Quick questions on The Augustan Settlement: HSC Ancient History

By 30 BC Octavian had won the civil wars and held unprecedented power. He had:

In the senate on 13 January 27 BC, Octavian made a speech announcing the "return" of his extraordinary powers to the senate and Roman people. The arrangement that followed is the First Settlement.

In 23 BC Augustus faced a political crisis. He became seriously ill (his doctor Antonius Musa eventually cured him). He was forced to surrender his signet ring to Agrippa in case of death. The Murena conspiracy (a plot by the consul Varro Murena) was uncovered and suppressed.

Augustus gave up the continuous consulship. In exchange he received two new powers:

The settlements established the framework but Augustus continued to acquire additional powers over time.

The settlements were a sophisticated political achievement. Augustus claimed (Res Gestae 34) that he had "transferred the state from his own power to the discretion of the senate and the Roman people."

Ronald Syme (The Roman Revolution, 1939) is the canonical sceptical reading. The settlements were a constitutional facade for what was effectively a monarchy. The "restoration of the Republic" was propaganda; the new regime was based on faction-fighting and military force.

A 10-year command over the major frontier provinces: Spain, Gaul, Syria, and Egypt. These provinces contained the bulk of the Roman legions (around 20 of 28 legions). The senate retained the unarmed provinces (Africa, Asia, Macedonia, etc.).

"Revered One," a religious title suggesting divine sanction without claiming divinity. The name was new: no Roman had been called Augustus before. The poet Ennius had used it in a religious sense ("augusta templa").

Augustus's accumulated personal prestige was formally recognised. Auctoritas (the moral authority that allowed a senior figure's recommendations to be followed) was a Republican concept; it now became the rhetorical foundation of the principate.

A shield was placed in the Curia Julia listing Augustus's virtues: virtus (courage), clementia (mercy), iustitia (justice), and pietas (piety toward the gods, ancestors, and country).

Greater proconsular power. This allowed Augustus to override governors anywhere in the empire, even in senatorial provinces. The power was renewed at intervals.

The powers of the plebeian tribune without the office: sacrosanctity (legal protection of his person), the veto (intercessio) over any magistrate, the right to convene the senate and the popular assemblies, and the right to introduce legislation. The tribunician power was renewed annually and counted as a regnal year for dating purposes.

Responsibility for the grain supply of Rome.

Responsibility for public morals (a moral censorship).