Notable Accomplishments of the Augustan Period
My very eclectic list of noteworthy achievements or impacts of the period:
- buildings and renovation (including roads, aqueducts, temples, civic spaces, etc)
- absence of war (i.e., peace)
- stability in civic life
- renewed cultural life, extended to all citizens….
- ….and in that sense more ‘democratic’
- restoration of (some) power and dignity to the Senate
- restoration (perceived or imagined) of traditional Roman (Republican) values
- genuine sense of pervasive renewal
- somebody in charge who is finally paying attention
- notable modifications or improvements to existing Roman institutions: military, magistracies, religion, the law, etc.
- precarious balance between autocracy and shared rule...made more precarious by favoring of dynastic solution to succession