In terms of establishing a stable political system in which his own power was accepted, Octavian used two main tactics. Firstly, he had to secure a constitutional legitimacy for his continued dominance, and, as Suetonius claimed, ‘take great trouble to prevent his political system from causing any individual distress,’ particularly to the conservative political classes. Octavian, as quoted by Suetonius, was eager to ‘build firm and lasting foundations for the Government of the State.’ Secondly, and just as importantly, he had to secure his personal popularity amongst the Roman people, and cultivate a new, acceptable image of monarchy far removed from popular images of tyranny and despotism.
In terms of achieving a new constitution, Octavian realised that he would have to tread exceptionally carefully, given that resistance to overt displays of power was strongest amongst the conservatives of the Senate. Ever the shrewd politician, Octavian quickly realised that, paradoxically, the best way to obtain sustainable personal power was to appease the elite by posing as the defender, rather than the destroyer, of the Republican tradition. Octavian, once known for his ruthless ambition, suddenly and seamlessly metamorphosed into the saviour of Roman liberty, an image which he would cultivate until his death.
The settlement of 27BC was the striking culmination of this tactic; Octavian appeared before the senate and resigned all of his extraordinary powers. The Res Gestae alludes to the event only briefly, but, given its propagandist purpose, understandably implies that Augustus was acting benevolently as he ‘ transferred the republic from my power to the dominion of the senate and people of Rome.’ The ambiguity of this statement conceals the true nature of the settlement, which Dio more accurately paints as a clever trick to ‘have his supremacy ratified by the Senate’ and the Res Gestae fails to mention the vast provincia that Octavian, now rewarded with the cognomen Augustus, received in return. Suetonius, who also addresses the settlement only peripherally, informs us that Augustus ‘kept for himself all the more vigorous provinces;’ these were Gaul, Spain (excluding Baetica), Syria and Cyprus, over which he gained proconsular authority for a ten year period, in addition to Egypt, which he administered as virtually his own private kingdom. Suetonius and the Res Gestae, however, both neglect to mention that Augustus retained control of all the legions (although Dio to an extent implies this in saying that Augustus took ‘the more powerful’). In addition, Augustus continued to stand for, and was elected to, the consulship. This was an unprecedented move, as no previous public figure had held both consular and proconsular authority concurrently.
Undoubtedly, the settlement was not a ‘service’ to Rome as Augustus implied, but an enormously clever manipulation of the Senate that simultaneously gave Augustus vast powers within the Republican system, legitimised his position, and won him mass acclaim. The claims in the Res Gestae that ‘after this time…I possessed no more official power than others who were my colleagues in several magistracies’ are strictly true, but what is omitted is the fact that Augustus had an unparalleled accumulation of magistracies. Dio even dates the foundation of the monarchy to the settlement of 27BC, claiming ‘In this way the power of both people and senate passed entirely into the hands of Augustus, and from this time there was, strictly speaking, a monarch’ Arguably, this statement needs to be qualified on two grounds. Firstly, Augustus did not have absolute legal power; he still ultimately accountable to the law. Additionally, many facets of the Republic were restored, albeit in a modified form - the Senate regained control over the more peaceful provinces, and all magistrates performed their traditional functions. Secondly, the settlement did not instantaneously establish a monarchy; it merely provided the constitutional basis for, and therefore enhanced the legitimacy of, Augustus’ dominance within the Republic.
Further enhancements were made to the political settlement in 23BC, when Augustus renounced the perpetual consulship and gained instead all the components of tribunician power, in addition to imperium maius over the other consuls that was valid even with the boundary of the pomerium. This settlement is alluded to neither in the Res Gestae (Augustus simply mentions that he was awarded tribunician power) or in Suetonius, whose coverage of constitutional matters is sketchy. Dio mentions that Augustus was granted tribunician power, but only vaguely implies a political purpose in saying ‘Augustus resigned the consulship…in order that as many as possible might become consuls’
The reason for these changes is unclear; one interpretation is that Augustus wanted to make his power even less overt, perhaps as a result of a conspiracy against his life in 24BC (although Dio dates the conspiracy to 22BC, the year after the settlement, which may suggest that it occurred as a response to the settlement), another is that referred to above by Dio, namely, that he realised his monopoly of the consulship was infuriating other politicians as it limited their possibilities of advancement to the position.
Although the second settlement ostensibly reduced Augustus’ power, depriving him of his consular imperium, and probably, therefore, his imperium within Rome itself, it transpired that the period of 24BC-19BC was key in the establishment of the principate. To what extent Augustus anticipated the constructive effects of the settlement is difficult to gauge, but given his immense political acumen, it cannot be discounted that the settlement was a highly calculated move. To the politically unsophisticated masses, this settlement indicated Augustus’ resignation from Roman politics. Fortuitously for Augustus, this ‘resignation’ coincided with damaging floods and food shortages, which the superstitious interpreted as negative omens. In consequence, there were demands for Augustus to accept the dictatorship or the perpetual consulship, a clear validation of his continued dominance. Augustus refused, claiming that ‘I would not accept any office inconsistent with the custom of our ancestors.’ He thus managed to simultaneously emerge with an enhanced reputation, and with popular support that could potentially be used as leverage to force the senators into acquiescence. Any loss of power, too, seems to have been temporary, for Dio indicates that in 19BC Augustus gained ‘[authority of] consul for life,’ although he did not formally hold the post. This is not mentioned in the Res Gestae, but, given that the constitutional basis of Augustus’ dominance is largely ignored, this is unsurprising.
Between 31BC and 19BC, Augustus established the legal foundation of his predominance extremely successfully. His tactic of acting inside the Roman constitution had allowed him to amass considerable power whilst avoiding offence to Republican sentiment. He had, indeed established the legal foundations of a new position that, although strictly a composite of constitutional positions, allowed him to gradually assume monarchical authority. Augustus’ choice to omit mention of his legal powers, or potestas in the Res Gestae means that it is easy to underestimate their importance, but by 19BC his legal rights were indeed great; not only did he have proconsular authority over half the empire and control of most of the legions, but his imperium maius enabled him to intervene even in senatorial provinces, whilst the consular imperium he may have received in 19BC gave him legal pre-eminence in Rome itself. Although tribunician power was primarily symbolic, giving Augustus an image as defender of the people, it did allow him to propose legislation and veto the laws of the Senate.
Despite these successes in establishing increasing dominance, there were still key differences between the constitutional powers of Augustus and the powers usually associated with monarchy. Augustus ultimately did not enjoy absolute power, as he was accountable to the constitution and the law. Indeed, many of his special rights, namely his proconsular authority over his provincia, were officially only granted for periods of five or ten years, although they would never be revoked.
What is paramount, however, is that although Augustus recognised the importance of having his position ratified in constitutional terms, largely in order to secure the acquiescence of the governing class, he did not intend to have his authority continuously scrutinised in terms of legal minutiae. Augustus’ potestas, or legal powers, clarified his role and legitimised his pre-existing dominance, but Augustus never intended for them to provide an exhaustive description of his role or to limit his powers.
Instead, Augustus hoped that, with success and popularity, he would evolve into a monarchical figure acceptable to the Romans, and would be able to issue commands without people inquiring by virtue of what statute he was acting. This unofficial influence, or auctoritas, was a key component of Augustus’ power.
Augustus’ auctoritas was largely derived from his unparalleled achievements, and, fortuitously for the princeps, these continued to occur after 31BC. Augustus exploited the true foundations of his power, namely his military success and enormous wealth, plus his considerable political skill, to gain triumphs for the Empire. Between 31BC and 19BC he achieved more success in the provinces, pacifying Gaul and Spain and annexing Galatia and Lyconia. In 25BC the Temple of Janus was closed, which, as is mentioned in the Res Gestae, symbolised that ‘victories had secured peace through land and sea throughout the whole empire of the Roman people.’ Military success was combined with striking munificence; in the Res Gestae Augustus highlights that between 31BC and 19BC he gave 700 sesterces to each of the Roman plebs, that after the war he gave 1000 sesterces to each of his soldiers, and that in 23BC he bought grain to help ease the food shortages. This was in addition to his lauded building programme; by 19BC his immense spending on public works had begun.
The inevitable result of such achievements was popularity amongst both the masses and, increasingly, the Senate, and as more people concurred with Augustus’ dominance his auctoritas further increased. Interestingly, Augustus chose to highlight his auctoritas rather than his potestas in the Res Gestae, which contains the implicit assumption throughout that great successes merited great rewards and influence. Indeed, whilst barely mentioning his imperium and omitting his provincia totally, Augustus confidently asserts that he ‘excelled all in influence.’ His choice to emphasise his unofficial power rather than his potestas was again politically expedient, reinforcing the image that Augustus was not the destroyer of the Republican tradition, but a great man who had been rewarded for service to his country. The latter image was far more acceptable to the conservative nobility, who, as a result of the peace and success that Augustus had heralded, and also due to the memories of the functioning Republic becoming more distant, were increasingly prepared to collaborate with Augustus and accept his diluted version of monarchy.
Allied to his pursuit of personal popularity, Augustus also attempted to reduce the instinctive Roman hostility towards one man having overt control through creating an image of hereditary rule far removed from previous notions of tyranny and poor government. A skilled propagandist, Augustus presented himself simultaneously as a benevolent patriarch, a skilled general who actively ‘championed the liberty of the Republic’and added to its glory, and a great statesman. He also manipulated his position as the divi filius of the deified Caesar, and encouraged, particularly in the provinces, the development of an ‘imperial cult.’ To propagate these images, Augustus employed subtle yet pervasive propaganda. Coins were minted and statues built in praise of Augustus’ achievements, and poets such as Horace and Virgil were encouraged to write in praise of the princeps and the Empire. Commonly ascribed to him were the virtues of, as he writes in the Res Gestae, ‘courage, clemency, justice and piety,’ and even the cognomen Augustus was suggestive, meaning ‘revered one.’
Although the amassing of auctoritas continued until his death, by 19BC Augustus had certainly started to evolve into a monarchical figure who boasted the support of the Roman people and had largely overcome resistance to his rule. Whilst Augustus’ longevity and continued success would allow his power to further increase, by 19BC he had, as Suetonius claimed was his aim, ‘built firm and lasting foundations for the Government of the State.’ His next concern was to ensure that ‘these foundations which I have established for the State will abide secure.’ This appears to be a veiled reference to his wish to appoint a successor, which is perhaps the best proof that Augustus’ aim was always to develop hereditary monarchy in Rome. Even before 19BC, Augustus was preoccupied with the issue of the succession, particularly during his serious illness of 23BC. Although Dio asserts that Augustus ‘did not, to be sure, appoint a successor,’ he, perhaps surprisingly, states that ‘all were expecting that Marcellus would be preferred for the position’ (Augustus seemed to instead prefer Agrippa). The latter quotes suggests that even as early as 23BC, there was a growing acceptance of hereditary rule, one of the most important precepts of monarchical government.
By 19BC, the precepts of monarchy, only recently anathema to proud senators and politicians, were beginning to become the undeniable realities of a Roman political system increasingly dominated by one individual, Augustus Caesar, who had carefully yet systematically undermined the values of the Republican system he had purported to protect. Whilst Augustus did not officially possess monarchical power and was ultimately subject to the law and constitution, his skill in amassing numerous offices, powers and honours, combined with his popularity and unparalleled auctoritas, meant that his authority was increasingly unchecked. Even after only 15 years of rule, Caesar’s heir had skilfully laid the foundations for a monarchy distinctly Roman, a monarchy cloaked in Republican phraseology and custom, yet which would consign the Republic itself forever to history.
Word count including quotes – 2896 words
Quotes – 234 words
Word count excluding quotes – 2662 words
Bibliography:
Primary Sources (in translation)
Res Gestae
Suetonius,’ The Twelve Caesars: Augustus
Cassius Dio, Roman History Books LIII and LIV
Secondary Literature
Course reader: Augustus and the Principate
Jones A.H.M., Ancient Culture and Society: Augustus, Chatto and Windus, 1975
Levick B., Roman Political Life 90BC-AD69, Routledge, 2000
Syme R., The Roman Revolution, Oxford Paperbacks, 2000
Wells C., The Roman Empire, Fontana Press, 1992
Cassius Dio Roman History Book LIII 30
Cassius Dio Roman History Book LIII 30
