''Res Gestae Divi Augusti'' (Eng. ''The Deeds of the Divine Augustus'') is a monumental inscription composed by the first Roman emperor,

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

, giving a first-person record of his life and accomplishments. The ''Res Gestae'' is especially significant because it gives an insight into the image Augustus presented to the Roman people. Various portions of the ''Res Gestae'' have been found in modern

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. The inscription itself is a monument to the establishment of the Julio-Claudian dynasty that was to follow Augustus.

Structure

The text consists of a short introduction, 35 body paragraphs and a posthumous addendum. The paragraphs are conventionally grouped into four sections: political career, public benefactions, military accomplishments and a political statement. The first section (paragraphs 2–14) is concerned with Augustus' political career; it records the offices and political honours that he held. Augustus also lists numerous offices he refused to take and privileges he refused to be awarded. The second section (paragraphs 15–24) lists Augustus' donations of money, land and grain to the citizens of Italy and his soldiers, as well as the public works and gladiatorial spectacles that he commissioned. The text is careful to point out that all this was paid for out of Augustus' own funds. The third section (paragraphs 25–33) describes his military deeds and how he established alliances with other nations during his reign. Finally the fourth section (paragraphs 34–35) consists of a statement of the Romans' approval for the reign and deeds of Augustus. The appendix is written in the third person and likely not by Augustus himself. It summarizes the entire text, lists various buildings that he renovated or constructed and states that Augustus spent 600 million silver denarii (24 million gold aurei) from his own funds during his reign on public projects. Ancient currencies cannot be reliably converted into modern equivalents, but it is clearly more than anyone else in the empire could afford. Augustus consolidated his hold on power by reversing the prior tax policy beginning with funding the ''aerarium militare'' with 170 million sesterces of his own money. File:History of Rome and the Roman people, from its origin to the establishment of the Christian empire (1884) (14578199960).jpg, Drawing of the Res Gestae Divi Augusti,

History

The text was completed just one month before Augustus' death (19 August AD 14), although most of its content was written years earlier and likely went through many revisions. Augustus left the text with his will, which instructed the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

to set up the inscriptions. The original, which has not survived, was engraved upon a pair of bronze pillars and placed in front of Augustus' mausoleum. Many copies of the text were made and carved in stone on monuments or temples throughout the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

, some of which have survived; most notably, almost a full copy, written in the original

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

and a Greek translation was preserved on a temple to Augustus in Ancyra (the '' Monumentum Ancyranum'' of

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

); others have been found at Apollonia and

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

, both in Pisidia. Eck, W. (2007) ''The age of Augustus''. 2nd edn. Oxford: Blackwell, p. 169.

Content

The text is not a full account of the years between 44 BC, the

assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

of Augustus' adoptive father

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

, and AD 14, the year in which he died. Instead, it is a personal account of the first Emperor's life and those achievements that he decided to be worth remembering by the Roman people. It is an independent self-depiction that is written in a literary form which is unique to the ancient world, and it must be read as such. This period of history is seen from Augustus' perspective and the author presents facts that relate only to himself. Augustus' enemies are never mentioned by name. Caesar's murderers Brutus and Cassius are called simply "those who killed my father".

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman people, Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the Crisis of the Roman Republic, transformation of the Roman Republic ...

and Sextus Pompey, Augustus' opponents in the East, remain equally anonymous; the former is "he with whom I fought the war," while the latter is merely a "pirate". One writer, Werner Eck, says that it cannot be stated that Augustus made any false statements. Eck, 2006 133 Any comprehensive understanding of this period of Roman history should be supplemented by statements from other ancient sources, archaeology, and inscriptions. The introduction and first two pararagraphs of the inscription found at the '' Monumentum Ancyranum'' of

read as such:

References

External links

The ''Res Gestae'' at LacusCurtius, in Latin, Greek and English

at The Latin Library
The ''Res Gestae'' at the Internet Classics Archive (in English)

Life and deeds of Augustus (in English)
{{Authority control Augustus Works about history in Latin Roman religion inscriptions Latin inscriptions 1st-century texts Texts in Latin 1st-century inscriptions Works about ancient Rome Works by Roman Emperors

Structure

History

Content

See also

References

Further reading

External links