AUGUSTUS ~ THE FIRST EMPEROR OF ROME
<3 Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus Augustus, often remembered simply as Augustus, was the very first Emperor of Rome
He reigned for 41 years, much longer than anyone else that came after him.
He not only took power and managed to keep it, he also turned the Roman Republic into an Empire, which it would remain for centuries after his death.
<3 Augustus was born in Rome on the 23rd of September in the year 63 BC.
However, he didn’t stay in Rome for long, as it was deemed too crowded to raise him.
He was then taken to his family’s estate in the village of Velletri for the first years of his life.
Augustus spent part of his childhood being raised by his grandmother, Julia, who was Caesar’s sister.
An 11-year-old Augustus personally delivered the funeral oration for his grandmother after she died in 52 BC.
<3 Augustus always wanted to join his great-uncle, Julius Caesar, and be part of his military campaigns.
However, things kept getting in the way, delaying Augustus from fulfilling this dream.
Augustus was finally given permission by his mother, to accompany Caesar in his campaign against Pompey.
Initially Augustus was unable to go because of illness.
Even after he recovered and sailed west, he had to endure a shipwreck and a harrowing journey through enemy territory, before he finally met with his great-uncle.
<3 While Caesar was busy establishing himself as dictator, he sent 19 year old Augustus, to the city of Apollonia in Macedonia to complete his education.
However, there was another reason for this move.
Five Roman legions were stationed in Macedonia, and Caesar wanted Augustus to take them east and fight under Caesar’s command, in an upcoming war against the Parthian Empire.
<3 Augustus was still in Apollonia when news of Caesar’s assassination reached him in 44 BC.
Word got out that Caesar had named Augustus as his heir in his will, and Augustus changed his name from Gaius Octavius Thurinus to Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, in honor of his great~Uncle.
<3 When a young Augustus arrived in Rome after the death of Julius Caesar, he found that Mark Antony was acting as Caesar’s heir after having driven Caesar’s assassins from the city.
Augustus called him out on it, and Antony was declared a threat to the Republic, leading to his flight from Rome.
Augustus led the Roman Senate’s armies against Mark Antony.
<3 Augustus wasted no time vilifying Antony’s name and reputation in Rome, as for Antony, his end came while he basked in the wealth of the east, with Cleopatra at his side.
Augustus defeated them both at the naval Battle of Actium in 31 BC, leading to Antony and Cleopatra choosing suicide over capture.
<3 With their deaths, Augustus was the sole man in charge of Rome, and he took the necessary steps to consolidate his power and make himself the emperor.
<3 Augustus revered his great-uncle Julius Caesar, even long after the legendary general’s death.
He was so committed to Caesar’s memory, in fact, that he once ordered an absolutely horrific sacrifice to be held on the Ides of March, the anniversary of Caesar’s assassination.
300 prisoners taken from the recent Perusine War, were killed on the altar of Caesar in Rome, all to show how much the emperor respected the man who set the foundation for his rule.
<3 One element that made Augustus’ seizing of power successful, was his refusal to dress finely and cover himself in glorious titles and finery.
Augustus turned down the privileges of wearing a diadem or carrying a scepter, knowing that such kingly features would fly in the face of the image of a Republic that he was trying to claim still existed.
Augustus apparently didn’t care much about his personal appearance, his teeth were poorly kept, and he would often just have several barbers work on his hair without real care to how it ended up looking.
Augustus stood 5’7″, leading to him wear shoes that added a few inches to his height.
<3 During his life, Augustus was married three times.
His first two marriages each ended in divorce after two years, while the third lasted from 37 BC until his death in 14 AD.
Wife number one was Claudia, whom he returned to her mother, claiming that their marriage had never been consummated.
Wife number two was Scribonia, who bore his only child, Julia the Elder.
His final wife was Livia Drusilla, who may, or may not, have had a hand in her husbands death.
<3 One of Augustus’ greatest accomplishments as Emperor was a treaty with the Parthian Empire.
This saw the return of Roman standards lost, when a Roman army was slaughtered at the Battle of Carrhae.
While many resented that the Parthians weren’t invaded in revenge, Augustus achieved a diplomatic and moral victory by playing up the return of the standards as a great triumph.
<3 One of Augustus’ longest-lasting contributions to the history of the Roman Empire was the formation of the Praetorian Guard. Initially formed by Augustus as a bodyguard detail, they grew in size and importance.
They not only guarded the emperor, but also maintained the peace in Rome and even the rest of the Italian Peninsula.
Augustus also oversaw Rome’s firefighting forces.
He also established a permanent standing army to maintain the empire, numbering 170,000 men in total.
<3 Just as the month of July was named after Julius Caesar, the month of August was named after Emperor Augustus.
It had previously been named Sextilis, since it was the sixth month in the Roman year (it was a different time).
<3 Among the many building projects in Rome which began with Augustus, were the Temple of Caesar, the Baths of Agrippa, the Forum of Augustus, and the Mausoleum of Augustus, which was built to carry the final remains of his family, including himself.
<3 Augustus Caesar died in A.D. 14, his empire secured and at peace.
His wife Livia was rumored to have brought about Augustus's death, by poisoning fresh figs
His reported last words were twofold: to his subjects he said,
“I found Rome of clay; I leave it to you of marble,”
but to the friends who had stayed with him in his rise to power he added,
“Have I played the part well? Then applaud me as I exit.”
<3 Augustus was laid to rest in The Mausoleo di Augusto, a large tomb he built in Rome Italy.
The mausoleum has been restored and reopened to the public in March 2021, after fourteen years of closure.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/537859523834021 https://www.factinate.com/people/44-autocratic-facts-augustus-first-emperor-rome/.
️
https://ko-fi.com/thetudorintruders.
<3 Augustus of Prima Porta~1st century
* * *
Affordable Wordpress website host at
www.greengeeks.com Linkback:
https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=124387.0
