On This Day In Roman History, January 16
The Senate convened to declare and bestow the titles of Augustus and Princeps upon Octavian on January 16, 27 BCE. By this time, the Senate proposed a ratification of Octavian's extra-constitutional power in the form of ceding several Senate controlled provinces considered too chaotic from war. These included the provinces of Hispania, Gaul, Syria, Cilicia, Cyprus, and Egypt, of which Octavian had control for a 10 year period. This put the majority of the Legions at the control of Octavian. The Senate still retained control of some provinces, including the grain producers of northern Africa. This helped Octavian, who after this point I will refer to as Augustus, maintain the facade of a republic as well as the facade of any real Senatorial power.
Did you know?
Augustus comes from the Latin word Augere, which can be translated to the phrase "meaning to increase". Augustus translates somewhat roughly as "the illustrious one". According to ancient Roman religious beliefs, the title gave a sense of mastery not over any one person, but also over nature itself. Princeps is derived from the Latin primum caput, which means"the first head". This title was first recorded for the most distinguished Senator of the time, whose name would regularly appear at the top of the Senate roster list.
Pictured: Bust of Augustus, wearing the Civic Crown. Glyptothek, Munich. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.
The Civic Crown, was the second highest military decoration a citizen could receive, behind the Grass Crown. The Civic Crown, or Latin corona civica, is made of oak leaves woven in the form of a chaplet crown. Pliny the Elder, a Roman author, wrote extensively on the crown saying: "The receiver of the wreath may wear it for the rest of his life; when he appears at the games it is the custom for even the senate always to rise at his entrance, and he has the right to sit next to the senators; and he himself and his father and his paternal grandfather are exempt from all public duties."
Opinion
I know I have touched before on what the title "The First Citizen" means to Roman culture, and how important it was for Augustus to maintain this facade in the public's eye. This man of the people controlled near absolute power both politically and militarily, but went to great lengths to create a "rubber stamp Senate". The only thing I find more amazing than Augustus' rise to power was his ability to stay there for the rest of his life, which was done by maintaining these mentioned facades. His dictatorship, while taken by force and popularity, was masked as a dictatorship via plebiscite in these ways and his mastery of such politics cannot be denied.
Sources
Eck, W., Schneider, D. L., & Takács, S. A. (2003). The age of Augustus. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Smith, W., Wayte, W., & Marindin, G. E. (1890). A dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities. London: J. Murray.
P., & Radice, B. (1969). The letters of the younger Pliny. Harmondsworth, Eng.: Penguin Books.
Further Reading:
Also on this day:
Special Thanks: Michael Houghan
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