The Early Roman Empire

Journey Across Time

Chapter 8 Section 4

Augustus By expanding the Roman Empire and reorganizing the military and government, Augustus created a new era of prosperity, starting ca 27 BC.

Military Augustus built a permanent,

professional army of about150,000 men (all Roman Citizens)

Created Praetorian Guard consisting of 9,000 men in charge of guarding emperor

Legions conquered new land incl. Spain, Gaul, and what is today known as Hungary, Austria, Romania, and Bulgaria

Rome Art flourished:

Augustus rebuilt Romewith palaces, fountains, and splendid public buildings

“I found Rome a city of brick, and left it a city of marble,” he boasted

Imported grain from Africa to feed the poor Created the first fire department

Government Huge population (over 50 million people),

so appointed a proconsul/governor to each province, replacing the previous senate

Reformed tax system, making it more fair Reformed the legal system, creating a set

of laws for those not yet citizens Fed the poor, since knew a well-fed

population was less likely to cause trouble

After Augustus

Augustus died in A.D. 14, after ruling for almost 40 yearsThe next 4 emperors all came from his family

Tiberius 14-37 A.D. Relative and trained by Augustus Ruled competently

Caligula 37-41 A.D. Crazy and cruel! Murdered many and wasted money Even made his favorite horse a consul Eventually killed by Praetorian Guard

Claudius 41-54 A.D. Replaced Caligula Ruled competently

Nero 54-68 A.D. Vicious! Killed mother, two wives Best remembered for having “fiddled while Rome burned” in 64 A.D. Actually a lyre. Committed suicide

Unity and Prosperity

After Nero, Vespasian took the throne and restored peace and order.

Began constructing the Colosseum

Followed by sons, and then the 5 “Good Emperors,” which improved Roman life in man

Rome’s system of roads, aqueducts (a human-made channel for water), ports, and common currency made the empire rich and prosperous

The Good Emperors

Summary

By expanding the Roman Empire and reorganizing

the military and government, Augustus created a new era of

prosperity.