Augustus Caesar Totalitarian

“I found Rome a city of bricks and left her a city of marble” (Augustus). Augustus Caesar completely changed Rome under his rule and he made most of the western world a much happier place. He was the most favored ruler of ancient Rome ever, and he had the longest reign. He gave Rome a peaceful era called the Pax Romana and he was also responsible for Rome's transformation from republic to empire. Some argue that he was a totalitarian, which is a person or government that has just about absolute power over society without being declared a dictator. Despite Augustus being a very successful ruler loved by all, he was definitely a totalitarian ruler because there was no freedom under his rule in a political sense.
Augustus was born Gaius Octavianus …show more content…

Once Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC, Rome officially broke out into a civil war. Marc Antony fought against the Senate with Octavianus at his side. They managed to defeat the republican legions and they each wanted power. Octavianus was the more loved and powerful one, so Antony fled to Egypt and married the pharaoh Cleopatra. War then broke out between Rome and Egypt due to Antony’s greed for control. The war ended with the naval Battle of Actium and Antony escaped to Egypt with Cleopatra. Antony and Cleopatra killed themselves, and their money was used to pay for a temporary alliance between Rome and Egypt. Octavianus successfully ended war with Egypt, but the civil war in Rome continued. Rome was dividing into smaller sects, but Octavianus was killing off competition to take more control. Octavianus used the money he stole from those he killed to buy off more and more competition. He soon had an easy time buying off or killing anyone in his way. Octavianus was a very influential speaker and he was “the ruler who displayed to curious crowds a rhinoceros, a tiger and a snake” (Dennison 43). Because it sometimes became hard to buy off or kill competition, public assemblies and speeches were a safe way to win the hearts of the people. After much struggling, Octavianus was the last man standing. He decided that a Senate was a bad idea, and he made Rome an empire with himself at the top. He decided to make his place official by building temples and issuing coins. Octavianus was loved by the people for ending the years of civil war, and “for this service of mine I received the title of Augustus” (Lewis and Reinhold 572). At this point he was way too powerful to be replaced by anyone else, and he ruled the public by respect, and not by fear. Augustus was admired by all, but everything was done his way. Anybody