Furthermore, the building programmes of many emperors shows to us that it was the aim of many of the emperors to maintain the happiness of the plebeians through the provision of entertainment. The most prominent example of this would be the construction of the Flavian Amphitheatre begun by Vespasian and completed by Titus at great expense demonstrating the desire of the Flavians to keep the people on side with entertainment. Martial praises the construction of the Amphitheatre over Nero’s old palace as “Rome has been restored to herself, and under thy governance, Caesar, that is now the delight of a people which was once a master’s.” It would seem that Martial is praising the construction of the building as it has brought joy to many ordinary Romans but also adheres to the traditions of Rome in that the leaders are seeking to please the Plebeians as opposed to the emperor only looking after his own interests. Titus even sought to improve on the displays the newly constructed amphitheatre would bring through the construction of the Ludus Magnus and the Ludus Matutinus, both of which were described by Suetonius. These acted as trainin schools for gladiators and beast hunters and so not only are we seeing that Titus and the Flavians were interested in putting on a show for the Romans but they were committed to improving the standards of these shows thus ensuring that the Plebeians remained entertained. A commitment to keeping the people of Rome entertained can be seen in the building programmes of a number of the emperors, in his Res Gestae Augustus tells us how he built the twenty-thousand seater, Theatre of Marcellus at his own personal expense; once again displaying that commitment to doing everything with his own personal expense. Of course, when writing an account of himself Augustus is likely to present himself positively and in his unofficial position as emperor it is unclear where the division between personal and state funds lie. Emperors also sought to placate the people with the construction of public bath houses, a task undertaken by many emperors such as Augustus and Titus whom according to Suetonius constructed the Baths of Agrippa and the Baths of Titus respectively. These functioned as important parts of Roman life as it allowed the ordinary people to remain healthy and clean and removed the issue of squalor but they also served as hubs of commerce and business due to their importance as meeting places. There is overwhelming evidence that the architecture of Rome reflected the desire of the emperors to provide entertainment to the Plebeians as the city was dominated by amphitheatres, bath houses and theatres all to ensure the mob did not become unruly.
Moreover, many emperors also devoted sections of their building programmes to improving the lives of the ordinary Roman people most notably through the creation of an extensive system of aqueducts which provided the people with clean water. According to Frontinus, Augustus had Agrippa create the Julia aqueduct in his position as overseer of the water supply, a new position, and also to see to the restoration to the Appia, Anio Vetus and Marcia aqueducts. Claudius too is well respected by sources including Suetonius, Frontinus and Pliny the Elder for having constructed the Aqua Claudia and the Anio Novus for the betterment of Rome, James Grout believed that this reflects Claudius’ respect for the Roman people and his devotion to their well-being; supporting this with the fact that he built no ostentatious works in his time. This stands in stark contrast to emperor’s such as Nero who did nothing to improve the lives of the average Roman instead his building of the Domus Aurea after the great fire of Rome is condemned by both Tacitus and Suetonius who believed it was a poor choice to construct a palace despite “his country’s desolation”. However, even Tiberius, whose buildings programme was the most limited of all the emperors constructed a camp for the Praetorian Guards according so Suetonius, Tiberius, 37, which meant that he “safeguarded the country against banditry and brigandage” ensuring that his people were well protected and need not fear raids. However, Alston believes that this camp was built due to the persuasion of Sejanus, the Prefect of the Praetorians as opposed to any great will of Tiberius to protect his people. Yet still it remains clear he would have had to agree to embark on such a course of action as emperor. What becomes clear to us in the architecture of Rome is that many of the emperors saw fit to ensure that they provided for the people of Rome as much, if not, more than for their own gain. With a few notable exceptions such as Nero most of the emperors at least did something to improve the infrastructure of Rome, be it through the creation of new aqueducts or the improvement of Rome’s policing.
Clearly, all these buildings that have been created have been constructed with one real purpose, to glorify the emperor or to appease the plebeians, effectively they have all been a form of propaganda. This can be evidenced further as many of the buildings constructed in this period by the emperors served no purpose other than to be used as propaganda. We are told by Suetonius and Tacitus that effectively every emperor erected an Arch in order to honour their own exploits in the forum, clearly these monuments served no purpose other than to glorify the emperors they were dedicated to. Augustus according to Suetonius, Augustus 29, constructed the Temple of Mars Ultor after the defeat of Julius Caesar’s assassins and held the standards recaptured from Parthia, Augustus constructed this temple in an attempt to legitimise his reign by reminding the people of his righteousness in uniting Rome. The same source tells us that the Ara Pacis was constructed in honour of his victorious return from Gaul and Spain in 13 BC and so is another example of a building created for propaganda, the building also displayed a number of scenes linking Augustus and his family to Aeneas and the founders of Rome to once again present himself as a figure worthy of praise and glory. These would remain as lasting evidence of the greatness of Augustus and hint towards his divinity even after his death. It is unclear quite how effective these buildings were as forms of propaganda, if they truly ever impressed the Romans so much that they fell in line, but from the huge respect shown to Augustus in the sources we have studied it seems safe to conclude that they may have had some impact on that as Augustus famously said “I found Rome a city of brick and left it one of marble” hinting towards the grand building projects he engaged upon and also how wide reaching they were. Alston tells us that Nero was another emperor who sought to use his building projects as a form of propaganda and to leave his imposing mark upon Rome, he gives the example of the gargantuan Domus Aurea being “a public expression of his power”. However, we can tell that as a propaganda tool this did not work effectively as it is condemned by sources as broad as Suetonius, Tacitus and Martial for having been constructed despite the desolation of Rome after the great fire. Interestingly it can be pointed out that some emperors clearly did not feel they should construct buildings to be used as only a matter of propaganda. For example, James Grout’s belief that Claudius’ lack of construction of ostentatious works reflects this belief, whilst he did receive a triumphal arch it is recorded by Suetonius that this was decreed by the senate not by Claudius himself. Tiberius is another example of an emperor who did not seek to seek to make a mark on Rome in order to glorify himself instead his lack of building works suggests that he was not fully wiling to embrace his position as emperor unlike many of his successors and his predecessor Augustus. Clearly all buildings constructed in Rome during the imperial period served as some form of propaganda as a display of the emperor’s wealth and power or to appease the people but the construction of buildings to serve only as a mark of propaganda depended upon the rule of the emperor. An emperor who was interested in the people would provide more for them whilst an emperor such as Nero seeking to glorify themselves would seek only to do so with their building projects.
In conclusion, it is clear that the architecture of Rome highlights the main aims of the vast majority of emperors of the time period studied. Almost all emperors sought to appease the people with the construction of buildings for public entertainment such as theatres of the Flavian Amphitheatre. Many also sought to present themselves as pious through the construction of religious sites or some sought to appease the masses by improving the infrastructure of Rome. However, some emperors such as Nero due to their personality or style of rule did not do as much for the people as emperors such as Titus or Claudius seeking only to glorify themselves or improve their own standard of living before others.