The Ancient Roman Poet, Virgil, once wrote, “They can conquer who believe they can.” King Cyrus the Great of the Persian Empire and Emperor Caesar Augustus of the Roman Empire are leaders whose conviction in their rights to power establish unwavering support from the people they lead. King Cyrus holds the throne of an expansive Persian Empire. In 539, claiming to be under the divine right the Babylonian God Marduk, he peacefully conquers Babylon and drives out Nabonidus, the last neo-Babylonian King. Cyrus produces a clay cylinder denouncing Nabonidus as an impious oppressor of the Babylonians, and contextualizes himself as the ruler destined to restore peace and order on behalf of the Babylonians, making the kingdom strong again. It concludes
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In the 500s BCE Near East, Kings are regarded as the intermediates between the people and their Gods, needing the support of the Gods to guide the people, and in turn, guiding the people in ways to gain the Gods’ favor. In ancient Babylon the favor of the chief god, Marduk, plays a key role in garnering popular support and justifying any Kings claim to rule Babylon. Cyrus legitimizes his claim to rule Babylon by orchestrating the story of Nabonidus “plot[ing] to end the worship of Marduk and continuously perpetuate evil against his city.” In writing this on the cylinder Cyrus is uprooting any support or claim to Kingship for Nabonidus, and is immortalizing his own power. Having weakened the bond between people, king and god, Cyrus lays claim that Marduk found him to replace Nabonidus. “I am Cyrus, King of the world…whose reign is beloved by (the gods) Marduk and Nabu, whose kingship they desired to make them glad.” Thus Cyrus is securing power by stating his desire to be king while adhering to the cultural aspects of the time in proclaiming he has been given divine favor. Also Cyrus writes, “Marduk, who loves Babylon, with great magnanimity, established (it) as [my] …show more content…
“On my own initiative and at my own expense I raised an army, with which I restored freedom to the state which was oppressed by the power of a clique… In the same year, when both consuls had fallen in battle, the People named me consul and appointed me one of a commission of three (triumvir) for the re-establishment of the republic” Augustus emphasis of how his ‘own’ actions liberate Rome from oppression and gain him support from the people, shows his desire to attribute his rise to power with being a man of the people, regardless of his wealth or social placement. In Res Gestae Divi Augusti, Augustus strategy surrounds the establishment of the newly reformed Imperial regime, conveying that his power is bestowed and shared with the Senate and People, and does not stem from greed or a desire to be dictator, as it is a time in Rome where democracy is the central ideology. “In the consulship of Marcus Marcellus and Lucius Arruntius (22BCE), the People and the Senate both offered me the dictatorship, both in my absence and when I was at Rome, but I refused it.” Augustus is thus showing the genius of his method for renouncing power to in turn earn the trust of the people that he needs in order to be voted in as the popularly desired and tenured Emperor of Rome. Augustus understands the fine
In the 500s BCE Near East, Kings are regarded as the intermediates between the people and their Gods, needing the support of the Gods to guide the people, and in turn, guiding the people in ways to gain the Gods’ favor. In ancient Babylon the favor of the chief god, Marduk, plays a key role in garnering popular support and justifying any Kings claim to rule Babylon. Cyrus legitimizes his claim to rule Babylon by orchestrating the story of Nabonidus “plot[ing] to end the worship of Marduk and continuously perpetuate evil against his city.” In writing this on the cylinder Cyrus is uprooting any support or claim to Kingship for Nabonidus, and is immortalizing his own power. Having weakened the bond between people, king and god, Cyrus lays claim that Marduk found him to replace Nabonidus. “I am Cyrus, King of the world…whose reign is beloved by (the gods) Marduk and Nabu, whose kingship they desired to make them glad.” Thus Cyrus is securing power by stating his desire to be king while adhering to the cultural aspects of the time in proclaiming he has been given divine favor. Also Cyrus writes, “Marduk, who loves Babylon, with great magnanimity, established (it) as [my] …show more content…
“On my own initiative and at my own expense I raised an army, with which I restored freedom to the state which was oppressed by the power of a clique… In the same year, when both consuls had fallen in battle, the People named me consul and appointed me one of a commission of three (triumvir) for the re-establishment of the republic” Augustus emphasis of how his ‘own’ actions liberate Rome from oppression and gain him support from the people, shows his desire to attribute his rise to power with being a man of the people, regardless of his wealth or social placement. In Res Gestae Divi Augusti, Augustus strategy surrounds the establishment of the newly reformed Imperial regime, conveying that his power is bestowed and shared with the Senate and People, and does not stem from greed or a desire to be dictator, as it is a time in Rome where democracy is the central ideology. “In the consulship of Marcus Marcellus and Lucius Arruntius (22BCE), the People and the Senate both offered me the dictatorship, both in my absence and when I was at Rome, but I refused it.” Augustus is thus showing the genius of his method for renouncing power to in turn earn the trust of the people that he needs in order to be voted in as the popularly desired and tenured Emperor of Rome. Augustus understands the fine