Augustus~Matthew+Saporito

Augustus

Greatness can be defined as many things, but for Augustus it was the happiness of the people, peace throughout the empire, and the power which he held.

One of the most important things to Augustus was the happiness of the people. He wanted the quality of life to be as good as it could be for all the citizens in his empire. Due to Augustus’ rule, he amassed great wealth during his lifetime. When the taxes got high due to war, Augustus “gave 400 sestertii per man for the third time. And these public gifts of mine never reached fewer than 250,000 men.” He would continue to do this many times in the future. The people’s happiness was important to him, not the money.

“Janus also has a temple at Rome with double doors, which they call the gates of war; for the temple always stands open in time of war, but is closed when peace has come. The latter was a difficult matter, and it rarely happened, since the realm was always engaged in some war... But in the time of Augustus it was closed.” Augustus was one of the few people in all of Roman history that brought peace to the empire several times. He did not want to make the people pay higher taxes because the empire needs money to wage war on other states. Also he did not want the unneeded death that comes along with war. He opened the doors to the Temple of Janus only when necessary, but at all other times, they were closed.

Augustus was one of the most powerful people in Roman history. He eventually became the sole ruler of the Roman empire. When a civil war broke out between Augustus and Mark Antony, Augustus defeated Antony with ease and declared himself as the consul. In 27 B.C., Augustus tried to give back his powers to the Senate and the people. At this time, the Senate refused to take his powers back and rewarded him with the title “Augustus.”

All great leaders make mistakes. And perhaps Augustus’s biggest one was making Tiberius the heir to the throne. While Tiberius was a great military general, he lacked the desire of being the emperor of Rome. Augustus reluctantly chose Tiberius over his sons, Gaius and Lucius Caesar. Unfortunately, both his sons had died and Augustus was forced to adopt Tiberius as his own son. Tiberius was not popular with the people or the senate. He was mentally unstable and he was constantly confusing the senate. He requested that he take only half the power and titles that Augustus had due to his old age. He made good friends with a political advisor named Sejunas. Things were not going well for tiberius. He had no approval from the people or the senate and went into self imposed exile on Capri island. He left Sejunas in charge and from there on out, Rome would experience terrible leaders for many years to come.