Augustus (Edinburgh Readings on the Ancient World)

Augustus (63 BC - AD 14), the first Roman emperor, brought peace and stability to Rome after decades of strife and uncertainty. He put in place a new institutional framework for the Roman Empire and inspired the ideology that sustained it for the next three hundred years. This book presents a selection of the most important scholarship on Augustus and the contribution he made to the development of the Roman state in the early imperial period.Chapters include: Augustus' dramatic rise to prominence following the death of Julius Caesar in 44 BC and the nature of his powers first as triumvir, then as Princeps; his policy regarding overseas wars and expansion, his administrative and military reforms of the Roman state; the role of his own family, his wife Livia, his son-in-law Agrippa and his adopted sons Gaius and Lucius Caesar and then Tiberius, in public life; his concern to reinforce Roman religion and family life; the development of an ideology that helped bolster his authority as ruler of an expan