History vs. Augustus - Peta Greenfield & Alex Gendler

His reign marked the beginning of one of history’s greatest empires … and the end of one of its first republics. Was Rome’s first emperor a visionary leader who guaranteed his civilization’s place in history, or a tyrant who destroyed its core values? Peta Greenfield and Alex Gendler put this controversial figure on trial in History vs. Augustus.

Lesson by Peta Greenfield & Alex Gendler, animation by Brett Underhill.

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[raemont]

Augustus was Machiavelli. He was the perfect Politician: capable of any cruelty, but not drunk on his own power. An actor who never lost control of his game.

[Brandon-qn]

"The Senate existed to serve the people, not a ruling elite"

Except membership to the Senate was restricted to that ruling elite.

[bartsfartandshart]

Also a reminder that the Late Republic was one of the most corrupt societies on earth. Augustus effectively demolished that.

[amaljyothis]

"a government meant to serve the people, not the privileges of a ruling family"

Patricians: Yeah right..

[pl]

It's actually Mark Antony who betrayed Octavius Augustus, because Julius Ceasar adopted Augustus and designated him as his heir in his testament. And by the way: some restrictions on marriages in social classes were in effect before Augustus, Julius Ceasar actually avoided becoming a priest by commiting a misalliance.

[kshitijaiyer]

"I found Rome a city of bricks and left it a city of marble." - Augustus

[TheCJUN]

History vs Alexander the Great
History vs Bismark

Soo much potential ..

[connorgolden]

The late Republic was an incredibly corrupt and unstable government that was on its last legs, it needed to go. Octavian began a period of peace (with the exception of the year of the four emperors) and stability that lasted for more than two hundred years.

[boolosboi]

Augustus was an absolute legend. Sure he didn't actually fight his battles (he let Agrippna do that for him), but he did bring stability back to Rome after years of Civil War and he destroyed the corrupted Roman Republic. He was most likely the most hydrated Roman out there.

[prometeo_X]

I will now become a lawyer with the sole purpose of saying MERE OPTICS in an actual trial.

[Varan]

"A government meant to rule the people, not a ruling family."
Boy howdy, you guys don't know anything about the Roman Republic do you?

[Shredow]

By giving one side the last word, instead of the neutral judge, this video takes a side. The fact of the matter is that equating the Roman senate with modern day Democratic Republics is flawed. The senators were oligarchs more concerned with keeping labor cheap and themselves rich over the good of the Republic to the detriment of the common citizen. They were not elected public servants. Was Augustus(and Caesar before him) power hungry, ambitious and sometimes even cruel? Yes. Did they both have an objectively positive effect on their society, also yes. Don't hate the past for not being the present.

[pershingchaffee]

Im gonna go with unbiased history on this one.

[KTChamberlain]

Augustus was just as badass as Julius Caesar, and this trial failed to point out that Augustus (when he was Octavian) personally fulfilled the terms of Caesar's will which included giving the plebs a share of Caesar's money that was owed to them, and plots of land to 20, 000 deserving families. Mark Antony refused to fulfill the terms, so Octavian sold away Caesar's villa to meet these terms.

[carloborromeoarese]

Augustus started the pax romana, ended conquest and under him and after him for nearly one hundred years there was no civil war

[hunnic_warlord]

"He made an empire that would collapse."
"Do you know why it collapsed?"
"No, why."
"Let me show you. Please stand infront of this tank please"

[ConnorLockhartYGO]

"The next time you say how Rome didn't contribute enough inventions to broader history and get rightly arrested for sacrilege, first check what alphabet you're speaking when pleading for innocence, the architecture of the courthouse you're taken to, what God you're praying to to get out of this alive, what legal system finds you guilty, and what concrete roads you're traversing as they throw your corpse into the sewer in two months: July, named after Julius Caesar. And don't forget your bacon breakfast."
~ Dovahhatty, 2020

[dodec]

History vs Malcolm X
History vs Erwin Rommel
History vs Winston Churchill
History vs Otto von Bismarck
History vs Ronald Reagan

[thefrenchkiwi]

I would love to see History vs Churchill next please.

[Maitapa]

Ensuring stability and legitimacy after a civil war isnt pretty. He was the man the for the job and he did it perfectly.