All Posts

Suetonius' description of Tiberius Tiberius, Augustus’s step-son and successor, began his reign with outward restraint and promise. Initially, he maintained the facade of republican propriety – declining grand titles and honorifics in a show of modesty. Suetonius records that Tiberius “declined the forename Imperator, the surname Father of his Country, and the placement of the civic crown at his door,” accepting only the name “Augustus” in official letters to foreign kings. He

Suetonius' account of Augustus Augustus’s rule marked the transition from republic to empire and was remembered for restoring stability after decades of civil war. Suetonius notes that Augustus “twice thought of restoring the Republic”  but ultimately retained supreme power, believing one-man rule was safer for Rome. In public, he cultivated an image of modesty and clemency. For example, when the people pressed him to accept a dictatorship, he dramatically “knelt down, bared

Augustus (27 BC – AD 14) 31 BC Victory at Actium, defeats Mark Antony and Cleopatra 27 BC First constitutional settlement Octavian granted title Augustus Marks the beginning of the Principate. Res Gestae: claims restoration of the Republic , masking monarchy. Velleius Paterculus hails Augustus as a great restorer (89.3) 23 BC Second constitutional settlement Augustus receives tribunicia potestas and maius imperium. Critical sources (Tacitus and Dio) suggest the beginning of