Augustus 31BC - AD 14 Flashcards
What was the principate?
The new form of government created by Augustus in 27BC, essentially an autocracy framed in the traditions of the republic.
What is ‘princeps’?
The name adopted to define Augustus in his new system of government, first used in 27BC.
For what years was Rome a republic, before Octavian/Augustus?
Since 509BC
What was a magistrate?
An elected official in the Roman republic and principate.
What was the cursus honorum?
The ‘course of offices’. The path through successive magisterial offices that senators followed.
When was Augustus’ reign as princeps?
from 27BC - 14 AD.
When was the battle of Actium?
2nd September 31BC
What did the battle of Actium end?
The civil war between the last two great rivals in Rome, Mark Antony - former general of Julius Caesar - and Octavian - Julius Caesar’s adopted son.
What does Suetonius remark of Antony and Octavian’s relationship?
That it had always ‘been precarious, often interrupted, and ill cemented by repeated reconciliations’.
What was the force split between the two rivals?
Octavian commanded the forces of the western roman empire, aided by the skilled admiral Marcus Agrippa, and Antony allied himself with his consort Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, and commanded the forces of the eastern empire and Egypt.
How was the battle anticlimatic and what did it mean?
Cleopatra and Antony fled before the outcome was settled and, although they didn’t commit suicide until 30BC, Actium effectively ended the conflict and established Octavian as the ‘last man standing’ after nearly a century of unrest.
What did Octavian do in order to capitalise the propaganda value of the victory?
Founded a new town near the battle site, Nikopolis, where a huge monument was set up overlooking the sea.
What does Suetonius write Octavian of doing in Egypt after his victory?
- Reduced Egypt into the form of a province,
- Rendered it more fertile and more capable of supplying Rome with corn. He employed his army to scour the canals of the Nile, removing the mud that had choked them,
- Established games to be celebrated at Nikopolis every 5 years.
What else did Octavian use to shift the message of his victory?
Used literature to popularise the message that his victory at Actium marked the beginning of peace and prosperity for the Roman world.
What is the significance of Virgil’s Aeneid?
It was a commissioned twelve-book poem by Augustus, which details the foundation of the Roman race by the mythical hero Aeneas, and looks forward to the Augustan age as the golden age.
What do the poets Virgil and Horace emphasise in their works?
In Aeneid and Ode respectively, the poets both emphasise the defeat of a foreign enemy, Cleopatra, rather than a fellow Roman, Mark Antony.
What is the Res Gestae?
Augustus’ catalogue of his own achievements set up after his death.
What does the Res Gestae claim of Octavian at Actium?
‘the whole of Italy of its own accord… demanded [Octavian] as its commander for the war in which [he] conquered at Actium’ (25)
What does Velleius Paterculus claim of the reception in rome to Octavian?
In History of Rome (2.89.1), he writes that Octavian was greeted in Rome by huge crowds and universal acclaim when he returned from Actium and subsequent campaigns in Egypt and Dalmatia.
What is the significance of Velleius Paterculus’ History of Rome?
An eye-witness testimony senatorial account of events during the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius, though biased as Velleius owed his political career to them.
What was the overall significance of Actium for Octavian?
It was hugely significant as the keystone of his public image.
When did Octavian return to Rome?
29BC
What did Octavian hold upon his return?
The triple triumph. Celebrating the victories in Dalmatia, Actium, and Alexandria (Suetonius, Augustus 22), serving to cement Octavian’s image as Rome’s supreme military authority.
What is a triumph?
A public parade of celebration for a successful military commander who had achieved a notable victory.
What was created in Rome alongside the triumphs?
A merorial in Rome: a triumphal triple arch. Although the original no longer exists, copies were established throughout the Roman empire, spreading Octavian’s message at the outset of his reign.
What was inscribed upon the triumphal triple arch?
‘The Senate and People of Rome [set this up] in honour of Imperator Caesar, son of the Deified, consul five times, designated consul for a sixth time, imperator seven times, to commemorate the preservation of the state.’
What was a consul?
One of two annually elected senior magistrates, by whose names the Romans dated their years.
How else did Augustus commemorate his military successes throughout his reign?
On coinage. This began with the triple triumph itself. The visual rhetoric of arch and coinage reinforced the military might of Octavian.
What notable coins were distributed? and when?
- The denarius of Augustus 29-27BC; bearing Victory on prow, holding wreath and palm. With a reverse of Octavian standing in ornamented quadriga, holding branch; ‘victorious Caesar’,
- Capture of Egypt denarius 27BC — Obverse: Augustus head bare, words reading ‘Casear son of the deified, consul for the seventh time’. Reverse: Crocodile, words reading ‘Egypt captured’,
- Capture of Armenia aureus 20/19-18 BC — Obverse: Augustus, head bare. Reverse: Victory cutting the throat of a bull, words reading ‘Armenia captured’.
What can be noted of Augustus’ relation to his military achievements throughout his reign?
Such a militaristic presentation lessened during his reign, as the constitutionally ratified Augustus sought to distance himself from his younger self, who power was won at the point of a sword.
What did the capture of Egypt (30BC) and Armenia (20BC) establish?
The Pax Augusta, ‘Augustan peace’. The concept of the stability and safety that Augustus brought to the Roman world.
What did the Romans view themselves as having?
A divine mandate to bring peace and stability to the world.
What does Augustus made special note of in Res Gestae, relating to peace during his reign?
He notes that the doors of the Temple of Janus Quirinus were closed three times during his reign. This symbolised peace throughout the Empire. Augustus is at pains to mention that ‘before [he] was born’, the doors had only been closed twice. His claim being that his birth marked a new age of peace.
How does Virgil support Augustus’ belief that he was born to rule?
He writes two prophetic passages in the Aeneid which both promote the idea that Augustus had been predestined to rule.
What supports the Res Gestae’s claim of the doors closing three times?
Suetonius repeats the claim about the doors of the Temple of Janus Quirinus. As does the construction of the Ara Pacis Augustae (temple of Augustan peace), proposed by the Senate, on 4th July 13BC.
What does Velleius Paterculus write of Roman attitude after the civil war and towards Augustus?
‘… the civil wars were now dead and buried, and the limbs of the body politic torn apart by the wounds inflicted by so long a series of conflicts were healing back together.’ Velleius was deeply pro-Augustan, but his remark nevertheless captures something of an attitude of a Rome wearied by war which found respite under Augustus. A similar tone is found in the Ode by Horace.
What is auctoritas?
‘influence’, that is the ability of an individual to affect socio-political circumstances without the need for specific official power.
What is potestas?
Official political power, typically held by the senators occupying positions on the cursus honorum.
Why did Roman leaders need a balance between auctoritas and potestas? How does this apply to Augustus?
Romans had a hatred of power in the hands of one person: the city had expelled its last king in 510BC and Julius Caesar’s seizure of titles and powers had led to his assassination in 44BC.
Dio affirms Augustus’ understanding of this in the speech which he gives to Marcus Agrippa (Roman History, 52.4).
How did Augustus work around this Roman hatred of one-man leadership?
He needed a formal allocation of powers by the senate, on behalf of the people, to prevent any possible resentment. He did so by ensuring the Senate offered him autocratic powers in light of the need for strong governance, feigning rejection of these powers, and then accepting them on the Senate’s insistence. This was engineered through the First Constitutional Settlement of 27BC.
What was Augustus eager to suggest?
That he was shouldering the burden of guiding the Roman state at the request of the Senate and People, rather than seizing power.
What, in Dio’s account, does Augustus say in his speech to the senate, in regards to declining powers?
His speech to the Senate, when seeking approval for such powers, begins tellingly by asserting ‘[his] power to rule over [them] for life’. He maintained that he was stepping aside to preserve the republic for which he fought so hard.
What the result of Augustus’ rejection of powers?
There was an outcry in Curia against such a ‘selfless’ rejection of power. Dio informs us that some senators knew his intentions, while others were suspicious and concerned. Unsurprisingly, the Senate ‘were compelled either to believe him or else pretend that they did’ and pleaded for monarchical government, pushing Augustus to accept absolute powers.
What was the curia?
The assembly house of the Senate.
What does Dio’s account of this process of Augustus’ acceptance tell us?
He explains that in this process, the power of both the people and Senate was wholly transferred into Augustus’ hands and that thereafter it would be most truthful to describe the political situation as a monarchy (53.17.1). The Emperors could now argue that their powers had come with the consent of the people and Senate. This was little more than a facade of republicanism.
What does Dio inform us of Augustus’ immediate actions, upon the establishment of the principate?
That Augustus pushed through a vote that his personal bodyguard - the Praetorian guard - should be paid twice the rate of normal troops, so that he might be protected reliably. Dio sarcastically notes ‘this shows how sincere had been his desire to lay down the monarchy’ (53.11.5).
What was the Praetorian Guard?
The cohorts of soldiers who protected the Emperor and who were some of the only troops allowed within the city of Rome itself. They enjoyed preferential treatment compared with the rest of the army.
What did the First Constitutional Settlement 27BC do?
- It was not a formal voting of powers, but rather a collection of honours and grants of prestige that acknowledged Augustus’ supremacy. Affirmed by the name he was given as a title - Augustus or ‘revered one’. Dio tells us that he toyed with the idea of the name ‘Romulus’ as an alternative, but the connotations to kingship were too problematic,
- Gave Augustus the following honours according to the Res Gestae and Dio’s Roman History: that his doorstops could be decorated with laurel; the award of the civil crown; the award and display of the Shield of Virtue; and recognition of his auctoritas,
- Redistributed the provinces.
How were the provinces redistributed by the First Constitutional Settlement?
- A super province of Gaul, Spain, and Syria, according to Dio, was given to Augustus alongside his other provinces
- Augustus took those that were unstable and militarily significant, leaving the relatively safe provinces in the hands of the Senate, thus ensuring a visage of republicanism whilst simultaneously keeping himself military overwhelming,
- The others were designated ‘public’ provinces and were administered by the Senate (Strabo, Geography 17.3.25).
What did Augustus claim and how was this contradicted by the new distribution of provinces?
Augustus claimed that the state was again controlled by the people and Senate (Res Gestae 34.1), this is only true in the sense that constitutional governance by consuls continued. In reality, Augustus controlled key provinces, notably those with a strong military presence.
How did Augustus justify his claim to these new provinces?
Justified this redistribution by claiming that his areas still needed pacification and that he wished to reduce the workload of the Senate. Dio notes that Augustus’ real aim was ‘that the Senators should be unarmed and unprepared for war, while he possessed the arms and controlled troops.’
How, thus, was Augustus now in supreme command? How did he hide this fact?
He controlled the army, was a consul, and had control of the public funds (Dio Roman History 53.16). Here he was also subtle, as this authority was granted for just 10 years (Roman History 53.13). Augustus could claim that he ‘excelled everyone in auctoritas, but had no more potestas than… his colleagues in each magistracy’ (Res Gestae 34.3)
When was the Second Constitutional Settlement agreed?
23BC
What were the problems with the First Constitutional Settlement?
- Augustus was sunubbing the Senators and damaging relations with them by monopolising one of two consulships,
- He could not leave the loose collection of titles and honours to a successor. There is enough evidence to suggest that by 23BC Augustus was considering the issue of succession and recognised that his new powers in the role of Princeps needed to be codified.
What powers were created in the Second Constitutional Settlement 23BC?
- The Imperium Proconsulare Maius,
- Tribunicia potestas.
What was the Imperium proconsulare maius?
Reaffirmed the princeps as the head of Rome (Dio 53.32.5), enabling Augustus to overrule any provincial governer’s authority. This power was necessary because in the Second Settlement Augustus gave up his consulship, yet required imperium (command) over the army. Unlike consular imperium over the army, he did not need to lay it down when crossing the pomerium, i.e. returning to Rome. This power effectively created a lifelong control over the army, and its constitutional nature meant that it could be inherited.
What was the tribunicia potestas?
Tacitus (Annals 3.65) described it as ‘the expression of the supremacy of [the emperor’s] position’. Augustus himself highlights the importance of the tribunicia potestas (Res Gestae 10.1). Through it he could pass legislation (e.g. his morality laws in 18BC, Res Gestae 6.2). That it was the supreme power of the emperor can be seen from the fact that it was used t odate Augustus’ reign, and used to indicate his potential succesors. Tribunicia potestas granted the right to call the Senate and put forward an item for discussion, and the power to veto legislation.
What do Tacitus and Velleius observe of these new imperial powers from the Second Constitutional Settlement?
Tacitus’ observation of Augustus: ‘rose up gradually and drew to himself the responsibilities of Senate, Magistrates, and laws’ (Annals, 1.2.1)
Paterculus’ observation that ‘force was restored to the laws, authority to the courts, majesty to the Senate’ (History of Rome, 2.89.3).
Augustus and restoration of republic
The safest conclusion, perhaps, is that Augustus restored the organs and practices of the Republic, but ensured that he retained ultimate control of these elements. However the idea of restoration was crucial to Augustus. The need for social and moral restoration is clearly highlighted in contemporary poetry, e.g. Horace’s Ode. The implication is clear: Rome has become decadent and corrupt and Augustus could portray himself as her saviour.
What presents Augustus’ visage of restorer of the republic?
- Aureus of Augustus 28BC — Obverse: Laureate head of Octavian; words reading ‘Commander Caeser, Son of the Deified, consul for the sixth time’. Reverse: Octavian, seated on magistrate’s chair wearing toga, holding a scroll in right hand; magistrate’s document container on ground to left; words reading ‘He has restored to the Roman people their laws and rights’
- Virgil’s Aeneid (6.792-3) refers to Augustus as he ‘who shall bring back again / the age of gold to Latium’.
What does Suetonius tells us of Augustus’ attitude towards moral and social purity? Where else can this be seen?
- That Augustus had a severe attitude towards moral and social purity, not wishing ‘native Roman stock to be tainted with foreign or servile blood’ (Augustus 40).
- Echoed in Augustian legislation, the ‘Julian Law on the duties of husbands’ and the ‘Julian Law on constraining adultery’. Known as Augustus’ moral reforms, passed in 18BC using his tribunician power (Res Gestae 6.2). Both laws were designed to promote legitimate offspring in Rome’s upper classes, but equally they indicate adultery was common among them.
Who were Augustus’ moral reforms unpopular with?
The equestrian and senatorial classes.
What source praises Augustus’ moral reforms?
Ovid, a poet, seems to praise the reforms in a passage that compares Augustus favourably to Romulus (Fasti 2.119-144).
What else is Augustus recorded to have done in 28BC, 8BC, and 14 AD?
Carried out the first census of the Roman people in 42 years (Res Gestae 8.2). He completed three lustra, each with a corresponding increase in the total citizen population. No other piece of governmental business so utterly communicates the Augustian focus on renewal, stability, and increase as the census does: its data indisputably argues that under Augustus, Rome is flourishing.
What was a lustrum?
The formal purification ritual that officially marked the ending of a census.
What does the Res Gestae say of Augustus’ traditionalism in his handling of offices and titles?
(6.1) Claims that he took no office that contravened ancestral customs. Similarly Velleius Paterculus relates how Augustus refused to become dictator despite being offered it repeatedly (HoR 89.5).
What was a dictator in Rome?
Originally a magistrate elected during a time of crisis with extreme authority.
How does Augustus establish himself as the judge of traditionalism?
Having attained the office of Pontifex Maximus in 12 BC, Augustus collected and destroyed 2,000 volumes of prophetic verse (Suetonius, Augustus 31), even editing the Sibylline Books themselves. Augustus rewrote tradition to fit his own ideals and ventures.
What was a Pontifex Maximus?
Chief priest in the Roman religion.
What does Horace claim of Augustus in regards to religion?
Ode (1.2): Horace depicts Augustus as a god incarnate.
What does the Res Gestae tell us of Augustus in relation to religion?
That he held seven simultaneous priesthoods (7.2-3), and four are commemorated on a denarius which predates Augustus’ election to the position of Pontifex Maximus.
What was the importance of religion for Augustus’ governance? And what did he do in regards to temples in Rome?
It was propaganda. The Romans would have little difficulty in attributing past problems to abandonment by the Gods, and thus the emergence of a golden age was easily seen as a reconciliation brought about by the emperor. These claims are more believable with physical evidence and Augustus’ restoration of neglected temples in Rome suggested a religion similarly brought back to life. Augustus records the number of restored temples as 82 (RG 20.4); Virgil mentions 300 (Aeneid).
What coinage displays propaganda relating to religion?
Denarius showing symbols of the four priesthoods held by Augustus.
Date - 16BC
Obverse: Bust of Venus,
Reverse: Four symbols of priesthoods; words reading ‘Imperator Caesar Augustus, consul for the eleventh time’
What did the eastern provinces petition for as early as 27BC?
To worship Augustus as a new god. Those states traditionally worshipped their rulers.
What does Suetonius tell us of Augustus’ approach to foreign religions and the imperial cult?
(Augustus 93) Augustus was respectful to long-standing religions, but considered the worship of living individuals dangerous, especially in Rome and the west. The Imperial cult could thus be tolerated only in the east. As example in 29BC when the people of Pergamum in Asia minor petitioned for a temple to be built to Octavian and Rome.
What does Tacitus tell us of Augustus’ approach to the imperial cult?
(Annals 4.37) tells us that he did not stand in their way: the imperial cult could successfully bind the people of the vast empire under imperial rule.
What was the numen?
The divinity of a person. The Romans believed that everyone had a divine aspect called the numen.
What was the genius?
The genius was the spirit of a person or place.
What worship of Augustus was permitted in Rome? What did this allow for?
It was permitted to worship Augustus’ numen as well as his genius. Thus, Augustus could accrue the benefits of being worshipped without being accused of claiming to be more than human. The man was mortal, but his spirit divine.
What evidence shows the existence of the imperial cult in the western reaches of the empire? What is the significance of this source?
An inscription on an altar to the numen of Augustus dated AD 12-13 from Narbo in Gaul. Shows the devotion of provincial citizens to the emperor through the imperial cult.
What evidence is there of Augustan worship in Rome?
Ovid’s Fasti (5.140-158) mentions that the divine spirit of Augustus was being worshipped at crossroads. Similarly an inscription from Rome, around 7BC, records priests of the cult of the Augustan Lares chosen from freedmen. This form of worship allowed people to focus on Augustus’ divinity indirectly and was less controversial.
What does Tacitus write of the Augustan Lares?
‘There were no honours left for the Gods, now that Augustus chose to be worshipped with temples and godlike images by flamines and priests.’ (Annals, 1.10.6)
What was the most fundamental of Augustus’ administrative overhauls?
The division of Rome into fourteen divisions. Placing them under the control of magistrates chosen annually by lot, and then subdividing these into wards under locally elected supervisors (Suetonius, Augustus 30). This move may be seen as his administration in microcosm, ensuring careful control of all elements.
What other administrative changes did Augustus implement?
- Through the acquisition of new territories for the empire (RG 26-27), Augustus could even extend the boundary of Rome’s pomerium itself (Tacitus Annals 12.23),
- Instituted a fire brigade for the city and regulations to prevent fires (Augustus 30),
What do Suetonius and Velleius remark of Augustus’ changes to laws?
- Suetonius notes Augustus’ diligence in revising and expanding laws (Augustus 34),
- Paterculus affirms that these laws were for the general advantage (HoR 2.89.4).
What administrative changes to the senate does Augustus make?
Res Gestae (8.2): Augustus states that he revised the senatorial roll three times (probably 29, 18, and 11 BC). The senate had reached a peak of 1,000 members under Julius Caesar, so when in Res Gestae (25.3) Augustus claims that 700 senators served him at Actium, as many as 300 may have sided with Antony or remained undecided. Such disloyalty could not be endured. Augustus imposed severe property qualifications upon this group: he more than doubled the minimum property requirement from 400,000 sesterces to 1 million and made senatorial status hereditary. A total of 190 senators were removed in the first revision; by 18 BC the total had dropped to 600.
What Augustan administrative changes are seemingly in favour of the senate?
- Banned the publication of the ‘Proceedings of the Senate’ (Suetonius, Augustus 36),
- Created new offices for the upkeep of public buildings, roads, aqueducts, and for grain distribution (Augustus 37),
- Two new offices of praetor were created beyond the existing 8 (Paterculus, HoR 2.89.3),
- Leading senators could serve as the newly created praefectus urbi (prefect of the city) (Tacitus, Annals 6.10-11).
What was a praetor?
One of eight to sixteen magistrates elected annually; mainly responsible for the administration of justice.
What was the praefectus urbi?
A role created by Augustus to deal with the day-to-day administration of the city of Rome.
What source evidences the personal decree of Augustus in statecraft?
The edicts of Cyrene: evidence for Augustus controlling business in provinces himself.
What does Suetonius outline as Augustus’ goal in his building programmes?
To create a Rome that was architecturally worthy of being the capital of the Empire. He records the famous statement that Augustus ‘found a Rome built of bricks’ but left one ‘clothed in marble’ (Augustus 28).
What does the Res Gestae detail of the building programmes?
(18-21) details the massive scope of these building projects, centred around the Augustan Forum with its Temple of Mars Ultor. But the works also included restorations of earlier buildings, in keeping with Augustus’ public image. Res Gestae (20.1) is at pains to point out that he did not put his own name on these buildings he restored, preserving those of the old builders. Renewal and respect for the past, once again, marched hand-in-hand.
What does Strabo detail of the building projects?
An important feature was the construction of and the improvement to public aqueducts (Geography, 5.3.8), a project that had been overseen by Marcus Agrippa since as early as 33BC (Pliny, natural history)
Who were the plebs?
Commoners - the ordinary people of Rome.
What did Augustus understand of the plebs?
Augustus understood that Rome was the mob and, since democracy had been replaced with autocracy, he also understood that he needed to court favour with it.
How are Augustus’ successes in courting the ‘mob’ recorded?
His success in doing so may be seen in the public inscriptions commemorating vows for his safety. Such public monument were intended to reflect the significance of Augustus to the state for all Romans.
What coinage presents this success at courting the mob?
Denarius displaying public vows for Augustus’ safety.
Date 16BC
Obverse: Inscription within oak-wreath; words reading ‘To Jupiter Greatest and Best, the Senate and People of Rome took vows for the safety of Imperator Caesar because through him the state is in a more expansive and peaceful condition’,
Reverse: Pillar inscribed ‘To Imperator Caesar Augustus by common consensus’,
Significance: An abbreviated version of an honorary inscription erected in Rome to show the vows made by the Senate and people of Rome for Augustus’ safety.
What methods did Augustus use to ensure the loyalty of the plebs?
Entertainment and largesse (great generosity, often lavish gifts of goods/money). Later satirised by Juvenal claiming that all the Roman people needed was ‘Bread and circuses’. This sentiment is mirrored by Tacitus (Annals 1.2.1), who states that Augustus ‘Seduced the soldiery with gifts, people with corn, and everyone with the delights of peace,’
What event showcases the support Augustus had from the plebs?
22BC, the first year in which Augustus didn’t serve as consul, the people rioted when there was a corn shortage, demanding that Augustus be appointed dictator to deal with the crisis (Res Gestae 5.1-2). His swift resolution of the emergency has led some to believe that he engineered the shortage by stockpiling grain precisely in order to be able to solve the shortage he himself had created.
What was the importance of grain in Rome? What policies did Augustus implement in this regard?
Management of grain supply was vital, the poorest Romans were given a set amount of corn (the corn dole). Augustus set up a formal management system after further shortages in 6-7 AD. In addition, frequent handouts (congiaria) bolstered his popularity. The Res Gestae gives many examples of such gifts, such as 400 sesterces each in 24 BC (15.1), as well as Augustus adding to public treasuries with his own money (17.1).
What does Suetonius comment about Augustus’ influence on the equestrian class?
They were promoted to political significance by the emperors, with Augustus doing much to make them a distinct political group (Augustus 39-40) including creating some exclusively equestrian political roles, such as governer of Egypt.
Why was the Augustan-Senatorial relationship the most interesting and changeable?
His rise to power had rendered it unneeded for political policy-making. Its new position as little more than a bureaucratic rubber-stamp must have alienated at least some senators. Tacitus remarks, however, (Annals 1.3.7) by the end of Augustus’ reign AD 14: ‘How many remained who had seen the republic?’. To retain the image Augustus had crafted, he had to placate the senate somewhat.
How did Augustus placate the senators?
- Gave money to individual senators (Tacitus Annals 2.27),
- The lower ranks of the cursus honorum were expanded to allow for more senators to gain political experience (Suetonius, Augustus 37),
- Could argue that the purges of the Senate made the order more exclusive (Augustus 35).
What policies against the senators were implemented?
- They were banned from the province of Egypt (Annals, 2.59),
- Creation of the the consilium principis, a council set up by Augustus to prepare the agenda for the Senate, comprising Augustus, the two consuls, and 15 senators; it was reconstructed every six months,
- Imposition of a 5 per cent inheritance tax on senators in AD 6 to fund the military treasury.
What do Pliny and Velleius Paterculus write of oppostion to Augustus?
- Pliny (Natural History) lists numerous challenges Augustus faced,
- Paterculus (HoR) refers to a conspiracy at the start of his reign.
What plot does Suetonius mention?
A number of conspiracies, one of which is a supposed plot by Fannius Caepio and Varro Mureno of c. 23 BC (Augustus 19, 66, Tiberius 8.1). This plot is also mentioned by Paterculus (HoR, 2.91.2). However, both ancient and modern writers are unsure if this plot ever happened, or whether Augustus invented it in order to remove individuals.
What story does Seneca tell?
(On Clemency 1.9.2-12) Augustus follows the advice of his wife Livia and reacts mercifully to a plot by Cinna in 16BC. Seneca suggests that this bound Cinna to Augustus for the rest of Cinna’s life and ended conspiracies against him.
What does Tacitus warn us of?
Warns us against contemporary accounts of the reign of Augustus, saying that the culture was increasingly one of flattery towards the emperor (Annals 1.2.1-2). He presents Augustan society as duplicitous, and his main criticism is reserved not for Augustus but for his fellow aristocracy. Therefore we can only question whether the allegations of ‘conspiracy’ and ‘opposition’ are valid.
What does Paterculus tell us of succession?
(HoR 2.103.4-5, 2.121.1-123.2) presents the ascession of Augustus’ stepson Tiberius as seamless and appropriate, having outlined the claims of the various candidates and their eventual ends. Augustus, knowing that he was dying, apparently called Tiberius to him and died in his arms, comforted by the fact that Tiberius would take over all aspects of his principate. However, writing in the time of Tiberius, Velleius could never have told the real story; that Tiberius was far from Augustus’ ideal succesor and nowhere near his first choice.
What attempts made by Augustus to find a successor does Tacitus tell us of?
- Augustus married his daughter Julia to his nephew Marcellus and accelerated Marcellus’ career. However, Marcellus died in 23BC. In this year Augustus gained tribunician power which he used to designate candidates for the succession (Annals 3.56),
- After the death of Marcellus, Augustus married his daughter to Marcus Agrippa, Agrippa died in 12BC,
- Julia was married three times to potential successors: Marcellus, Agrippa, and Tiberius. Producing three male heirs: Gaius, Lucius, and Agrippa Postumus before being exiled for adultery in 2BC (Annals 3.24; Augustus 65).
What coinage shows the role played by Agrippa in the early principate of Augustus?
Denarius of Augustus and Agrippa as tribunes.
Date: 13 BC,
Obverse: Augustus, head bare; words reading ‘Caesar AVGVSTVS (Augustus)’
Reverse: Augustus and Agrippa wearing togas seated on a tribune’s bench; words reading ‘C SVIPICIVS PLATORIN (C Suipicius Platorin, the name of monetary magistrate)’,
Significance: Commemorates Agrippa’s second grant of tribunician power. The impression given is that Augustus shares power with colleagues according to republican tradition.
What Velleius Paterculus write of Tiberius’ rise to power?
Firstly as quaestor in Rome 23BC (HoR, 2.93.1-100.1) and then as legate abroad.
What was a quaestor?
one of twenty magistrates who served as treasurers.
What was a legate?
A Roman official placed in charge of a province or region on behalf of an emperor, or a deputy to such an official.
What coinage displays Tiberius’ military successes?
Aureus of Augustus receiving triumphal branches.
Date 15-12 BC,
Obverse: Augustus, head bare; words reading ‘Augustus, son of the Deified’,
Reverse: Augustus seated on platform, receiving branches from two men in military dress; words reading ‘Hailed victorious for the tenth time’,
Significance: Probably commemorates Tiberius and Drusus’ conquest of Raetia in the summer of 15BC. It shows Augustus’ position as supreme commander of all armies.
What does Tacitus tell us of the grandsons of Augustus?
(Annals, 1.3.2) The Senate decreed that the grandsons of Augustus, Agrippa and Julia’s eldest two sons, Gaius and Lucius, should each be known as princeps iuventutis (‘leader of the youth’) and be made consuls designate at 15, clearly demarking both as potential successors despite their youth (Also see Suetonius, Augustus 26, 64).
What coinage tells us of Gaius and Lucius’ new appointment?
Aureus of Gaius and Lucius as principes iuventutis.
Dates: 2BC - AD 11
Obverse: Augustus, laureate; words reading ‘Caesar Augustus, Son of the Deified, Father of the Fatherland’
Reverse: Gaius and Lucius Caesar standing, veiled, with shields, spears, and priestly symbols between them; words reading ‘Gaius and Lucius Caesar, Sons of Augustus, Consuls designate, Leaders of the Younger Generation’,
Significance: Commemorates the awarding of the title of princepts iuventutis and consul-designate to Gaius and Lucius Caesar by the Senate.
When did Gaius and Lucius die?
Gaius - 20BC - AD 4,
Lucius - 17BC - AD 2.
What does Suetonius say Augustus does after the deaths of Gaius and Lucius?
(Augustus 65) Adopts Tiberius, who had been away from Rome in self-imposed exile due to his discontent with the promotion of Gaius and Lucius.
What is known of Livia, Augustus’ wife?
- Mother to Tiberius and Drusus,
- A constant presence at court, often seen to be acting behind the scenes,
- Tacitus claims she had a hand in the deaths of Gaius and Lucius (Annals 1.3.3) in order to promote her own son Tiberius in the succession,
- Also seen as a positive influence in the case of Cinna,
- Tacitus is clear in describing her as being as much a burden to the state as she was on Augustus’ family (Annals 1.10.5).
What coinage displays the certainty of Tiberius’ succession?
Aureus of Tiberius
Date: AD 13-14
Obverse: Augustus, Laureate; words reading ‘Caesar Augustus, Son of the Deified, Father of the Fatherland’,
Reverse: Tiberius, head bare; words reading ‘Tiberius Caesar, Son of Augustus, Tribunician power for the fifteenth time’,
Significance: From the final year of Augustus’ life, illustrating in no uncertain terms that Tiberius was to be Augustus’ successor.
What else is known about Augustus’ concern for succession? What does Tacitus write in this regard?
Augustus was not just concerned about immediate succession: Tacitus (Annals, 1.3.5) tells us that Tiberius adopted his nephew Germanicus in AD 4, which created an ongoing line of succession (Annals 4.57; Fasti 1.1-14).
What did Augustus coinage continue to represent? For what reason?
Perhaps to the difficulties in securing a successor, Augustus’ coinage never stops depicting him as youthful and vigorous. The health and image of the princepts had become virtually synonymous with the state of the Roman world, as well as the unique nature of his position: as long as Augustus was in good health, the situation was secure.
What late coinage displays the youthful image?
As of Augustus aged 73
Date: 11-12 AD
Obverse: Augustus, head bare; words reading ‘Imperator Caesar Augustus, Son of the Deified, hailed victorious general twenty times’,
Reverse: SC (by decree of the senate); words reading ‘Pontifex Maximus, Tribunician power for the thirty-fourth time’,
Significance: The image of Augustus on coins remains youthful and unchanging throughout his long reign.
What does Tacitus write of Augustus’ death and the succession thereafter?
‘He had not even appointed Tiberius as his successor from affection or from concern for the republic but because, when he looked at his arrogance and cruelty, he hoped that the odious comparison would redound to his own greater glory’ (Annals, 1.10.7)
