Western Civilization

the next two hundred years. The Romans felt that

their divine mission was clearly to rule nations and

peoples. Hadrian, one of the emperors of the

second centuryC.E., was but one of many Roman

rulers who believed in Rome’s mission. A strong

and intelligent ruler who took his responsibilities

seriously, between 121 and 132 he visited all of the

provinces in the empire. When he arrived in a

province, Hadrian dealt firsthand with any

problems and bestowed many favors on the local

population. He also worked to establish the

boundaries of the provinces and provide for their

defense. New fortifications, such as the eighty-

mile-long Hadrian’s Wall across northern Britain,

were built to defend the borders. Hadrian insisted

on rigid discipline forfrontier armies and

demanded that the soldiers be kept in training “just

as if war were imminent.” He also tried to lead by

personal example; according to his Roman

biographer, Aelius Spartianus, he spent time with

the troops and “cheerfully ate out of doors such

camp food as bacon, cheese, and vinegar.”

Moreover, he “would walk as much as twenty miles

fully armed.”

The Romans imposed their peace on the largest

empire established in antiquity. Indeed, Rome’s

writers proclaimed that “by heaven’s will my Rome

shall be capital of the world.”^1 Those writers were

not quite accurate, but few Romans were aware of

the Han Empire, which flourished at the same time

(202B.C.E.–221C.E.) and extended from Central

Asia to the Pacific. Although there was little contact

between them, the Han and Roman Empires had

remarkable similarities: they both lasted for

centuries; they both had great success in

establishing centralized control; and they both

maintained their law and political institutions,

technical skills, and languages throughout their

empires.

By the third centuryC.E., however, Rome’s ability

to rule nations and people began to weaken as the

Roman Empire began to experience renewed civil

war, economic chaos, and invasions. In the

meantime, the growth of Christianity, one of the

remarkable success stories of Western civilization,

led to the emergence of a new and vibrant

institution.

The Age of Augustus

(31B.C.E.–14C.E.)

Q FOCUSQUESTION: In his efforts to solve the

problems Rome had faced during the late republic,

what changes did Augustus make in Rome’s political,

military, and social institutions?

In 27B.C.E., Octavian proclaimed the “restoration of the

republic.” He understood that only traditional republi-

can forms would satisfy the senatorial aristocracy. At

the same time, Octavian was aware that the republic

could not be fully restored and managed to arrive at a

compromise that worked at least during his lifetime. In

27 B.C.E., the senate awarded him the title of Augustus,

“revered one.” He preferred the titleprinceps(PRIN-keps

orPRIN-seps), meaning “chief citizen” or “first among

equals.” The system of rule that Augustus established is

sometimes called theprincipate, conveying the idea of

a constitutional monarch as co-ruler with the senate.

But while Augustus worked to maintain this appearance,

in reality power was heavily weighted in favor of the

princeps.

The New Order

In the new constitutional order that Augustus created,

the basic governmental structure consisted of the

princeps (Augustus) and an aristocratic senate. Augus-

tus retained the senate as the chief deliberative body

of the Roman state. Its decrees, screened in advance

bytheprinceps,nowhadtheeffectoflaw.Thetitleof

princeps carried no power in itself, but Augustus held

theofficeofconsuleachyearuntil23B.C.E., when he

assumed the power of a tribune, which enabled him to

propose laws and veto any item of public business. By

observing proper legal forms for his power, Augustus

proved highly popular. As the Roman historian

Tacitus commented, “Indeed, he attracted everybody’s

goodwill by the enjoyable gift of peace.... Opposition

did not exist.”^2 No doubt the ending of the civil wars

had greatly bolstered Augustus’s popularity (see the

box on p. 123). At the same time, his continuing con-

trol of the army, while making possible the Roman

peace, was a crucial source of his power.

THE MILITARY As a result of the civil wars of the first

centuryB.C.E., the Roman army increased in size and

became more professional, with legionaries who served

The Age of Augustus (31B.C.E.–14C.E.) 121

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