8.17 The Empire of Augustus

Directions: Read “Pax Romana” to answer the questions on your worksheet.

Augustus’ reign began the Pax Romana, or “Roman Peace”— 200 years of peace and prosperity enjoyed across the empire of now 65 million inhabitants. The Pax Romana was possible because Augustus tackled some long-standing problems. The poor thanked Augustus for guaranteeing free handouts of grain. Most of the people might not have noticed that Augustus’ newly paid officials were improving government. However, everyone took immense pride in his transformation of Rome into an impressive capital with magnificent marble monuments. Meanwhile, Augustus’ new laws were restoring order, and he actively encouraged art, literature, and education.

Augustus also cleverly prevented any threat that might have been posed by the army. He cut its size in half but kept out-of-work veterans happy with grants of land. Soldiers still serving were kept constantly busy defending and expanding the empire’s frontiers. The army also now had standardized pay and conditions and a new oath of loyalty to the emperor himself.

Rome's first government was a representative democracy. Its citizens, who only could be free, adult males, elected representatives to rule on their behalf. Initially, Rome's wealthiest families, the patricians, had all the power, and only they could hold political or religious offices. Every other free Roman citizen was a plebeian. No plebeians could hold office. Only Rome's enslaved were below the plebeians. Over the next 200 years, the plebeians fought for and gained power within the government.

At the heart of the Roman Republic was the Senate. Although the Senate did not make laws, it had great influence over Rome's law-making bodies. This limitation dated to only 15 years into the Republic's life in 494 BCE when the plebeians organized a strike. In response, the Senate established the Comitia Tributa, legislative assemblies that shared power with the Senate and gave Plebeians a voice in the government. The two most important assemblies were the Comitia Centuriata, which made decisions about war, passed laws, and elected magistrates, or high officials and also considered appeals of death sentences and conducted foreign relations, and the  Concilium Plebis, who elected its own officials and made laws for the plebeian class.

Two consuls led the republic and were elected by the legislative assemblies. The consuls served for one year, presided over the Roman Senate, and commanded the Roman military.

The Republic stood strong for several centuries. However, Rome's influence and territory expanded, and citizens and families struggled for power. Ultimately, factions emerged. These groups were loyal to either the patrician or plebeian classes or to a specific military general. A series of civil wars followed, which tore apart the Republic.

During the imperial period, emperors held most of the power and commanded the army while the popular assemblies of the Roman Republic lost power. The powers given to the emperor still formally came from the Senate, however, and they could declare an emperor to be an enemy of the state or wipe the record of his reign from official history. While the assemblies gradually faded from existence, the Senate held on till the very end though it was a pale shadow of its former glory and influence.

One strategy that many early emperors used to keep the new wealth and slaves coming into the empire, and thus pay for feeding a population increasingly dependent on imperial gifts of food, was to expand and conquer new territories. This expansion brought great wealth, power, and glory to Rome's emperors, but also helped bring about its downfall. The vast empire was costly to run and was repeatedly attacked by foreign groups. When the empire finally reached the point where it could no longer expand, emperors turned to seizing the estates or wealthy patricians for even the smallest offense or pillaging provinces if they experienced a revolt, even if the population had remained loyal to Rome. 

In 284 CE, the Emperor Diocletian attempted to halt the slow collapse of the empire by splitting it in half to make it easier to control. This ultimately only served to prolong the life of the eastern half centered around the new capital of Constantinople which would not fall for another 1,200 years. The western half of the empire, including the city of Rome itself, would last less than 200 years.