Augustus Caesar, the founder of the Roman Empire, is one of the great figures in history. He ended the civil war that plunged Rome into chaos in 1 century BC and re-established the Roman government, so his country experienced a period of peace and prosperity for two centuries.
Gaius Octavian (better known as Octavian, he didn't get the title of "Augustus" until he was thirty-five) was born in 63 BC. He is the nephew of Julius Caesar. Julius was a political figure in Rome in Octavian when he was young. He has no son of his own, and he loves this young man very much, paving the way for him to enter politics. But when Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC, he was only a student of 18 years old.
Caesar's death triggered a long and fierce power struggle among many Roman military and political officials. At first, his main rivals-all those who have experienced the political battlefield in Rome-did not take young Octavian seriously. In fact, the only visible advantage of this young man is that he is the adopted son of Julius Caesar. Ostavian skillfully took advantage of this advantage and won the support of some Caesar's troops. But most of Caesar's troops decided to support Marco Anthony, one of Caesar's closest friends. In the power struggle in the following years, all other competitors were eliminated one by one. By 36 BC, Rome and many areas it conquered were divided into two parts by marc anthony and Octavian. The former controls the east and the latter controls the west. However, in the following years, there was a disturbing truce between them. During this period, Anthony seems to be only addicted to the ambiguous relationship with Cleopatra, while Octavian constantly strengthens his position. In 32 BC, a war broke out between them. In 3 1 BC, the battle of Ake-Timo Point was a decisive battle, and Octavian's army won. The following year, the war ended with Octavian's great victory, and both Anthony and Cleopatra committed suicide.
Octavian's current power position can be compared with Julius Caesar's fifteen years ago. Caesar was assassinated because he ended Rome and the political system, and his intention to be emperor was obvious. But in 30 BC, after years of civil war and the obvious failure of the Roman political system, most Romans were willing to accept a benevolent autocratic monarch as long as he continued to exercise democratic rule on the surface.
Although Octavian was ruthless in the struggle for the peak of power, once his position was consolidated, he took an unexpected attitude of reconciliation. In 27 BC, in order to stabilize the mood of members of the Senate, he announced the restoration of the Republic of China and voluntarily resigned from all political posts. But in fact, he kept the positions of heads of state of Spain, Gaul and Syria. Since most of Rome's troops are in these three provinces, the real power is still firmly in his hands. The Senate elected him honorary Augustus, but he never accepted the throne. Verbally, Rome is still a Republic, and Augustus is only the first citizen, but in fact, Augustus can easily get any official position, and the grateful and gentle Senate is always ready for him. For the rest of his life, he was a powerful dictator. By the time he died in 14, Rome had completed the transformation from a * * * country to a monarchy, and his adopted son easily became his heir.
Augustus is outstanding and seems to be the best example of a gifted and generous monarch in history. He was a real politician, and his appeasement policy played an important role in healing the deep wounds caused by the Roman civil war.
Augustus ruled Rome for more than forty years, and his policies had an impact on the empire for many years. Under his leadership, the Roman army conquered Spain, Switzerland, Galatia (in Asia Minor) and many places in the Balkans. At the end of his reign, the northern border of the Roman Empire was not much different from the Rhine-Danube, and the Rhine-Danube was the northern border for most of the following centuries.
Augustus was a very talented administrative official, who played an important role in establishing an effective administrative organization. He revised Rome's tax structure and financial system, reorganized the Roman army and established a permanent naval force; He also established a private guard-the Roman Emperor Guard, which will play an important role in the selection and recall of emperors in the next century.
Under the leadership of Augustus, a huge and wide road network spread all over the Roman Empire, and many public buildings sprang up in Roman cities. The surface of Rome is beautifully decorated. The church suddenly appeared, and Augustus encouraged people to pursue and be loyal to the old Catholic church; Laws have been passed to encourage marriage and childbirth.
From 30 BC onwards, under the leadership of Augustus, Rome enjoyed world peace, economic prosperity and literary and artistic prosperity. The Augustus era was the golden age of Roman literature, and Rome's greatest writers, such as Virgil, Corris and Levi, all appeared in this period. The writer Ovid caused the displeasure of Augustus and was expelled from Rome.
Augustus had no biological son, and one of his nephews and two grandnephews died before him. So he adopted his stepson Tiberius and appointed him as his heir before he died. However, his dynasty (including two notorious emperors, Caligra and Nero) soon collapsed, but the domestic peace he initiated, the so-called "Roman peace", lasted for about 200 years. During this period of peace and prosperity, Roman culture spread in the territories conquered by Augustus and other Roman leaders.
The Roman Empire is the most famous empire in ancient times, and it really deserves its reputation. Because Rome is not only the birthplace of ancient civilization, but also the main channel for the ideological and cultural achievements of all ethnic groups in the ancient world (Egypt, Babylon, Judaism, Greece, etc.). ) into western Europe.
It is interesting to compare Augustus with his great-uncle. Although Augustus has a beautiful appearance, a clever mind, a firm personality and outstanding military achievements, he lacks the leadership spirit that his ancestors had. Julius attracted the imagination of his contemporaries far more than Augustus, and from then on, the former was more famous than the latter. But judging from their actual influence on history, Augustus is far more important than Julius.
It is also intriguing to compare Augustus with Alexander. Both of them started their political careers when they were very young, but in order to reach the peak of power, Augustus had to defeat the tougher opponents. His military talent is not as outstanding as Alexander's, but it will undoubtedly leave a deep impression on people because his conquest is more lasting. In fact, this is the biggest difference between the two. Augustus carefully planned and arranged for the future, so he had a greater long-term impact on human history.
You can also compare Augustus with Mao Zedong or George Washington. All three of them have played an important (and similar) role in world history, but judging from the time of Augustus' rule, the success of policies and the important position of the Roman Empire in world history, I think Augustus should rank higher than the other two.