Bushnell's The Deeds Of The Divine Augustus

The rise of Octavian, christened Augustus which means "revered one", marked the end of the Roman Republic, but the beginning of the greatest empire in history: The Roman Empire. After his decisive victory in the Battel of Actium in Greece against Anthony and Cleopatra, the Roman senate christened Octavius "Augustus", which means "the Revered One". With a land left in ruins and decay, Augustus took on the challenge for restoration and proved to be quite successful. Near the end of his days, Augustus wrote Res Gestae which is Latin for "things done". The English translation, here by Thomas Bushnell, is "The Deeds of the Divine Augustus". The text is a numbered list of his personal feats and titles that transcended his years from his defeat of

The senate awarded Augustus the title of "Princeps civitatis" which means "First Citizen of the State";

" "Augustus claimed that he was restoring the republic, but he was actually transforming the government into one in which all power was held by a single ruler" (p. 156). In essence, Augustus was progressively taking over offices that traditionally were meant to be held by separate people (p 156).

" "I was triumvir for the settling of the state for ten continuous years. I was first of the senate up to that day on which I wrote this, for forty years. I was high priest, augur, one of the Fifteen for the performance of rites, one of the Seven of the sacred feasts, brother of Arvis, fellow of Titus, and Fetial"

Also shows that he invested, therefore had some, if not all, control over what happened with the money he so "kindly" donated. Shows he controlled what happened to the money in the treasury and also help great influence in the military.

Augustus invested in Roman infrastructure and the continued expansion of Rome. He acted out of his own free will to invest in the rebuilding of Rome and expand its borders.

" "I rebuilt the Capitol and the theater of Pompey, each work an enormous cost, without any inscription of my name. I rebuild aqueducts in many places that had decayed with age" (#20).

" "I extended the borders of all the provinces of the Roman people which neighbored nations not subject to our rule. I restored peace to the provinces of Gaul and Spain, likewise Germany, which includes theocean from Cadiz to the mouth of the river Elbe" (#26). o Note how he talks about how he "restored peace", implying that said regions are better off being under Roman control. o In the same sections and numbers that follow, Augustus numerates the countries he took over and how he was savior of most.

Some may argue that Augustus was not and did not act the part of dictator of Rome…

" "When the dictatorship was offered to me , both in my presence and in my absence, by the people and the senate…I did not accept it"