After the death of Caesar, the civil wars broke out again, until his adopted son called
Ottaviano, defeated his rivals and became Emperor. Since then we do not speak
anymore of Republic but of Empire.
Then the Senate gave Ottaviano the title of Augustus that means divine. The Romans
venerated him as a God.
Augustus ruled for about fifty years, it was a period of peace and happiness for Rome.
Agriculture, arts and literature flourished and Rome became the most beautiful town,
and not only Rome was enriched with monuments but also the best of the Empire.
New canals were built to drain marshes, waterworks and bridges were built, and
fortifications were erected along the borders. The most important monument of this
period is the Ara Pacis Augustea, that is the peace Altar of Augustus completely
made of marble. Many important roads were also built that today still have the same
name: Via Appia, Via Aurelia, Via Flaminia.
Usage, customs and laws of Rome spread everywhere.
But Augustus, not only devoted himself to the cultural renaissance of Rome. One of
his greatest merits was to organize the administrations of the Provinces, in the past
too much exploited by bad governors. He abolished the office of governor and sent state
officials to the provinces payed with a fixed wage: other officials were employed in
the tax collection, whose amount was constantly controlled. In this flourishing
society, just during the reign of August, at Bethlehem, in Palestine: Jesus Christ
was born.
The Roman Empire after the death of Augustus
