What was Augustus Legacy as a politician, empire builder and cultural advocate?
Augustus Caesar was born in 63 BC and known as one of the greatest emperors of the world. His legacy was to establish an imperial system that lead European region for more than four decades. The state of Rome was in a pathetic state when Augustus was born but he converted it into the most magnificent state of his times, through his administrative skills, power and aura. This paper intends to discuss the legacy of Augustus empire in politics, empire building, culture and in other areas along with discussing several other related aspects of the subject matter.
Augustus Caesar laid the basis of an empire that continued for next hundred fifteen hundred years and both the surnames that he adopted were used as nobility by rulers of Roman Empire for next hundreds of centuries. His images turned out to be a symbol of power even after his death. Roman Empire followed the direction of Augustus in his reign as well as in the reigns of rulers who ruled Roman Empire for centuries after Augustus. ‘The Res Gestae Divi Augusti’ is a collection of works and achievements by the Augustus Caesar which was later inscribed upon a number of walls, statues and other monuments. Some known books written by Augustus including Sicily and epiphanus are fortunately available and gives us a glimpse of Augustus reign and his legacy.
Augustus was a great reformer and designed a development plan that helped the Roman Empire during the reign of Augustus and even after his death. He established a strong network of roads throughout his empire. Roads not only helped Augustus in trade and commerce but he also sensed that roads are very important for the movements of his troops. He established an effective communication system in order to strengthen his hold on the empire. Augustus paved the way for rulers who ruled Roman Empire after Augustus and showed them the power of effective administration.
He always focused on his military because he considered it as the most important factor in empire building. Tilburg says, “A military, commercial and political tool, Roman highways are central to an understanding of Roman civilization” (Tilburg p1). Augustus created the post of Praefectus Vehiculorum and assigned him several tasks of supervision and inspection. Augustus created a special body, Aerarium Militare for the welfare of military men and funded this bodily substantially. Augustus established an effective system that included police department, fire brigade department and a municipal body to take care of urban needs. As a visionary leader and ruler, Augustus focused on an effective administrative network and empowered his officials in order to establish a fair and welfare system for the people of his empire. People blame that he succeeded in maintaining peace, law and order in his empire because he was an unkind emperor (Tilburg).
Augustus is considered the greatest ruler of the Roman Empire and one of the greatest rulers of the contemporary world. His established legacy is so big that rulers of Roman Empire followed it for centuries even after the death of Augustus Caesar. After having observed the above mentioned analysis of the legacy of Augustus in several areas, it is good to say that Augustus Caesar was a visionary ruler who paved the way for reforms that took Roman Empire on new heights. His legacy and aura became the identity of Rome and continued for several centuries. Some people may criticize the way that he followed but everyone agrees about the rich legacy of the Augustus Caesar.
Works Cited
Billings, Bradly S. "‘At the Age of 12’: The Boy Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41–52), The Emperor Augustus, and the Social Setting of the Third Gospel ." The Journal of Theological Studies (2009): 70-89.
Shotter, David. Augustus Caesar. New York: Psychology Press, 2005.
Southern, Pat. Augustus. New York: Routledge, 1998.
Tilburg, Cornelis Van. Traffic and Congestion in The Roman Empire. New York: Routledge, 2007.
