Name: History vs. Augustus - Peta Greenfield & Alex Gendler
Uploaded: 2020-03-19T21:34:43.000Z
Duration: 5 min 11 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

His reign marked the beginning  of one of history’s greatest empires

and the end of one of its first republics.

a visionary leader who guaranteed  his civilization’s place in history

or a tyrant who destroyed its core values?

Gaius Octavius, born in 63 BCE,  was the grand-nephew of Julius Caesar.

upon being named his great-uncle’s  adoptive son and heir.

And he gained the title Augustus in 27 BCE

when the Senate granted  him additional honors.

You mean when he established  sole authority and became emperor of Rome.

Didn’t every place have some king  or emperor back then?

the Roman people had overthrown  their kings centuries before

a government meant to serve the people, not the privilege of a ruling family.

And it was Octavius  who destroyed this tradition.

At 16, he was elected  to the College of Pontiffs

He fought for Rome in Hispania  alongside his great-uncle Caesar

and took up the responsibility  of avenging Caesar’s death

when the corrupt oligarchs in the Senate betrayed and murdered him.

Caesar had been a power-hungry tyrant  who tried to make himself a king

while consorting with  his Egyptian queen Cleopatra.

in starting a civil war  that tore Rome apart,

then stabbed his ally in the back  to increase his own power.

He waged a disastrous campaign in Parthia

into personal kingdoms  for himself and Cleopatra.

Isn’t that what Caesar  had been accused of?

So Octavius destroyed Antony  for trying to become a king

You can see the megalomania even in  his adopted title – "The Illustrious One."

And Augustus didn’t seek power  for his own sake.

As winner of the civil war  and commander of the most troops,

it was his duty to restore  law and order to Rome

so that other factions  didn’t continue fighting.

He didn’t restore the law - he made it subordinate to him!

Augustus worked to restore  the Senate’s prestige,

improved food security  for the lower classes,

and relinquished control of  the army when he resigned his consul post.

He used his military influence  and personal wealth

and the right to celebrate  military triumphs.

He kept control of provinces  with the most legions.

he assumed the consul position  twice more to promote his grandchildren.

He was clearly trying  to establish a dynasty.

Augustus’s accomplishments  were almost too many to name.

He established consistent  taxation for all provinces,

ending private exploitation  by local tax officials.

He personally financed a network of roads and employed couriers

so news and troops could travel easily throughout the realm.

that many of Rome’s famous  public buildings were constructed.

The writers of the time were nearly  unanimous in praising his rule.

Augustus exiled plenty of people  on vague charges,

including Ovid,  one of Rome’s greatest poets.

And you forgot to mention the intrusive  laws regarding citizens’ personal lives –

restricting marriage  between social classes,

He was trying to improve the citizenry and instill discipline.

a professional army that expanded  Rome’s frontiers in all directions,

and a government still remembered  as a model of civic virtue.

that would go on to wage endless  conquest until it collapsed,

Any time a dictator in a general’s uniform commits atrocities

while claiming to act on behalf  of "the people,"

So you’re saying Augustus  was a good emperor,

and you’re saying there’s no such thing?

We’re used to celebrating  historical leaders

But to ask whether an individual should  have such power in the first place