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Augustus and the Roman Empire

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Empire, the title given to an extensive collection of countries or states led by a single all powerful authority, typically by an emperor or empress. Throughout history, numerous empires were created. Some of these empires lasted for decades, with such strength and power that they intimidated other nations and countries. These empires are famously known by many for their accomplishments and dominance during their time. They are given credit for the advances in things like politics, economics, education, and religion. With every empire, there came a ruler/emperor that looked over the empire as a whole and ran it just like a boss would to a company, influencing how the economics, politics, and religion of the empire were ran. A prime example of this would be none other than the Roman Empire and Augustus, the emperor of the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire, which was officially established in 27 B.C., was one of the most dominant and influential civilizations in history. At the same time the empire was established, Augustus (Octavian) became its first Emperor, ruling the empire up until his death in 14 A.D. Interestingly, Augustus is known as the founder and designer of the Roman Empire. When covering the topic of the ancient Roman Empire, it is important to remember how it came to be through the transition from the Roman Republic, how Augustus helped create it, how he became its first emperor, and how he kept his supreme power over the empire until he died. Before the Roman Empire came to be, there was a different ruling system set in place in Ancient Rome. This ruling system was known as the Roman Republic. To discuss or analyze the ancient Roman Empire, one must look first at the Roman Republic and its body structure. Once the understanding of the system of the Roman Republic is understood, only then can the exact transitions from the republic to the empire be noticed. In 509 B.C.E., Rome officially transformed from a monarchy (when kings ruled) to a republic (where men elected their officials and those officials passed laws). During this time of the Roman Republic, there were numerous socially moral values and traditions that were supported throughout Ancient Rome. The people of the Roman Republic believed strongly in moral social values like faithfulness to one another, restricted public display of affection, bearing legitimate children and then educating these children morally. The people of the ancient Roman Republic also believed in a fair and balanced system of justice and law. For example, after the fall of the era of monarchy in Ancient Rome and the overthrow of the system of having a king as the main source of power, the city’s patricians and citizens debated over the path that the new government should achieve and what these people’s roles in the new government would be. That is why the Twelve Tables of the Roman Republic was created in 451 B.C.E. The Twelve Tables, as stated in Sources of The Making of the West written by Katherine J. Lualdi, “were a turning point in this struggle, marking as the republic’s first step toward establishing a fair system of justice.” 1 Within the Twelve Tables were twelve parts covering aspects like trial, judgment, paternal power, inheritance, public law, and sacred law. The Twelve Tables supports the idea that in the beginning of the Republic, there was a striving for fairness and the protection of the people of Rome, whether you were rich or poor. The Twelve Tables were one out of numerous examples of Rome emphasizing that the support for the people by the Senate and the armies come first, and that the power came from the people. Sadly, that would not be the case. Due to the influence of Roman imperialism (which imperialism in simple terms is the spreading of a country’s influence and power in the means of military force or diplomacy) and the formation of client armies, the standpoint of providing and sustaining the people of Rome by their elected officials, even the poor farmers, as well as the concept that the power resided in the people was diminished. The neglect in other words of the poor people, especially the farmers, due to the spreading of Rome and the client armies led to social unrest within the Roman Republic. No longer was there an emphasis on the stability of the community, but rather there came to be an emphasis on one’s own personal gain. These two topics, as well as the civil wars that occurred due to the conflicting between different Roman generals due to the desire of power would later prove to be examples of the transition from the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire. If one were to break down the transition from the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire, the common denominator or the main problem that caused the shift from republic to the style of an empire would indeed have to be the spreading or imperializing of the state of Rome. Rome greatly desired to spread itself as far out as it could, conquering different lands and at

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