I. Introduction: 

With his military victory against Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 B.C.E., Julius Caesars grand-nephew, Octavian, emerged as the master of the Roman state, and, in effect, the entire Mediterranean world. Still a young man, over the next forty years, Octavian, soon to be called Augustus or revered one, would transform the Roman state into a well-functioning machine that would bring peace, stability, and civilization to the millions of people who lived under Romes power. However, as they say, Rome wasnt built in a day. During his time in power, Augustus carefully oversaw the foundation of a new social system that would spread the five features of Roman civilization (politics, economics, technology, art and architecture, and religion) from Rome, to Britain, to Iraq. In many ways, Augustus was not only a bold leader; he must have also been a brilliant manager who understood how people and societies functioned and how to create a state that would succeed.

II. WRITE: For this assignment,  write a fully-developed analysis (in at least 250 words) with multimedia annotations (images, links, short YouTube videos etc.) that explores how Augustus transformed the Roman republic into an empire that spread its civilization far and wide.

This assignment should include the following two sections:

 

1) (ca. 200 Words) In the main section of your blog post, discuss how you think Augustus management skills affected all of the five features of civilization to establish the Pax Romana (ca. 30 B.C.E.-230 C.E.). Thus,  analyze his governing style, his promotion of the economy, and his religious activities, and their cumulative influence on art, architecture, and technology. To support your answers, you should try to use examples from Augustus reign, but you can also discuss buildings, monuments, and economic and technological developments that occurred during the Pax Romana since they were all made possible by the socio-political changes established by the first emperor. 

2) (ca. 25-50 Words) To sum up your post, I would like you to argue which feature of civilization you feel Augustus influenced the most and how this influence affected the nature of Roman imperial civilization.

Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors: Augustus (looks old, but the information is compiled by world experts) http://www.roman-emperors.org/auggie.htm