Augustus: Person of the Year

Ryan Weber Mrs. Brannan HUM-2211 October, 15, 2012 Person of the year Augustus How does ane define person of the year? Some one who is nominate this title of capital honor above every other human beings or woman in the world. For what its worth, I can sum it all up into one nominate, Augustus. A brave and hard-core leader, educated and intelligent man, a political connoisseur, patron of the arts, and a loving husband, what else could be asked from a man of such great achievement?We will be looking into the life, rule, and accomplishments of Augustus, then finish off with an single(a) interview to give us much of an insider look on the Person of the year. On March 15, 44 BC, a group of papistical Senators stood over the dead body of Julius Caesar, bloody knives in their hands. They had murdered the popish leader in an effort to save the Republic from Caesars aspirations for bushel power (McGill, Sarah Ann) In spring of 44 BCE Augustus formerly known as Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, or Octavious for short, became ruler of Rome.Adopted by Julius Caesar after traveling alongside him for some(prenominal) years and throughout many battles, being the only male relative and it being written in Caesars will, Augustus was heir to the throne and quickly began making an impact on roman society. Caesar Augustus rose from near humbleness to become the or so powerful man Rome had ever seen, and he became perhaps the single most important figure in Romes long history. (Sizgorich, Tom. Augustus) Starting his reign at age 18, very raw(a) and inexperienced he would turn out to gain the trust and support of the empire as a whole.Very intuitively and keen, he started at the base of it all, the people. Initiating public games loved by them as a source of entertainment, when a comet flew by on the first day, everyone took it as Caesars soul ascending to the heavens, this greatly helped win his popularity among his great uncles army he left and also made him allie s within the senate. But with allies, would come opponents, one man in particular, Mark Antony, whom was a close ally with Caesar and fought against the party that assassinated him.Tensions between the dickens were short after they formed a group to eliminate opposing forces such as the one that killed Caesar, lead by Marcus Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus. The alliance between Antony and Octavian could not last, however after the defeat of the conspirators, Octavian stage around building a base of support for himself among the Romans, anticipating the confrontation with Antony that he knew would come. (Sizgorich, Tom. Augustus) Octavian began preparing to confront Antony. Antony had angered many Romans because of his kind with the queen of Egypt, Cleopatra.Octavian took advantage of this anger to gain further support against Antony. (Augustus, Caesar Octavianus. ancient Greece and Rome) Acute and sharp as he was, Augustus began to realize the roman public was outraged that Antony had been willingly manipulated by queen Cleopatra of Egypt. He set out to defeat Antony and Cleopatras army. When he finally did so, the couple committed suicide and allowed Augustus to finally have full control over all of Rome. He did not want to rule as his uncle did, so in instal to convince the public and senate he would not do so he, articulated the Princep title.Deriving from Latin meaning first citizen suggesting that he held only the same power as all others in the senate, barely no one was to be above him in ruling. Augustus wasted no time as sole leader of Rome, he extended the borders, instituted construction of new buildings, water systems and roads. He maintained public order and law, supported writers such as Virgil and Livy to bring back more traditional Roman values, and introduced a new religion to society, Christianity. At one point he offered to relinquish all of his power to the senate, but they would not oblige.In fact they revered him even more and allotted him with the title Augustus, which is when he adopted the name and dropped the name Octavious. Augustus proclaimed that he had found Rome a city of bricks and left it a city of marble. (Augustus, Caesar Octavianus. quaint Greece and Rome) By the end of his rule, Rome was flourishing, rich and prosperous was the whole empire. Lined with armies protecting all borders, creating a safe environment for all of Rome, it has been deemed Romes Golden Age or Pax Romana and was the bound in time when the civilization experienced the most peace and prosperity.Augustus passed away in AD 14 and Tiberius took control over Rome as his stepson. It is easy to see how Augustus was named Person of the year, he accomplished more in his lifetime than any other individual I can name Reforming government and military, restoring Roman traditions and values, and vastly expanding the empire. And gaining the love and support of the people, the senate, and the army at the same time, its no wonder w hy the senate held him at the level of a god when he passed. Works Cited * Augustus, Caesar Octavianus. Ancient Greece and Rome An Encyclopedia for Students. Ed. Carroll Moulton. Vol. 1. in the buff York Charles Scribners Sons, 1998. 87-91. Gale Virtual speech Library. Web. 14 Oct. 2012. * Sizgorich, Tom. Augustus. World History Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 14 Oct. 2012 * McGill, Sarah Ann. Augustus. Augustus (2009) 1. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 14 Oct. 2012. * Augustus, Caesar Octavianus. Ancient Greece and Rome An Encyclopedia for Students. Ed. Carroll Moulton. Vol. 1.New York Charles Scribners Sons, 1998. 87-91. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. * Fears, J. Rufus. Augustus. Encyclopedia of Religion. Ed. Lindsay Jones. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. Detroit Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. 630-631. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 15 Oct. 2012 * Dunstan, William E. Ancient Rome. n. p. Rowman & Littlefield, 2011. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 15 Oc t. 2012 (I was not able to log into this EBook the whole time I have been writing this paper, but you have it down as a required cite. )