How was Rome different after Octavian came to power as Augustus Caesar in 31 b.c?

Answer 1

When Augustus came to power the change in the Roman political system was the fact that he as "first citizen" or princeps, had total power or the "potestas"' of a tribune. He was careful to keep all the political offices in place although he had the power to override any decisions made by the lower officials. The transition from the republic to the principate was a slow one so as not to encourage another civil war or social unrest.

Answer 2

Octavian did not come to power as Augustus in 31 B.C. In 31 B.C. he was still engaged in his civil war against Marc Antony, which lasted from spring 32 B.C. to August 30 B.C. Even in 30 B.C. his power was extra-constitutional. His power was made constitutional and formalised only with the First Settlement with the senate in 27 B.C. It was also then that he assumed the title of Augustus.

Octavian emerged as the victor of the final of the civil wars which brought down the Roman Republic. This was a contest between Augustus and Marc Antony over who would become the sole ruler of Rome and her empire. Octavian had amassed a great fortune though the spoils of war he acquired in the last few of the civil wars of the Late Republic. With his final victory, he also gained control of all the Roman legions. He used the power he had accumulated to bring the Roman Republic to an end and establish his absolute personal rule over Rome and her empire while pretending to be restoring a republic shattered by the civil wars. He became the first Roman emperor and began the 503-year period of absolute rule by emperors.

Octavian learned from the lesson from the murder of his predecessor, Julius Caesar. He was assassinated because he gave the impression of trying to become a king, which made him look an enemy of the republic. Octavian therefore chose to give himself the title of princeps, which was derived from the princeps senatus, who was the first member of the senate and acted as a chair. The word roughly meat first man/citizen and had a "first among equals" connotation, which gave a republican veneer to his rule. In reality he was turning himself into an absolute ruler. Princeps was the actual title of what we call the Roman emperors. Emperor has been made up by historians.

Octavian reached a settlement with the senate whereby the senate retained control of the older Roman provinces, while he controlled of the border ones. Since most of the legions were stationed in the provinces, this concession still left him in control of the bulk of the army and, therefore in charge. He emasculated the senate by turning it into an instrument of his power. He also emasculated the popular assemblies (which used to elect the officers of state and vole on bills) by transferring their powers to a senate which had been turned into a rubber stamp body. The proceedings of these assemblies became useless formalities. Augustus legislated himself by decree. He ended the election of the officers of state, who became his appointees. He strengthened is grip on the state by creating a bureaucracy under his control. He took control of the treasury and created a military treasury though which the soldiers were paid by the emperor, thus ensuring their loyalty to the emperor.

The reign of Augustus was one of showmanship. Besides assuming the title of princeps which gave the pretence of not being an absolute ruler, he took on the role of restorer of the old Roman traditions and virtues of the older Republic, which he argued had been lost, and introduced laws on morality. He restored archaic religious cults which had decayed. He also created his personal cult. He continued the association of the Julian family with the goddess Venus which Caesar had made and used this to create a cult based on himself as divine as Caesar had done. He also transformed Roman art from the previous republican art to an imperial art which glorified him. He created artistic images of himself as semi divine and as a victorious imperator (which meant victorious commander). His last words before his death were: "Have I played the part well? Then applaud as I exit"

Augustus' tight grip on the Roman state and Roman politics ended the dysfunctionalities of government of the Late Roman Republic, which had become corrupt and had lost control over the provinces of the empire (conquered territories), which the provincial governors treated as their own personal fiefs and power bases. He restored central control over the provinces and stabilised a previously chaotic, civil war-torn and exhausted empire. Through this, he started what historians have called the Pax Romana (Roman Peace), a two hundred year period or relative political stability in the empire. Augustus actively promoted the development of trade by encouraging commercial production, setting low taxes which did not hamper enterprise and building infrastructure. With the mentioned stability thriving trading networks throughout the empire and beyond developed and these brought prosperity.