Introduction

1    ‘QUEEN OF INSCRIPTIONS’

In the opening chapter of his Annals, Tacitus briefly outlines the changes in political structure that Rome experienced from the regal period onwards, and maps onto these changes the ways in which history has been written. He comments, ‘But the successes and failures of the Roman people of old have been recorded by famous writers, and there was no lack of people of fair talent for telling of the times of Augustus, until they were scared off by the flattery that was swelling up’ (sed veteris populi Romani prospera vel adversa claris scriptoribus memorata sunt, temporibusque Augusti dicendis non defuere decora ingenia, donec gliscente adulatione deterrerentur).¹ Although we cannot be sure which authors Tacitus had in mind here, we do know of histories about the civil wars and the earlier years of Augustus’ era written by Asinius Pollio, Livy, Cremutius Cordus, Seneca the Elder, and Titus Labienus.² It is unlikely that these were unduly influenced by flattery: Horace remarked upon the hazardous nature of Pollio’s undertaking to write about the civil wars between 60 bc and 42 bc,³ whilst Cremutius Cordus praised Brutus and Cassius in his histories that covered the period from the civil wars down to at least 18 bc, and was later condemned under Tiberius;⁴ Labienus was otherwise known as ‘Rabienus’ because of his violent style, and his books were burned for their libellous content during Augustus’ later years.⁵ Indeed, the Elder Seneca recalls how even the fiercely independent Labienus himself interrupted one of his recitations from his history with the comment, ‘the sections which I am passing over will be read after my death’.

None of these works survives in its entirety. Instead, our main historical literary works are those by Dio Cassius and Suetonius. Suetonius’ biography is particularly useful in its recording of sources hostile to Augustus, such as letters and taunts composed by Antony, and in preserving some verbatim quotations and letters from Augustus himself, but the biography is not intended to offer a historical narrative, and any attempt to

Above all, the RGDA offers an invaluable insight into the political ideology of the Augustan era, in the words of Augustus himself. Comparison with other inscriptions, coins, poetry, and art and architecture reveal how key themes upon which Augustus focuses in his retrospective on his whole career, the things for which he wished to be remembered, are strikingly present in a variety of contemporary literary, material, and visual media. This is not to imply that we can detect the workings of Augustan ‘propaganda’, but rather the development of a consensus that is reflected in the emergence both of a ‘new visual language’ and of an official set of expressions.¹⁰ These were not imposed by Augustus, but the ideology was adopted by many different groups, including the senate, equestrians, and people at Rome, as well as by others beyond Italy, notably colonists in the provinces.

Coins, inscriptions, art and architecture, and literature share themes with the RGDA, and use common language to describe them. For example, the theme of world conquest was proclaimed in the prominent heading to the RGDA, celebrated in Horace’s Carmen Saeculare, and symbolically represented on coins. It was also expressed through art and architecture in Rome by means of the porticus ad nationes, and Agrippa’s Map.¹¹ Other major themes include the importance of restoring constitutional government at Rome after the long years of civil disorder, and the priority that should be

2    RES GESTAE DIVI AUGUSTI (RGDA) AT ROME

At the first meeting of the senate after Augustus’ death in ad 14, Tiberius’ son, the Younger Drusus, read out to the senate the deceased’s will and three further documents.¹² The first of these issued instructions about his funeral, the second was a ‘summary of his achievements’ (index rerum a se gestarum), and the third contained a ‘brief account of the whole empire’ (breviarium totius imperii).¹³ Augustus requested that his Res Gestae be inscribed and displayed on bronze in front of his Mausoleum on the Field of Mars (Campus Martius) (see Map 1). The use of bronze set the RGDA on a par with Roman legal and other important official documents, and evoked ideals of sacrosanctity and durability.¹⁴ By choosing bronze, Augustus was implicitly elevating his account of his achievements, evoking the moral authority usually enjoyed by texts inscribed on bronze, in accordance with his ambition to act as a role model for the rest of society (see pp. 40–1).¹⁵ At the same time he could allude to ideas of religious sanctity that underlay his authority in Roman society.

The Mausoleum was completed in 28 bc, several decades before his death (Figure 1).¹⁶ Given its size and complexity, work on the monument must have begun some years earlier, perhaps in 32 bc, with the tomb playing an important role in the final propaganda battle against Antony, leading up to the naval battle at Actium in 31 bc. By building such a massive tomb for himself at Rome, the young Caesar was eager to highlight the contrast between himself and Antony. Whereas he was demonstrating his commitment to the city, Antony’s will (which Octavian illegally seized and made public) revealed that he wished to be buried at Alexandria with Cleopatra.¹⁷ Rumours suggested that he was even contemplating shifting the capital away from Rome to Egypt.¹⁸ Augustus’ tomb was unsurpassed in size by any other, and it dominated the approach to Rome from the north along the Flaminian Way (via Flaminia) or river Tiber.¹⁹ It impressed at least one contemporary, Strabo, whose account of Rome describes it in some detail: ‘The so-called Mausoleum is most noteworthy: a huge mound set on a lofty plinth of white marble near the river, thickly shaded by a covering of evergreen trees right up to the summit. On the top is a bronze statue of Caesar Augustus while below the mound are the tombs of Augustus himself, his close relatives and family.’²⁰ The location of the Mausoleum

Known as the ‘Mausoleum’ or tumulus in contemporary sources, Augustus’ tomb became a powerful dynastic statement, implicitly rivalling the original Mausoleum at Halicarnassos of King Mausolus of Caria, which ranked as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.²⁴ It may also have been intended to evoke the burial mounds of Trojan princes, who were the legendary ancestors of the Julian family, and perhaps the tomb of Alexander the Great.²⁵ The idea that it drew its inspiration from the tumuli of Etruscan towns such as Caere (Cerveteri) stumbles against the

Before the RGDA was put on display outside the Mausoleum, some time after Augustus’ death in ad 14, a marble copy was set up of the ‘shield of virtue’ (clupeus virtutis) bestowed upon Augustus in 26 bc.³⁵ Representations in stone of the laurels set up outside Augustus’ house on the Palatine have also been found, suggesting that the entrance to his tomb may have mirrored that to his house, in this way adopting the common Roman perception that tomb and house were parallel homes for the dead and the living.³⁶

Augustus’ achievements were not the only ones presented outside his Mausoleum. A whole sequence of inscriptions displayed the achievements, or res gestae, of other members of the family too, some set up before the RGDA, others afterwards. On the premature death in ad 19 of Germanicus, Tiberius’ heir presumptive, the senate decreed that bronze pillars displaying the senatorial decree which had been passed in his honour should be displayed in front of the Mausoleum next to the similar decrees which had been passed earlier in honour of Gaius and Lucius, who had also died prematurely.³⁷ Although we do not have these decrees, a decree passed at Pisa in honour of Gaius appears to have followed the senate’s lead closely. The Pisan inscription referred to his achievements in the service of the state: ‘after a consulship which he had completed while successfully waging war beyond the furthest boundaries of the Roman people, after

In short, the text of the RGDA should not be thought of in isolation. Rather, it joined other inscriptions already displayed on the exterior of the Mausoleum, which outlined the achievements of Augustus’ potential heirs. It was also juxtaposed with two obelisks brought back from Egypt, booty which made clear his triumph over Cleopatra (and Antony). Naturally enough, Augustus’ achievements and inscriptions surpassed all others, but together they presented the ‘Achievements of the Augustan family’, the Res Gestae domus Augustae. In this way, the epigraphic display of the Mausoleum contributed to its dynastic intent, offering to the viewer exemplary lives, which justified the privileged place in society of Augustus’ family.

3    RGDA IN ITS PROVINCIAL CONTEXTS

No physical trace remains of the RGDA in Rome, since the bronze tablets on which it was inscribed must have been melted down many centuries

At Ancyra (Ankara), the RGDA is inscribed in both Latin and Greek upon the temple of Rome and Augustus, and so it is known as the Monumentum Ancyranum, the ‘queen’ of all inscriptions, in Mommsen’s view.⁴⁸ From Pisidian Antioch (Yalvaç) we have a Latin copy, the Monumentum Antiochenum, which was probably displayed on a monumental gateway leading to a temple to Augustus. At Apollonia (Uluborlu) a Greek version, the Monumentum Apolloniense, was inscribed on a large base that supported several statues. All three copies were probably associated with sanctuaries for emperor worship.⁴⁹

a    Ancyra

Ancyra was the provincial capital of Galatia, a new city founded by Augustus himself in around 25 bc for the Sebasteni Tectosages Ancyrani. It was an obvious location for the new capital, since there had previously been a stronghold occupying the same strategic geographical position.⁵⁰ Along with Pessinus and Tavium, it was assigned one of the three Galatian tribes, and its territory was expanded.⁵¹

The text of the RGDA was inscribed twice on the temple of Rome and Augustus (see Figures 2 and 3). This temple served as the headquarters for the centrally regulated provincial cult, administered by the provincial

The Latin text, derived from the prototype at Rome, was inscribed in two parts inside the temple, to the left and right on the antae inside the pronaos, starting next to the entrance (Figure 4). Each of the two parts contained three columns of writing, each one c. 1.17 m wide, containing 43–54 lines of text. The first part ran from chapter 1 to chapter 18, the second from chapters 19 to 35, followed by the Appendix. The heading ran in larger letters in three lines over the top of the first three columns.⁵⁵ The letters were brought out by red paint, which still remained in many places in the nineteenth century.⁵⁶ The Greek version was carved upon the outside face of the southern cella wall (Figure 5). It extended over a width of 20.5 m, and comprised nineteen columns of writing, each one c. 95 cm wide, containing twenty to twenty-five lines of text. The last column of