Andrew's Reviews > Augustus: First Emperor of Rome

Augustus: First Emperor of Rome, by Adrian Goldsworthy, is an excellent biographical account of Caesar Octavian's rise to power and his subsequent creation of the Roman Empire. The work chronicles his life from his birth to death. He was born Caius Octavian Thurinus of a fairly well off but relatively unknown aristocratic family from an Italian city outside of Rome. His great grandfather had become an important politician in the area, and the subsequent generations were important politicians, bankers etc. Octavian's father was a senator in Rome, and although not a big-wig during the civil war years in the 50 BC era, was an important and crafty senator who often took a neutral path in conflicts such as these. Octavian's father died when he was young, and he went to live with his grand-father, also a Roman politician, and finally was adopted by Julius Caesar - who was related to the boy through marriage.

The book then goes on to look at the civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompey, the Ides of March assassination and subsequently, Octavian Caesar's entry into the political world. As a boy in a patrician family, Octavian grew up attending Senatorial meetings, studying Greek, philosophy, history and the arts of war. When adopted by Julius Caesar, he was given elevated status, and important introductory functions to build his political acumen. After Julius Caesar's assassination, he sought justice against his Republican murderers, and came back to Rome from his place of study in Greece. He petitioned to have money Julius Caesar had promised to the people of Rome paid out by the Senate, and became an interesting political tool by competitors for power, including Mark Antony, the "Liberators" (Brutus, Casseus etc.) and Pompey Magnus' sons. These political squabbles allowed Octavian Caesar an opportunity to explore power himself, and he utilized his given name (Caesar) and the death of his adopted father, as well as political machinations and public appeal, to eventually gain status. He recruited former soldiers from Julius Caesar's veterans, and was able to form enough legions to be a thorn in the side of the various contenders for power, although not yet the main player. He was able to occupy Rome covertly, and allied with Antony and Lepidus to eventually for a Triumvirate of power - turning against the Pompey's and the Republican forces. Once the Republicans were dealt with, Octavian (here on called Caesar) gained immense power and influence, was voted titles by a cowed Senate, and fell out with his fellow rulers, eventually defeating Antony in open combat at Actium.

This marked the beginning of Caesar as "Augustus." Although not voted the title until later on, at this point Augustus Caesar had no equal in power. He took great pains to maintain the appearance of an independent Senate, going so far as to welcome criticism's and gentle rebuking and teasing, but not the outright abuse and mud-slinging that characterized later Republican politics. He frequently rejected politically voted honours in his name, as a sign of humility, and of course as a way of maintaining his appearance to the public. He also avoided the mistakes of his adopted father, avoiding the title "dictator" and abhorring any mention of monarchy. He kept his house near other aristocrats in Rome, and was careful to balance his image with his predecessors, frequently honouring his adopted father, and even Pompey Magnus, Sulla and other great men of Rome's past. He worked to expand the borders of Rome, campaigning (often through subordinates) in Cantabria in Spain, across the Rhine into Germany, in modern Switzerland and in Africa and Asia. He built many public works, repaired important buildings, and frequently gave gifts of games, cash, grain and holidays to the people or Rome. He was also careful to ensure a political outlet for young and ambitious aristocratic men, frequently promoting people to positions of power, forgiving those who questioned his rule (although not to the extent of his adopted father) and building a base of talented subordinates among his family and close comrades.

Augustus' reign was also marked with tragedy. Many of his potential heirs and closest comrades, from Agrippa, to Lucius Caesar, to Drasus, died before their patron. He survived all of his grandchildren, and his only daughter, Julia, was estranged due to her public extravagance and flaunting of her marriage with his close associate and eventual successor, Tiberius. Tiberius himself could not take the stress of his position, and retired to Rhodes for five years, much to Augustus' disappointment. However, as the list of family members grew thin, due to scandal, disease or death in battle, Augustus again turned to Tiberius. Augustus died of illness, aged 75 (an extremely old age at this time).

Goldsworthy has done a fabulous job chronicling the life and times of Augustus Caesar, the first Emperor of Rome. Although Julius Caesar is sometimes given the credit, the dictator did not survive to pass on his lineage, and Augustus was the one who built the legislative and political framework of the early Roman Empire. As a character, Augustus is fascinating. He was a sickly child, and suffered from fits of illness throughout his long life, with death scares multiple times. He was also a fairly mediocre general, losing a handful of the battles he fought, and later delegating campaigns to his subordinates (namely Agrippa and Tiberius, as well as his grandsons). He balanced his quick temper with a thoughtful and wise knowledge of Roman politics, and was often able to achieve public relations coups from many of his mistakes and attacks from political opponents.

Goldsworthy also does a good job highlighting his flaws. He was no legendary general, and often delegated military matters to subordinates. He was sickly, and succumbed to the pressures of this period of time a few times, often falling into depression that he needed to recover from. He engaged in massacres, executing thousands of opponents in the Triumvirate period, and dealt harshly with insurrection in the provinces. He took sole power of a large empire in turmoil, and eliminated his opponents ruthlessly through political, diplomatic and often violent means. He was quick to temper, and saw his own daughter exiled and shunned from public life.

Goldsworthy does an admirable job in this biography. It is highly readable, well sourced, and organized along temporal lines, with sections listed by the name Augustus would have been referred to during that time period. He does fall into a trap that much ancient historical narratives falls into. His work is opinionated in some ways, as he discounts other works of scholarship or other historical theories on slight pretexts or based on his own thought process. This is not a direct criticism, as ancient history is full of gaps, missing records, altered monuments and biased primary sources. One must fill in the gaps to have a compete narrative. Goldsworthy tries to do this. He utilizes multiple source types, from monuments, to archeological evidence, to primary sources, historical records and even biblical sources. Even so, there are many missing pieces to the interesting puzzle of Augustus Caesar. There is also controversy over the reasons why he did what he did, and to how accurate some of the later historical works used as primary sources (some written a century or more after events, some under political pressure from Augustus himself, some with an axe to grind in the contemporary political landscape etc.). These issues may never be resolved satisfactorily. Even so, Goldsworthy has written an engaging, entertaining and enlightening biography on one of Western histories most important historical figures. So much of our institutions and ideals take a page from Rome's historical precedent. Augustus helped build Rome into an Empire that would last another 14 centuries, right up to the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Its trappings continue to this day in our political institutions and even our language. It is immediately recognizable, and yet totally alien all at once. One can mesh with Augustus' decisions in some cases, and see them as enlightening, and at others, recoil at his ferocity. This was a different time, for sure, but the ideals of this Emperor, and the system he set up is recognizable enough to feel familiar and to compare it subconsciously with other Empires and Monarchy's in Western history. Augustus is an all important historical figure, and Goldsworthy's biography is an excellent choice if one wishes to learn more about his life and how he governed.