By Oliver Das Gupta
He was physically disadvantaged and rose the most powerful man of the ancient world on: Today 2000 years ago died Emperor Augustus. Archaeologist Karl Galinsky explains why fascists and democrats Augustus worshiped – and what connects it to Barack Obama.
Prof. Karl Galinsky is a specialist in the Augustan era of Roman history. Born in Strasbourg in 1943 philologist grew up in Alsace and Germany. In 1966 he received his Ph.D. from Princeton University in the USA. He teaches History at the University of Texas
SZ.de. Mr. Galinsky, I will record our conversation. Is that okay
Galinsky: No problem, that makes the NSA, too. After all, there is such a back-up if your intake should be lost. Thank God Augustus no longer suffer.
True, who died on August 19 of that year yes 14 What qualities made him a dominant figure in world history?
Augustus was far-sighted, determined and incredibly tough. In personal intercourse he was more like the strategists Barack Obama as the fisher of men Bill Clinton. He came to the people already good, but you never knew exactly where you are with him. One of the later emperor Augustus named Julian likened to a chameleon.
Augustus was a sickly child. Why Julius Caesar has just adopted him and used as heirs?
Maybe saw Caesar then simply more of the skills as we do today. It is incredible how Augustus sets off at the age of 18 years to gain power. Augustus likes of fragile physical constitution have been, but that seems to have rather strengthened him in his assertiveness.
this by setting meant that his rival died for power. Augustus was more cruel than awesome?
It is debatable. If you look at the first decade of his political career, outweighs the violence. Since raged a terrible civil war, in which it was normal to take no prisoners
At the end of the Civil War, Augustus was an autocrat who relied on the army -. Much like his adoptive father Julius Caesar. But unlike Caesar Augustus managed a peaceful transition to widely revered ruler. How could succeed him?
Caesar ruled as military dictators, disregarding the constitution and traditions of the Roman Republic. His main mistake was to let elect a dictator for life. A month later, Caesar was murdered by people who assumed naively, to save the Republic so. Augustus leaning in the background on the army, but he avoided Caesar error. He implemented a monarchy in the old republican system. But he chose not to king nor emperor. Senate and consuls, he had to continue to exist, but sat about as “princeps”, as the “First”. That sounded like a gentle guardian of the Republic and not by civil war. Augustus missed a new label -. A brilliant train
In the year 30 BC, Augustus has reinvented. Then began a long and successful for the Roman times – or was the Augustan era not so great
Augustus won the civil war-torn kingdom made stable and invented the Empire?. But the transfiguration of the reign of the golden era we owe, among other art historians. Augustus himself was a master of self-promotion, his death and funeral, he staged example in detail. But in view of the Staatsgeschäfte- and tasks he wanted to avoid a standstill in life and too large euphemisms. His motto was something like: There is still much to do, wait for more challenges. We must continue!
What are the problems was Augustus?
The pacification of the empire after the Civil War, the struggle against famine and floods. There were rebellions, such as a in Pannonia (province, which consisted of the present-day Hungary, parts of eastern Austria and the former Yugoslavia; editor’s note…), Which was put down only after three years. If the crushing Roman defeat by the Germans under Arminius (Hermann the Cherusker called) after Christ already happened earlier in the year 9, then that would have the rule of Augustus risk.
Augustus was not only ruler but also high priest. How is it that Christianity has repeatedly referred to this heathen
The idea of the Christian side was obvious: If God sends his son to the world, but in an age in which a particularly great, more powerful ruler governed. During his tenure prevailed in the Roman Empire religious tolerance, there was a veritable supermarket of religions. The Romans were at that time no cultural imperialists, their campaigns no religious wars. The persecution of Christians came later
Augustus died at the age of 76 -. Unlike so many Roman rulers before and after him peacefully. Sought him no after life?
At least there were no conspirators, who were powerful enough to threaten seriously Augustus. Victim of an attack, he could easily have. He entrenched himself not in his palaces, but was an emperor to touch, which appeared in Rome in neighborhoods where it was dirty and dangerous. He could be even invite citizens to eat. Rivals that it really could be dangerous, he had already been cleared out of the way.
Which politician of the modern era strove after Augustus?
In the thirties, the Italian authorities Benito Mussolini was compared with Augustus. There are parallels: the attainment of power by violence, the takeover of the former political system in his dictatorship. And for the 2000th birthday of Augustus in 1937 he introduced consciously relate ago by the Roman Empire at that Italy.
In addition, Mussolini took over the ritual axes of the Romans, the “fasces”, and called his extreme right-wing movement “fascists”.
That’s right. However, Mussolini’s Italy was not the only country that took the ax as a state symbol. There is also a democratic state, who took over the ritual weapons as a sign and thereby raised in the tradition of the Roman Republic: The United States of America. Look at the coat of arms of the Senate and the armed forces. And turn times the Dime, the American 10-cent coin. There they see fasces.
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