritual tradition. He saw that the best way to legitimate his power was to restore what his enemies had neglected. Restoring the res publica and handing it back to the people automatically meant restoring its religious institutions and cult places.
Scheid
Augustan Reforms - Augustus religious restoration generated a sense of unity and identity that was precious in an unstable and diverse society. Augustus also ensured not only a revival but a conspicuous role for himself in Roman ritual. Augustus restored tradition in order to become part of it_ to identify himself with Rome.
Wallace-Hadrill
Augustan Reforms - Temples decayed by time or destroyed by fire he either repaired or rebuilt; and enriched… 31.He restored the calendar which had been corrected by Julius Caesar but through negligence was again fallen into confusion to its former regularity; and upon that occasion called the month Sextilis by his own name August _ He increased the number dignity and revenues of the priests and especially those of the Vestal Virgins He likewise revived some old religious customs which had become obsolete.
Suetonius
Augustan Reforms - He was moderate in his habits and free from suspicion of any kind of vice_. He afterwards moved to the Palatine Hill where he resided in a small house_ His frugality in the furniture of his house appears even at this day_. It is reported that he never lay upon a bed but such as was low and meanly furnished. He seldom wore any garment but what was made by the hands of his wife sister daughter and grand-daughters. His togas were neither scanty nor full; and the [senatorial] stripe was neither remarkably broad nor narrow. His shoes were a little higher than common to make him appear taller than he was.
Suetonius
Significance of Equestrians and Freedmen - One of the most successful achievements of Augustus was to put an end to this disastrous conflict between the orders.
Stevenson
Significance of Equestrians and Freedmen - He had the brilliant idea of reorganising the equestrian order so that he would have at his disposal a body of men from whom he could draw officials to fill new posts which he wished to create and that would be undesirable to give to senators.
Stevenson
Significance of Equestrians and Freedmen - Augustus had an equestrian origin of which he was proud.
Suetonius
Significance of Equestrians and Freedmen - Under Augustus the equestrian order was intended to be essentially a group that would stand surety a huge reservoir which would enable the res publica to recruit in sufficient numbers suitable candidates for various essential offices.
Nicolet
Opposition to Augustus - Opposition did not exist. War or judicial murder had disposed of all men of spirit. Upper-class survivors found that slavish obedience was the way to succeed both politically and financially.
Tacitus
Opposition to Augustus - Even though some of the old Republican nobility owed their advancement to him Augustus probably did not trust them as a class.
Eck
Opposition to Augustus - there is little evidence that such plots ever existed or if they did that they were very deep-seated or serious.
Southern
Opposition to Augustus - There was some discord with Gaius Cornelius Cinna Magnus who was accused of plotting against Augustus.
Dio Cassius
Opposition to Augustus - Of his clemency and moderation there are abundant and signal instances. For not to enumerate how many and what persons of the adverse party he pardoned received into favour and suffered to rise to the highest eminence in the state; he thought it sufficient to punish Junius Novatus and Cassius Patavinus who were both plebeians one of them with a fine and the other with an easy banishment; although the former had published in the name of young Agrippa a very scurrilous letter against him and the other declared openly at an entertainment where there was a great deal of company that he wanted neither inclination nor courage to stab him.
Suetonius
Building Program - Augustus changed the face of Rome.
Wallace-Hadrill
Building Program - With the help of friends and colleagues especially Agrippa he established a reputation for generosity on an Imperial scale in Rome Italy and the provinces.
Chisholm and Ferguson
Building Program - Augustus central message through his forum building was that he was leading the Romans to recover the forgotten traditions of the past and - what is fascinating about his treatment of the Forum - is that he made it a museum of the past while at the same time converting it into a massive dynastic monument to his own family.
Wallace-Hadrill
Building Program - On the Forum Romanum - Augustus transformed this into the architectural heart of republican Rome.
Eck
Building Program - Officially the Senate decreed the construction of the new buildings but it was Augustus person and family that were represented in the monuments.
Eck
Building Program - On the Forum of Augustus - The gods and heroes of the past all stood in silent witness to Augustus embodiment of the virtues and values of Rome.
Wallace-Hadrill
Literature and Propaganda - Augustus clearly wished to be remembered as a triumphant general saviour of citizens lives a bringer of peace a religious leader a conservative traditionalist and the saviour of the city of Rome.
Yavetz
Literature and Propaganda - He made early efforts to build an image (his autobiography mausoleum etc). He was trying to counter the propaganda of his enemies as a ruthless cruel man.
Yavetz
Literature and Propaganda - The Roman writers Virgil Horace Livy and others - believes they were used for propaganda purposes to promote the ideology of the government.
Hooker
Literature and Propaganda - As a close friend of Augustus Maecenas attracted a circle of literary and scholarly writers whose work symbolized the aspirations of the Augustan Age and what Augustus wanted to express.
Shotter
Literature and Propaganda - Maecenas exploits were less public than Agrippas since for much of the time he either worked in the background or carried out confidential missions which have remained confidential.
Southern
The Problems of Succession - here is the central paradox. If Augustus did not hold an official position apart from annual consulships to which he was elected and did not possess legal privileges apart from those bestowed upon him ad hoc and individually then how could he ensure the stability of his achievement the continuity of his work and the succession to a principate that did not exist?
Gruen
The Problems of Succession - To make no plans for the future risked worse consequences than designating a successor_ no successor could mean disastrous domestic conflict and civil war
Gruen
The Problems of Succession -He could associate others with him and his power without office
Gruen
The Role of Imperial Women -Antonys damaging treatment of Octavia gave Octavian his one clear-cut constitutional excuse for war. The injuries done to her were seen as an injury to the state_Octavia and Livia (his wife) had been granted the sacrosanctity of a tribune in 35 BC.
Bauman
The Role of Imperial Women - On Livia - Chastity stood beside her marriage-bed - she guarded her good name jealously - her private life was of traditional purity.
Seneca and Dio Cassius
The Role of Imperial Women - Octavians founding of the Principate in 27 BC had a profound effect on every aspect of life including the role of women in public affairs.
Bauman
The Role of Imperial Women - Octavias manipulations were to keep Livia and her sons by her first husband Tiberius and Drusus out of the succession.
Bauman
The Role of Imperial Women - On Livia - Through her marriage to Augustus she wanted to show by example that marriage was beneficial for the life of Rome.
Bauman
The Role of Imperial Women -The emperor Augustus banished his daughter and made public the scandals of his House. She had received lovers in droves. She had roamed the city in nocturnal revels choosing for her pleasure the Forum and the very Rostrum from which her father had proposed his adultery law. Turning from adultery to prostitution she had sanctioned herself at the statue of Marsyas seeking gratification of every kind in the arms of casual lovers. Enraged beyond measure Augustus revealed what he should have punished in private. Later he regretted not having drawn a veil of silence over matters of which he had been unaware until it was too late.
Seneca
The Role of Imperial Women - On Julia - Julia was the first person to claim superiority because of the divine blood of Augustus that flowed in her veins and saw Tiberius as an inferior. She thus claimed whatever it pleased her to do was lawful.
Bauman
Role of Agrippa - In the military and naval sphere Octavian could rely on his friend Agrippa without whom it is possible that the world would never have known Augustus; and Maecenas rendered excellent service in the diplomatic sphere. These two men are inextricably associated with Octavian but their contribution to his success cannot be measured precisely.
Southern
Role of Agrippa -Through much of his career Augustus enjoyed the support of Marcus Agrippa as his right-hand man.
Shotter
Role of Agrippa -Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa came from humble origins.
Southern
Role of Agrippa - Such self-effacement is a rare quality and Agrippa was rarer still in that he never seems to have agitated for supremacy throughout his long association with Augustus.
Southern
Role of Agrippa - Agrippa was well-disciplined in obedience but to one man only.
Velleius Paterculus
Role of Agrippa - Agrippa gave advice on the most humane the most ambitious and the most advantageous projects but did not claim even the smallest share in the glory which they earned. Instead he used the honours which Augustus conferred upon him not for personal gain or enjoyment but for the benefit of the emperor himself and the public at large.
Dio Cassius
Role of Agrippa - Agrippa was the only man with sufficient knowledge courage and authority to be trusted by Augustus to look after Roman interests in the East and prevent anyone else from damaging them.
Southern
Role of Agrippa - On Agrippa gaining tribunicia potestas - With all these powers he [Agrippa] advanced to something like Augustus own powers in legal terms although a difference of status between them remained.
Eck
Role of Agrippa -On behalf of the college of fifteen men as its presidents with Marcus Agrippa as colleague I presented the Secular Games.
Res Gestae
Role of Agrippa - Agrippa was his life-long friend his most devoted and reliable assistant.
Southern
Augustus and the Army - His reorganisation of the army was also aimed at creating a professional body of men who were loyal to him and the state and not other generals / politicians.
Stevenson
Augustus and the Army - Octavian convinced the Romans that he offered security
Shotter
Augustus and the Army -No longer was the army splintered into forces backing the leaders of different Roman parties.
Eck
Augustus and the Army -It was true he held no higher office than anyone else in Rome but his real influence came from his legions his financial resources and his clients.
Eck
Augustus and the Army - Augustus aim had to be the establishment of lasting bonds with the army; the legitimacy of his claims to political supremacy rested on his success in ending the civil wars and keeping the army under control was the only way to banish the threat of another civil war. Augustus was not the commander-in-chief of the entire Roman army. However the overall supremacy of the princeps developed more from the subservience of the senators than from any legal reforms.
Eck
Augustus and the Army - It was seen as Romes right even duty to conquer others.
Eck
Augustus and the Army - Augustus used the army to establish a buffer of provinces or pro-Roman territory.
Shotter
Augustus and the Army - Augustus slowed down expansion to better manage the empire.
Woolf
Augustus and the Army - The regime persistently projected the impression of vigour expansionism triumph and dominance.
Gruen
Augustus and the Army - Augustus took care to ensure that his military backing was not overt but he fully appreciated its reality_
Shotter
Augustus and the Army - In practice Augustus thus had the entire Roman army effectively under his control. In almost all provinces it was also under his command. He also appointed his legates to provinces under proconsuls control. Thus commanders and men knew the powerful senator at the head of their army was dependent on the princeps. He made great demands on the Roman troops but he honoured them well.
Eck
Augustus and the Army - On Discipline - He exacted the strictest discipline. It was with great reluctance that he allowed even his generals to visit their wives and then only in the winter season. He sold a Roman knight and his property at public auction because he had cut off the thumbs of two young sons to make them unfit for military service.
Suetonius
Augustus and the Army - He dismissed the entire tenth legion in disgrace because they were insubordinate and others too that demanded their discharge in an insolent fashion he disbanded without the rewards which would have been due for faithful service. When centurions left their posts he punished them with death.
Suetonius
Provincial Government - The provinces suffered as the Romans destroyed the existing systems but did not replace them with Roman government. Instead the Senate simply devoted themselves to - fleecing its subjects - in the provinces.
Badian
Provincial Government - Augustus could protect the provinces and maintain the empire by influencing the Senate governors and courts in order to provide sound and just administration
Earl
Provincial Government - What actually kept each province attached to Rome was the veneration (respect and worship) they felt for Augustus
Stevenson
Provincial Government - Augustus declared he would not personally govern all the provinces and that in the case of such provinces as he should govern he would not do so indefinitely; and he did in fact restore to the senate the weaker provinces on the ground that they were peaceful and free from war while he retained the more powerful alleging that they were insecure and precarious… His professed motive in this was that the senate might fearlessly enjoy the finest portion of the empire while he himself had the hardships and the dangers; but his real purpose was that by this arrangement the senators will be unarmed and unprepared for battle while he alone had arms and maintained soldiers.
Dio Cassius
Provincial Government -The more important provinces which could not with ease or safety be entrusted to the government of annual magistrates he reserved for his own administration: the rest he distributed by lot amongst the proconsuls; but sometimes he made exchanges and frequently visited most of both kinds in person.. There is not I believe a province except Africa and Sardinia which he did not visit.
Suetonius
Provincial Government - In Senatorial provinces opportunities for exploitation were reduced by legislation and the ultimate deterrent Augustus displeasure.
Earl
Provincial Government - Augustus had a good sense for how much people would be able to endure after the excesses and destruction of the recent civil wars. His promise to look after the inhabitants of Italy and the provinces was not just a political slogan.
Eck
Provincial Government - Amongst the reasons for Augustus overall success Tacitus includes the fact that the provinces welcomed what amounted to a new deal in which they were freed by Augustus reforms from the effects of power struggles amongst the nobility and the corruption that had been endemic in a provincial system organised largely to cater for private profit.
Shotter
Frontier Policy - The eighty years or so of Octavian/ Augustus lifetime coincided with the period in which Roman imperialism was at its most ferocious. This was the time of Romes greatest conquest (and greatest defeats). Most of the eventual empire was conquered and turned into provinces by Pompey Caesar Augustus and their agents.
Woolf
Frontier Policy - Certainly Augustus policy was concerned both to secure peace and to enhance the prosperity of provinces once within the empire. In this way his work represented a continuation and development of that of Julius Caesar; this had looked to the protection of Rome and Italy by the establishment of a buffer of provinces a pro-Roman territory secure within increasingly visible frontiers and valuing the prosperity which came from peace and security.
Dio Cassius
Frontier Policy - varied from region to region adjusted for circumstances and contingencies. Aggression alternated with restraint conquest with diplomacy advance with retreat. Acquisitions and annexations occurred in some areas consolidation and negotiation in others. The regime persistently projected the impression of vigour expansionism triumph and dominance.
Gruen
Frontier Policy - The genuine theaters of war were located in the West chiefly along the Rhine and the Danube. Territory was won and lost again but on the whole there were more victories.
Eck
Frontier Policy - One major contribution we can be sure Augustus made to Roman expansion was to slow it down: although he had conquered more territory than any other Roman before him and duly highlighted this in the preface to the Res Gestae caution gradually replaced the bold enterprises of his predecessors. Military defeats have been blamed for the end of expansion_It is far more likely that just as conquest was at first driven by political competition so the end of competition had made the costs and risks of territorial expansion seem no longer worth it.
Woolf
Frontier Policy - Despite some failures and the costly losses in the areas around the Danube and east of the Rhine Augustus appeared to the Romans as a great conqueror who had expanded the empire indeed as the greatest commander in Roman history. The territories of his other successful conquests all remained part of the empire for many centuries and testified to the soundness of his policies in Romans eyes.
Eck
