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Rome After Caesar
After winning the post-Caesar civil war, Octavian wanted to assure both the Roman aristocracy and masses of the return of normalcy, meaning peace and republican procedure in rule. He began by disbanding the majority of the mobilized war-era legions, annulled illegal orders, reduced the Senate back down to 600 members, endearing the older Rome aristocracy in the process. Serving as joint consul with Agrippa in 28 BCE, Octavian kept Rome out war and conducted the first census in 70 years.
The Two Settlements of the Principate
The major question remaining, however, was how to govern Rome in the post-Caesar era. The answer to this question was the Principate, which emerged in the two settlements of 27 BCE and 23 BCE. In 27 BCE, the Senate gave him the power of government in the large provinces—Gaul, Iberia, and Syria—while the remaining regions would be administered by a Senatorial proconsul. They also continued to elect him consul and gave him the new name Augustus, meaning “exalted” or “venerable.” Officially, his title was Princeps, meaning “first citizen,” which effectively made him the emperor of Rome. However, wanting to avoid any accusations of monarchy, Augustus made sure to continue working with the Senate to give the appearance of a republic.
The second settlement came in 23 BCE. Augustus relinquished his annual consulship, and the Senate changed the nature of Augustus's proconsular imperium. Not only did they make it effective in all Roman lands, but it was also augmented to maius imperium, superseding that of all others in the state. Part of this involved his receipt of tribunicia potestas, which allowed him to both introduce and veto legislation into the Senate. Thus, while a form of republican life was restored and guaranteed by Augustus, his individual power was essentially absolute.
The Republic versus the Principate
Rome had been in major need of a reformed government for a long time. The only solution that the Senate and Roman aristocracy offered was the restoration of the Republic, but the Roman republican government was inadequate to the needs of an empire. Augustus, then, was left to create the Principate, an entirely new approach to government. The key to its success was how it deliberately obscured who held the true power, preventing the kneejerk Roman reaction against any would-be monarchs, as well as its gradual introduction.
In this way, the republic was seemingly reestablished, with annual elections for the consulship, the continuing importance of the Senate, and a leader whose power had precedent in republican ideals (even if expanded far beyond those ideals). Most importantly, there was no sign of tyranny, and he appeared to let the Principate run without interfering. However, while Augustus may have divided the work of the government between himself and the Senate, he did not divide the real power. He controlled major provinces and more than double the number of senatorial legions, as well as having his own treasury. He was also able to rule through influence, via preferred political appointees and friendly senators, as opposed to actively exercising his legal powers.
Reforms Under Augustus
With these powers, Augustus undertook to reorganize the civil and military administration. Along with reducing the size of the Senate, he established qualifications needed for admittance and reorganized the equites class, now allowing them to attain government positions, all the way up to consul, after finishing military service. This allowed Augustus to expand bureaucracy and civil service, creating boards or administrative departments. These included a water department, a highway board, a grain board, a fire department, and a postal service. He also standardized taxes on provinces and supported provincial infrastructure development.
Augustus's major military reform was the creation of a standing army, as opposed to the earlier tradition of disbanding forces at the end of campaigns. Soldiers had to be Roman citizens and would serve for 20 years. Upon retirement, they would receive money or land and be provided for by a retirement fund, breaking the financial connection between retired soldiers and generals. Now, the forces depended financially upon the Princeps. Additionally, Augustus created the Praetorian Guard as his own personal guard and soldiers, as well as auxiliaries, consisting of non-Roman citizens from other parts of the Empire that could attain citizenship upon retirement.
Foreign Affairs Under Augustus
Augustus oversaw the expansion of Roman territory as well as the solidification of its borders. In the east, he was able to negotiate a settlement with Parthia that made the Euphrates River the boundary between the Empire and Parthia, with Armenia as a province. In the west, the Empire grew to cover the entire Mediterranean Sea under the command of Agrippa and Augustus’s two stepsons, Tiberius and Drusus. Rome conquered everything south of the Danube, including the Balkans, by 9 BCE, and everything West of the Rhine, including Gaul and the Iberian Peninsula, by 16 BCE. Attempts were made to conquer the rest of Germany, but they were unsuccessful.
