Emperors of Rome | The Powers of Augustus (Lecture 5)

Lecture 5: The system of governance Augustus founded is termed the Principate. For all its flaws, the system bestowed on Europe the longest period of peace and prosperity in the continent’s history. We survey the series of constitutional settlements that saw Augustus established as a sort of super-magistrate, simultaneously part of and above the organs of state, and assess the extent to which claims that the “Republic was restored” were justified. We also look beyond the legal frontage of the Principate and uncover the harsh realities of imperial rule, rooted as they were in the imperatives of late republican politics. A fair assessment can only conclude that the Principate was a military dictatorship screened by legal niceties. However, this does not mean that it was cynically enacted in the interests of one man and his supporters—it did bring genuine benefits.

Essential Reading:
Augustus, Res Gestae Divi Augusti.
Cassius Dio, Roman History, books 50−56.
Suetonius, Deified Augustus.
Tacitus, Annals, 1.1−11.

Supplementary Reading:
DIR, “Augustus.”
Southern, Augustus, pp. 100−159.