Download The Pax Romana, which begun under Augustus, was a

The Pax Romana, which begun under Augustus, was a 200-year
period of peace in which Rome experienced minimal expansion by
military force in the 1st and 2nd centuries CE.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE [ edit ]
Describe the key reasons for and characteristics of the Pax Romana
KEY POINTS [ edit ]
The Pax Romana was established under Augustus, and for that reason it is sometimes referred to
as the Pax Augusta.
Augustus closed the Gates of Janus three times to signify the onset of peace: in 29 BCE, 25 BCE,
and 13 BCE, likely in conjunction with the Ara Pacis ceremony.
The Romans regarded peace not as an absence of war, but the rare situation that existed when all
opponents had been beaten down and lost the ability to resist, and thus Augustus had to persuade
Romans that the prosperity they could achieve in the absence of warfare was better for the
Empire than the potential wealth and honor acquired when fighting a risky war.
The Ara Pacis is a prime example of the propaganda Augustus employed to promote the Pax
Romana, and depicts images of Roman gods and the city of Rome personified amidst wealth and
prosperity.
TERMS [ edit ]
Ara Pacis Augustae
Altar of Augustan Peace, a sacrificial altar which displays imagery of the peace and prosperity that
Augustus achieved through the Pax Romana.
Pax Romana
the long period of relative peace and minimal expansion by military force experienced by the
Roman Empire in the 1st and 2nd centuries CE. Also sometimes known as the Pax Augusta.
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Augustusand thePax Romana
The Pax Romana (Latin for "Roman
peace") was the long period of relative
peace and minimal expansion by military
force experienced by the Roman Empire in
the 1st and 2nd centuries CE. Since it was
established by Augustus, it is sometimes
called Pax Augusta. Its span was
approximately 206 years (27 BCE to 180
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CE).
The Pax Romana started after Augustus, then Octavian, met and defeated Mark Antony in the
Battle of Actium in 31 BCE. Lacking a good precedent of successful rule by one man, he
created a junta of the greatest military magnates and gave himself the titular honor. By
binding together these leading magnates into a single title, he eliminated the prospect of civil
war. The Pax Romana was not immediate, despite the end of the civil wars, as fighting
continued in Hispania and in the Alps. Nevertheless, Augustus closed the Gates of Janus (the
set of gates to the Temple of Janus, which was closed in times of peace and opened in times of
war) three times, first in 29 BCE and again in 25 BCE. The third closure is undocumented,
but scholars have persuasively dated the event to 13 BCE during the Ara Pacis ceremony,
which was held after Augustus and Agrippa jointly returned from pacifying the provinces.
Augustus faced a problem making peace an acceptable mode of life for the Romans, who had
been at war with one power or another continuously for 200 years. The Romans regarded
peace not as an absence of war, but the rare situation that existed when all opponents had
been beaten down and lost the ability to resist. Augustus' challenge was to persuade Romans
that the prosperity they could achieve in the absence of warfare was better for the Empire
than the potential wealth and honor acquired when fighting a risky war. Augustus succeeded
by means of skillful propaganda. Subsequent emperors followed his lead, sometimes
producing lavish ceremonies to close the Gates of Janus, issuing coins with Pax on the
reverse, and patronizing literature extolling the benefits of the Pax Romana.
The Ara Pacis Augustae
The Ara Pacis Augustae , or Altar of Augustan Peace, is one of the best examples of Augustan
artistic propaganda and the prime symbol of the new Pax Romana. It was commissioned by
the Senate in 13 BCE to honor the peace and bounty established by Augustus following his
return from Spain and Gaul.
The Tellus Mater Panel of the Ara Pacis
The eastern wall of the Ara Pacis, which depicts the Tellus Mater surrounded my symbols of fertility and
prosperity.
The theme of peace of is seen most notably in the east and west walls of the Ara Pacis, each of
which had two panels, although only small fragments remain for one panel on each side. On
the east side, sits an unidentified goddess, presumed by scholars to be Tellus, Venus, or
Peace, within an allegorical scene of prosperity and fertility. Twins sit on her lap along with a
cornucopia of fruits. Personifications of the wind and sea surround her, each riding on a bird
or a sea monster. Beneath the women rests a bull and lamb, both sacrificial animals, and
flowering plants fill the empty space. The nearly incomplete second eastern panel appears to
depict a female warrior, possibly Roma, amid the spoils of conquest.