Res Gestae Divi Augusti, (Latin: "The Deeds of the Divine Augustus") is the funerary inscription of the first Roman emperor, Augustus, giving a first-person record of his life and accomplishments. Latin is the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... A Monumental Inscription is an inscription, typically carved in stone, on a grave marker or memorial plaque. ... Roman Emperor is the title historians use to refer to rulers of the Roman Empire, after the epoch conventionally named the Roman Republic. ... Augustus Caesar Caesar Augustus (Latin: IMP·CAESAR·DIVI·F·AVGVSTVS)¹ (23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), known earlier in his life as Gaius Octavius or Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, was the first Roman Emperor and is traditionally considered the greatest. ...

The text consists of 35 paragraphs that may be grouped in four sections and a short appendix. The first part of the Res Gestae (paragraphs 1 – 14) is concerned with Augustus' political career, recording the offices and political honours that he held. The second part (paragraphs 15 — 24) records Augustus' gifts of money, games, and buildings to the Roman people. The third part (paragraphs 25 – 33) describes his military deeds and how he established peace and friendship with other nations during his reign. The last part (paragraphs 34 – 35) sums up Augustus exceptional position in the government. The appendix (written in the third person, and likely not by Augustus himself) summarizes the entire text, and lists the various buildings he constructed; it states 600 million denars from his own funds were spent during his reign towards the public good. The Roman currency system included the denarius, a small silver coin, as the most common coin in circulation. ...

According to the text it was written just before Augustus' death in AD 14, but it was probably written years earlier and revised over the years. Augustus left the text with his will, which instructed the Senate to set up the inscriptions. The original, which has not survived, was engraved upon a pair of bronze pillars and placed in front of Augustus' mausoleum. Many copies of the text were made and carved in stone on monuments or temples throughout the Roman Empire, some of which have survived; most notably, almost a full copy, written in the original Latin and a Greek translation was preserved on a temple to Augustus in Ancyra (the Monumentum Ancyranum, now in Ankara, Turkey); others have been found at Apollonia and Antioch, both in Pisidia. For other uses, see number 14. ... The Roman Senate (Latin, Senatus) was a deliberative body which was important in the government of both the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. ... The Roman Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Ancient Roman polity in the centuries following its reorganization under the leadership of Octavian (better known as Caesar Augustus). ... Latin is the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... Ankara from the Atakule Tower, looking N-NE Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the countrys second largest city after Istanbul. ... Ankara from the Atakule Tower, looking N-NE Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the countrys second largest city after Istanbul. ... There have been several places called Apollonia: An ancient Greek city in Illyria near to the sea and the river Vjosa, 12 km from Fier, Albania. ... Antioch is a city in the Turkish Lake District, which is at the crossroads of the Mediterranean, Aegean and Central Anatolian regions. ...

By its very nature, the Res Gestae are less objective historiography and more propaganda for the principate that Augustus instituted. It tends to gloss over the events between the assassination of Julius Caesar and the victory at Actium when his foothold on power was finally undisputed. Caesar's murderers Brutus and Cassius are not referred to by name, they are simply "those who killed my father" (actually his adoptive father), neither is the Battle of Philippi. Mark Antony and Sextus Pompeius, Augustus' opponents in the East, remain equally anonymous; the former is "he with whom I fought the war," while the latter is merely a "pirate". Likewise, the text fails to mention his imperium maius and his exceptional tribunicial powers. Often quoted is Augustus' official position on his government: "From that time (27 BC, the end of the civil war) I surpassed all others in influence, yet my official powers were no greater than those of my colleague in office." North Korean propaganda showing a soldier destroying the United States Capitol building. ... The Principate is, according to its etymological derivation from the Latin word princeps, meaning chief or first, the political regime dominated by such a head of state and government. ... Jack Ruby murdered the assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, in a very public manner. ... Gaius Julius Caesar (Latin: IMP·C·IVLIVS·CAESAR·DIVVS¹) (b. ... Actium (mod. ... Marcus Junius Brutus Caepio (85 BC–42 BC), or simply Brutus, was a Roman senator of the late Roman Republic. ... Gaius Cassius Longinus may be: Cassius, who helped assassinate Julius Caesar Gaius Cassius Longinus, a 1st century jurist Categories: Ancient Romans ... For the American Civil War battle, see Battle of Philippi Races. ... Bust of Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (Latin: M·ANTONIVS·M·F·M·N¹) (c. ... Sextus Pompeius Magnus Pius, in English Sextus Pompey, was a Roman general from the late Republic (1st century BC). ... Byzantine Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered around its capital in Constantinople. ... Imperium can, in a broad sense, be translated as power. ... Tribune (Latin: tribunus) was a title shared by several elected magistracies and other governmental offices of the Roman Republic and Empire. ... Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 70s BC 60s BC 50s BC 40s BC 30s BC - 20s BC - 10s BC 0s 10s 20s 30s Years: 32 BC 31 BC 30 BC 29 BC 28 BC 27 BC 26 BC 25 BC 24 BC 23 BC 22...

See Also

• Lucius_Cornelius_Scipio_Barbatus, whose sarcophagus carries a short inscription in Saturnian metre commemorating his deeds
• Behistun Inscription, commissioned by Darius I of Persia

The tomb of Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus, erected around 150 BC, contains an Old Latin inscription in Saturnian metre. ... Stone sarcophagus of Pharaoh Merenptah A sarcophagus is a stone container for a coffin or body. ... Saturnian meter or verse is an old Latin and Italic poetic form, of which the principles of versification remain obscure. ... The Behistun Inscription, carved into a cliffside, gives the same text in three languages, telling the story of King Darius conquests. ... Seal of Darius I, showing the king hunting on his chariot, and the symbol of Ahuramazda Darius the Great (Old Persian 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 Dārayawuš - He Who Holds Firm the Good), was the son of Hystaspes and Persian Emperor from 521 to 485 BC. His name in Modern Persian is داریوش (Dâri...

External links

• The Res Gestae at LacusCurtius, in Latin, Greek and English
• The Res Gestae at the Latin Library (in Latin)
• The Res Gestae at the Internet Classics Archive (in English)
• Life and deeds of Augustus (in English)