![]() The refusal of such honors helped prop up support for Octavian as a true supporter of the Republic and Roman tradition, while in reality, he was simply playing it safe for the time being. These he prudently refused, perhaps sensing that despite all his accomplishments, the Senate was not yet quite ready to accept a 'Caesarean' style monarchy-like solution. Though this number would fluctuate based on need, throughout the imperial period it became a permanent part of the established legionary system.Īlong with the military solution, and in the wake of eastern settlements and grand triumphs in Rome, Octavian was offered several honors and political powers in 29 BC. With the subjugation of the eastern provinces secured, and veterans settled in excess of those required, Octavian established a permanent military structure that would include 28 regular legions, loyal to the state and not the individual commanders who had recruited them. After overwhelming victory celebrations in Rome, including triumphal parades rivaling those of Julius Caesar, as many as 300,000 veterans were removed from active service. The New Emperor Makes Changes to the ArmyĪfter annexing Egypt and its vast wealth, the issue of both compensation for veterans and available lands for settlement were no longer the political battlefield they once were. Not only was their happy settlement - thereby securing their loyalty - a priority, but a shakeup of the Roman military system was in order as well. In his victory over Antony, he had inherited a great number of veterans, which including his own men, numbered nearly half a million. First, however, there were matters of more pressing importance to be addressed. ![]() Though the previous oath of loyalty given to Octavian by citizens in the west now extended throughout the empire, there was still considerable work to be done on a political basis. This would prove to be an unsatisfactory solution, however, and steps needed to be taken to procure a more permanent and lasting authority. From 31 until 23 BC (the eventual date of the final 'Augustan Settlement') Octavian served as Consul. Initially, in order to maintain a semblance of legal authority under the Republican constitution, Octavian continued to rule through the domination of the Consulship. Coupled with the fact that most outright resistance to rule through a select few or a single head of state had been eliminated through war and previous proscriptions, the stage was clearly set for Octavian's final transformation. Unlike his predecessor and adoptive father, Julius Caesar, Octavian slowly consolidated his position and accepted honors and power gradually, minimizing fear and resentment among the elite classes. What would be required was a soft and eventual rise of a single man to lead the nation as a whole. To reconstitute the administration of Rome's now vast empire was to re-invite a continuance of the social disorder and civil wars that had plagued it for the last century or more. Despite Octavian's victory, and initial attempts to appear as a great advocate for the return of Republican rule, the Republican system had failed irreparably. With the final defeat of Antony, and Octavian's emergence as sole political ruler of the Roman world, the Roman Republic still teetered on the edge of potential disaster. Octavian Moves Slowly Towards Becoming an Emperor
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