Augustus and How He Changed the Roman Empire Essay Example
Augustus and How He Changed The Roman Empire
Two problems facing the late Roman Empire was the instability and non unification caused by inner family civil wars. Rome's rapid expansion, after the Punic Wars, resulted in changes that permanently divided the state. Both Aristocrats and Plebeians wanted total control of Rome and tried to destroy each other. Civil war was the the only way to solve problems in politics. Consequently, the power of the military became strong. Control of Rome's armies changed from the government to the generals because the soldiers began to listen to their generals rather than to the Government. On dismissal from military service, the soldiers had no farms to return to, and they depended entirely on whatever land and money their generals could provide since the government was unwilling or unable to supply veterans with living necessities. (2) Thus, the generals became centers of power. The general who dominated the strongest army ruled the state. Repeated power struggles of these military strongmen ignited more civil wars that further lessened the stability and unity of the late Roman Empire. Augustus saw how divided to the Roman civil wars were. He understood that control of the soldiers by the government was necessary for the establishment of peace and order throughout the Roman Empire. He wanted to reorganize and begin changes in the military to assure that it would not rise again in support of a general to challenge the power of the state. Since warfare within the Empire was eliminated, the role of the legions changed. Its main objectives consisted in protecting the borders from foreign foes and stopping conquered lands through the gradual introduction of the Roman language, law, administration, and engineering. Augustus' priority was to reduce the number of the legions from 60 to 28, settling in the process more than 100,000 veterans in colonies in Italy, Africa, Asia, and Syria. While drafting financed
Two problems facing the late Roman Empire was the instability and non unification caused by inner family civil wars. Rome's rapid expansion, after the Punic Wars, resulted in changes that permanently divided the state. Both Aristocrats and Plebeians wanted total control of Rome and tried to destroy each other. Civil war was the the only way to solve problems in politics. Consequently, the power of the military became strong. Control of Rome's armies changed from the government to the generals because the soldiers began to listen to their generals rather than to the Government. On dismissal from military service, the soldiers had no farms to return to, and they depended entirely on whatever land and money their generals could provide since the government was unwilling or unable to supply veterans with living necessities. (2) Thus, the generals became centers of power. The general who dominated the strongest army ruled the state. Repeated power struggles of these military strongmen ignited more civil wars that further lessened the stability and unity of the late Roman Empire. Augustus saw how divided to the Roman civil wars were. He understood that control of the soldiers by the government was necessary for the establishment of peace and order throughout the Roman Empire. He wanted to reorganize and begin changes in the military to assure that it would not rise again in support of a general to challenge the power of the state. Since warfare within the Empire was eliminated, the role of the legions changed. Its main objectives consisted in protecting the borders from foreign foes and stopping conquered lands through the gradual introduction of the Roman language, law, administration, and engineering. Augustus' priority was to reduce the number of the legions from 60 to 28, settling in the process more than 100,000 veterans in colonies in Italy, Africa, Asia, and Syria. While drafting financed