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DOCUMENT - Augustus’ “Res Gestate” (“Deeds” or “Things Done”)

Below is the full text of Augustus’ “Res Gestate”. It is one of the most important
documents in Roman history. In it Augustus, writing in his old age, gives a detailed
picture of his achievements and how he created his “template of empire”.

The “Res Gestate” paints a picture of a leader dedicated to his country and its people,
refusing powers and honours, and winning everyone over by his brilliant leadership,
modesty and generosity.

But how reliable is this document? Historians consider that because it is written by
Augustus himself, he presents his deeds in a very favourable light. It therefore paints
too rosy a picture. Many Romans had fought against Augustus in the civil war and
were deeply loyal to the Republic. They hated the idea of Rome coming under the
rule an emperor. Julius Caesar had been murdered to prevent this. Now it was
happening anyway, under his adopted nephew, Augustus. Historians think force and

fear must have played a part. But in the absence of other evidence, precisely how big
a part remains a mystery. How much resistance did Augustus meet? What force or
threats of force did he use? How far was he feared rather than loved? The “Res
Gestate” is silent on these matters. We must therefore read it with caution.
However, as one Group member remarked, one thing seems clear: Augustus was a
very crafty politician!

The “Res Gestate” is quite a long document. During the session the History Group

read and discussed it in smaller groups and some of the key passages we identified
and discussed are highlighted in red.

The Deeds (“Res Gestate”) of the Divine Augustus
By Augustus
A copy below of the deeds of the divine Augustus, by which he subjected the whole wide earth to
the rule of the Roman people, and of the money which he spent for the state and Roman people,
inscribed on two bronze pillars, which are set up in Rome.

1. In my nineteenth year, on my own initiative and at my own expense, I raised an army with
which I set free the state, which was oppressed by the domination of a faction. For that reason,
the senate enrolled me in its order by laudatory resolutions, when Gaius Pansa and Aulus Hirtius
were consuls (43 B.C.E.), assigning me the place of a consul in the giving of opinions, and gave me
the imperium. With me as propraetor, it ordered me, together with the consuls, to take care lest
any detriment befall the state. But the people made me consul in the same year when the consuls
each perished in battle, and they made me a triumvir for the settling of the state.

2. I drove the men who slaughtered my father into exile with a legal order, punishing their crime,
and afterwards, when they waged war on the state, I conquered them in two battles.