Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 1.djvu/447

Rh AUGUSTUS. distributions of corn, and the like, made tlic people forget the substance of their republican freedom; and they were ready to serve him wlio fed them most liberally : the population of the city was then little better than a mob. It was a necessary consequence of the dominion acquired by force of arms, that standing armies {ciiiitra stativa) were kept on the frontiers of the empire, as on the Rhine, the Danube, and the Euphrates, which in many instances became the foundations of flourishing towns. The veterans were distributed into a number of colonics. For the protection of liis own person, Augustus esta- liHshed ten praetorian cohorts, consisting of one thonsand men each, which were placed under the command of two equites with the title of praefccti praetorio. For the purpose of maintaining order and security in the city, he instituted a sort of police, under the name of cohortcs urbanae, which were under the command of the pracfectus urbi. The fleets were stationed at Ravenna, Miscnum, and in various ports of the provinces. In the divi- sion of the provinces which Augustus had made in B, c. '27, especial regulations were made to secure strict justice in their administration ; in conse- quence of which many, especially those which were not oppressed by armies, enjoyed a period of great prosperity. Egypt was governed in a manner difterent from that of all other provinces. The division of the provinces was necessarily followed by a change in the administration of the finances, which were in a bad condition, partly in conse- quence of the civil wars, and partly through all the domain lands in Italy having been assigned to the veterans. The system of taxation was revised, and the taxes increased. The aerarium, out of which the senate defrayed the public expenses, was separated from the fiscus, the funds of the emperor, out of which he paid his annies. Augustus enacted several laws to improve the moral condition of the Romans, and to secure the public peace and safety. Thus he made several regulations to prevent the recurrence of scarcity and famine, promoted industry, and constructed roads and other works of public utility. The large sums of money which were put into circulation revived commerce and industry, from which the eastern provinces especially and Egypt derived great ad- A'antages. Although Augustus, who must have been star- tled and frightened by the murder of Caesar, treat- ed the Romans with the utmost caution and mild- ness, and endeavoured to keep out of sight every thing that might shew him in the light of a sove- reign, 3'et several conspiracies against his life re- minded him that there were still persons of a republican spirit. It will be sufficient here to mention the names of the leaders of these conspi- racies, — M. Lepidus, L. Murena, Fannius Caepio, and Cornelius Cinna, who are treated of in sepa- rate articles. After this brief sketch of the internal affairs of the Roman empire during the reign of Augustus, it only remains to give some account of the wars in which he himself took part. Most of them Avere conducted by his friends and relations, and Deed not be noticed here. On the whole, we may remark, that the wars of the reign of Augustus Avere not wars of aggression, but chiefly undertaken to secure the Roman dominion and to protect the frontiers, which were now more exposed than be- AUGUSTUS. 429 fore to the hostile inroads of barbarians. In B. c. 27, Augustus sent M. Crassus to check the incursions of the Dacians, Bastarnians, and Moe- sians on the Danube ; and, in the same year, he himself went to Gaul and Spain, and began the conquest of the warlike Cantabri and Asturii,,whose subjugation, however, was not completed till b. c. 19 by Agrippa. During this campaign Augustus founded several towns for his veterans, such as Augusta Emerita and Caesar Augusta. In B. c. 21 Augustus travelled through Sicily and Greece, and spent the winter following at Samos. After this, he went to Syria at the invitation of Tiridates, who had been expelled from his kingdom of Par- thia. The ruling king, Phraates, for fear of the Romans, sent back the standards and prisoners which had been taken from Crassus and Antony. Towards the end of the year 20, Augustus returned to Samos, to spend the approaching winter there. Here ambassadors from India appeared before him, with presents from their king, Pandion, to confirm the friendship which had been sought on a former occasion. In the autumn of B. c. 19, he returned to Rome, where new honours and distinctions were conferred upon him. His vanity was so much gra- tified at these bloodless victories which he had obtained in Syria and Samos, that he struck medals to commemorate them, and afterwards dedicated the standards which he had received from Phraates in the new temple of Mars Ultor. In B. c. 18, the imperium of Augustus was prolonged for five years, and about the same time he increased the number of senators to 600. The wars in Armenia, in the Alps, and on the Lower Rhine, were conducted by his generals with varying success. In B. c. 16 the Romans suff'ered a defeat on the Lower Rhine by some German tribes ; and Augustus, who thought the danger greater than it really was, went himself to Gaul, and spent two years there, to regulate the government of that province, and to make the ne- cessary preparations for defending it against the Germans. In b. c. 13 he returned to Rome, leav- ing the protection of the frontier on the Rhine to his step-son, Drusus Nero. In B. c. 9 he again went to Gaul, where he received German ambassa- dors, who sued for peace; but he treacherously detained them, and distributed them in the towns of Gaul, where they put an end to their lives in despair. Towards the end of this year, he returned to Rome with Tiberius and Drusus. From this time forward, Augustus does not appear to have again taken any active part in the wars that were carried on. Tliosc in Germany were the most for- midable, and lasted longer than the reign of Au- gustus. In A. D. 13, Augustus, who had then reached his 75th year, again imdertook the government of the empire for ten years longer; but he threw some part of the burden upon his adopted son and successor, Tiberius, by making him his colleague. In the year following, a. d. 14, Tiberius was to undertake a campaign in lUvricum, and Augustus, though he was bowed down by old age, by domestic misfortunes and cares of every kind, accompanied him as far as Naples. On his return, he was tciken ill at Nola, and died there on the* 29th of August, A. D. 14, at the age of 76. When he felt his end approaching, he is said to have asked his friends who were present whether he had not acted his part well. He died very gently in the arms of his wife, Li via, who kept the event secret, until Tibe-