47
other public officials in place, and elections for the latter went on as
in the past. But this was now mostly for show. Behind the scenes, Oc-
tavian, renamed Augustus, made all the important decisions. Accord-
ing to the Roman historian Dio Cassius,
“on paper the Republic still existed,” but in
truth, “the power both of the people and
of the Senate was wholly transferred into
the hands of Augustus. And it was from
this time that a monarchy, strictly speak-
ing, was established.”
28
Well aware that, as Dio noted, “the
Romans vehemently hated the actual
name of monarch,”
29
Augustus cautiously
avoided calling himself either a king or emperor. Rather, he used the
title Princeps, or “First Citizen,” and carefully reshaped his image to
that of a simple man of the people who respected Roman traditions
and laws. This gamble, along with the other aspects of his attempt to
totally control the state, paid off and forever changed Rome’s fate.
In Robert B. Kebric’s words, after a long, productive reign, Augustus
“died in 14 CE shortly before his seventy-sixth birthday. Few who
were then alive even remembered the Republic.The foundation of the
Empire had been firmly set, and Augustus became the model for all
succeeding emperors.”
30
“The power both of
the people and of the
Senate was wholly
transferred into the
hands of Augustus.”
28
—Second-century-CE
Roman historian Dio
Cassius
