Res Gestae Divi Augustus Analysis

For this paper, I will be discussing Res Gestae Divi Augusti or The Deeds of the Divine Augustus. Res Gestae is the monumental inscription of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. It describes the deeds of Augustus, such as him subjecting the whole Earth to the rule of the Roman people and the money for which he spent for the state and the people of Rome. Res Gestae was written 14 A.D, the time of Augustus death. The main purpose of this inscription is to inform the people of Rome about the political career, public gifts, military feats, and gives a political statement. Today, we can only read Res Gestae through translations and copies from the original monument, which slowly became ruins. The Res Gestae consists of an introduction, 35 body paragraphs, and appendix which was added posthumously. Res Gestae is split into four sections. Paragraphs 2 through 14 describes Augustus’ political career, paragraphs 15-24 describe his public gifts to the people of Rome, 25-33 describe his military feats, and lastly paragraphs 34-35 deliver a political …show more content…
But it is purely propaganda for the principate that Augustus instituted during his reign. Never does he mention any of his failures. One of his failures occurred near the end of his life. Augustus never set up a clear inheritance of the throne. He never specifically laid out who should succeed him. This led to many issues since there was no clear successor. He also fails to mention his largest military disaster in Roman history, the Battle of Teutoburg Forest or the Varian disaster. This battle occurred 9 A.D. in Germany and resulted in Rome losing 3 legions. Augustus further decided to accept defeat. But one could argue that Augustus was mostly concerned with establishing peace and stability as long as no one contested him. His victory at Actium against Marc Antony resulted in Pax Romana or Roman Peace