Social Sciences and History / Unit 3 SSH 0223 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Augustus and the Principate
Captions available
The idea
Octavian, as Augustus, kept republican forms as a facade and ruled as princeps, first citizen. He built a professional army with twenty years' service and land on retirement. Caesar became the office's name, later Tsar and Kaiser.
In practice
The Senate told which actions to take.
Where people slip
The empire lasted about five centuries in the west and over a thousand years in the east.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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