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Wars of Augustus
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Wars of Augustus
The wars of Augustus are the military campaigns undertaken by the Roman government during the sole rule of the first Roman emperor Augustus (r. 27 BC – AD 14), previously referred to as Octavian. This period stretching across four decades witnessed major campaigns almost every year, many of them commanded by Augustus's son-in-law Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and stepson and eventual successor Tiberius. This period also saw expansion through diplomacy and annexation, without the direct use of military force. The result was a major expansion of the Roman Empire around provincial territories Augustus had inherited from the Roman Republic in and around the Mediterranean basin.
In West Asia, territories in Anatolia and the Levant were annexed by Rome during the reign of Augustus, while peace was made with the rival Parthian Empire. In Europe, territories in the Balkans, the Alpine region, and the Iberian peninsula were conquered. In North Africa, Roman Egypt served as a launching pad for a failed invasion of Saba in South Arabia, and a punitive invasion into the Kingdom of Kush (centered in what is now Sudan) after a Kushite invasion of Egypt. Further west in the Maghreb, the Romans successfully defended their client state of Mauretania against rebel forces.
The attempted conquest of Germania starting in 12 BC ended in defeat at Teutoburg in AD 9 and eventual abandonment of territories east of the Rhine. The Romans withdrew to the Rhineland despite the enormous deployment of resources involved and success of Germanicus's expedition into Germania in AD 14–16. The Roman Empire made few expansions into continental Europe after these campaigns. However, it conquered Dacia in Southeast Europe during the 2nd century, and also much of the British Isles during the 1st century.
In 29 BC, the Roman Senate ordered the closure of the doors to the Temple of Janus in the Roman Forum for the first time in over 200 years. Signifying that the Roman state was no longer at war, this act reportedly pleased Octavian, then in his fifth consulship, more than all the other honours showered on him. This allowed him to continue perpetuating the image of himself as the bringer of peace he had earned after ending the last Republican era civil war in 30 BC against Mark Antony and Cleopatra. However, as Dio himself points out, there were ongoing major operations against the Treveri in Gaul, and the Cantabrari and Astures in Spain. Furthermore, the closure inaugurated nearly half a century of virtually incessant warfare, during which Augustus dramatically enlarged the Roman Empire, annexing Egypt, Dalmatia, Pannonia, Noricum, and Raetia, expanding possessions in Africa, and completing the conquest of Hispania, but suffered a major setback in Germania. The Rhineland frontiers of the Empire established by Augustus would remain relatively static for centuries and further instill the idea of being "world-conquerors" in the Roman people from their Mediterranean-centered perspective.
Julius Caesar had invaded Britain in 55 and 54 BC and exacted tribute, while there were two occasions when defeated Briton chieftains who fled the British Isles came to the court of Augustus seeking military aid. It is unclear how these royal disputes were settled, but Augustus refrained from invading Britain despite building a transport fleet in Gallia Aquitania. The initial Roman conquest of Britain in AD 43 was instead overseen by emperor Claudius, who established the Roman province of Britain.
The Morini and Treveri tribes of Gallia Comata province (Pas-de-Calais region of NE France), rebel against Roman rule and the Suebi Germans cross the Rhine to give them support. But the Morini are defeated by the proconsul (governor) of Gaul, Gaius Carrinas, who goes on to drive out the Suebi, for which he is awarded a joint Triumph with Augustus in 29 BC.
The prefectures Aegypti (governor of Egypt) Gaius Cornelius Gallus quells two local revolts in Heroonpolis in the Nile delta and in the Thebaid. Subsequently, he leads a Roman army South of the First Cataract of the Nile for the first time. He establishes a puppet-state called Triacontaschoenos under a local petty king to act as a buffer-zone between Egypt and Aethiopia (i.e. the kingdom of Aksum), as well as a loose protectorate over Ethiopia itself. Despite his success, Gallus incurs Augustus' displeasure by erecting monuments to himself and is recalled to Rome, tried by the Senate and convicted of various unspecified charges and banished.
The Treveri revolt is quelled by the new proconsul of Gaul, C. Nonius Gallus, who is rewarded with the title of imperator ("supreme commander").
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Wars of Augustus
The wars of Augustus are the military campaigns undertaken by the Roman government during the sole rule of the first Roman emperor Augustus (r. 27 BC – AD 14), previously referred to as Octavian. This period stretching across four decades witnessed major campaigns almost every year, many of them commanded by Augustus's son-in-law Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and stepson and eventual successor Tiberius. This period also saw expansion through diplomacy and annexation, without the direct use of military force. The result was a major expansion of the Roman Empire around provincial territories Augustus had inherited from the Roman Republic in and around the Mediterranean basin.
In West Asia, territories in Anatolia and the Levant were annexed by Rome during the reign of Augustus, while peace was made with the rival Parthian Empire. In Europe, territories in the Balkans, the Alpine region, and the Iberian peninsula were conquered. In North Africa, Roman Egypt served as a launching pad for a failed invasion of Saba in South Arabia, and a punitive invasion into the Kingdom of Kush (centered in what is now Sudan) after a Kushite invasion of Egypt. Further west in the Maghreb, the Romans successfully defended their client state of Mauretania against rebel forces.
The attempted conquest of Germania starting in 12 BC ended in defeat at Teutoburg in AD 9 and eventual abandonment of territories east of the Rhine. The Romans withdrew to the Rhineland despite the enormous deployment of resources involved and success of Germanicus's expedition into Germania in AD 14–16. The Roman Empire made few expansions into continental Europe after these campaigns. However, it conquered Dacia in Southeast Europe during the 2nd century, and also much of the British Isles during the 1st century.
In 29 BC, the Roman Senate ordered the closure of the doors to the Temple of Janus in the Roman Forum for the first time in over 200 years. Signifying that the Roman state was no longer at war, this act reportedly pleased Octavian, then in his fifth consulship, more than all the other honours showered on him. This allowed him to continue perpetuating the image of himself as the bringer of peace he had earned after ending the last Republican era civil war in 30 BC against Mark Antony and Cleopatra. However, as Dio himself points out, there were ongoing major operations against the Treveri in Gaul, and the Cantabrari and Astures in Spain. Furthermore, the closure inaugurated nearly half a century of virtually incessant warfare, during which Augustus dramatically enlarged the Roman Empire, annexing Egypt, Dalmatia, Pannonia, Noricum, and Raetia, expanding possessions in Africa, and completing the conquest of Hispania, but suffered a major setback in Germania. The Rhineland frontiers of the Empire established by Augustus would remain relatively static for centuries and further instill the idea of being "world-conquerors" in the Roman people from their Mediterranean-centered perspective.
Julius Caesar had invaded Britain in 55 and 54 BC and exacted tribute, while there were two occasions when defeated Briton chieftains who fled the British Isles came to the court of Augustus seeking military aid. It is unclear how these royal disputes were settled, but Augustus refrained from invading Britain despite building a transport fleet in Gallia Aquitania. The initial Roman conquest of Britain in AD 43 was instead overseen by emperor Claudius, who established the Roman province of Britain.
The Morini and Treveri tribes of Gallia Comata province (Pas-de-Calais region of NE France), rebel against Roman rule and the Suebi Germans cross the Rhine to give them support. But the Morini are defeated by the proconsul (governor) of Gaul, Gaius Carrinas, who goes on to drive out the Suebi, for which he is awarded a joint Triumph with Augustus in 29 BC.
The prefectures Aegypti (governor of Egypt) Gaius Cornelius Gallus quells two local revolts in Heroonpolis in the Nile delta and in the Thebaid. Subsequently, he leads a Roman army South of the First Cataract of the Nile for the first time. He establishes a puppet-state called Triacontaschoenos under a local petty king to act as a buffer-zone between Egypt and Aethiopia (i.e. the kingdom of Aksum), as well as a loose protectorate over Ethiopia itself. Despite his success, Gallus incurs Augustus' displeasure by erecting monuments to himself and is recalled to Rome, tried by the Senate and convicted of various unspecified charges and banished.
The Treveri revolt is quelled by the new proconsul of Gaul, C. Nonius Gallus, who is rewarded with the title of imperator ("supreme commander").
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