Octavian Comes Home

Octavian returned home from the civil war in 29 BCE. He had defeated his enemy and now before him was the task of changing the civil system. After all, he couldn’t have another Octavian trying to supplant him, and under the current system it would be possible for him to be unseated. None of the populace knew what to expect. He promised a return to the Republic, but as he had won Rome with arms he could become a military dictator or create a monarchy. Octavian himself might not have known, but it was obvious that change was necessary in order for Rome to effectively govern her newly-enlarged (with the addition of Egypt) empire as well as deal with the fact that many of the former ruling elite had been killed in the civil war.

The solution that Octavian found in time was the Principate, a sort of subtle monarchy. The ruler was called the Princeps, a title originally used for highly important statesmen, and though the man bearing the name was clearly an Emperor, the denotation was that he was primus inter pares. First among equals, and that he would rule with the cooperation of the patricians. When Octavian returned to Rome after Actium, the ambience was one of hope and happiness. The wars were over and peace would fall upon the war-weary people.

Of course, there were wars still going on in Gaul, Spain, and North Africa. In fact, in order to secure the boarders and beat back the barbarian hordes that perpetually lurked behind the Rhine and Danube in Germany, the Romans were always on the offense. However at home, Octavian needed to reduce the size of the army so that it couldn’t usurped against him while at the same time maintaining one large enough to protect Rome. In addition, a chronic problem that generals faced, Octavian had to find a way to settle his veterans on land. Land that was not confiscated from citizens or gotten through raising taxes.

The final dilemma that he faced was how to bring the patricians to heel without alienating them. There was no way that they would admit to being controlled, so he had to convince them that they were still participating fully in the new stable government. The plebians, on the other hand, wanted to be reassured that he was in charge and would support them. It was a delicate balancing act.

Statue of Augustus as Pontifex

The Will to Rule
Octavian was not without resources to counter the problems he now faced at home. He was still wily, politically astute, and driven. After his win at Actium, he had more power and prestige than Julius Ceasar had ever had, and he had extracted oaths of allegiance from both the West and the East. He had the largest Roman army ever assembled and held the purse strings to the empire’s treasury. The money gotten from bringing down the Ptolemies (Cleopatra) in Egypt alone was enough to take care of the army and the populace for some time. His position as first man of Rome was significantly bolstered by the deification of Julius Caesar, which made him the son of a god, divus filius. He was a war hero, a favorite of the people, and those politicians who did not ally themselves with him were too exhausted by the civil war to fight him.

Beginning after Actium and all through his life, the Senate and the people perpetually voted him honors, most of which he refused. He received triumphal arches and statues, his birthday was declared a public holiday, and in 30 he was voted the full power of a tribune (and therefore could veto any act of the Senate), though he may have refused it. He was given the right to grant pardons, and make men patricians. In 29, he and Agrippa were elected consuls, and were given the power of censors.

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