Augustus and Rome

Water issues:

•Built Aqua Julia, Aqua Virgo, Aqua Alsetina •Doubled supply to Aqua Marcia

•Cleaned sewers •Water supply increased around 75%

•12BC; on Agrippa’s death, 249 slaves were appointed as a permanent maintenance  workforce for aqueducts

Flooding:

•8BC: the channel of the Tiber widened, and Curatores Riparium Riberius created

Regions and neighbourhoods:

•Rome had been divided before, into 4 tribes, but that no longer related to the modern city of 1,000,000

•It was cosmopolitan, with people from all over the empire. A den of iniquity.

•7BC, city divided into 14 regions, subdivided into a total of 265 vici. This allowed neighbourhoods to be more easily tracked, Inc. building works, grain silos, water tanks, baths etc; Each vici elected 4 vicomagistri (leading tradesmen) and 4 ministry (slaves)

•The areas were overseen by equestrians. The changes as a whole helped create a sense of self-respect, identity and local loyalty as well as allowing magistrates and the senate to oversee the broader empire.

•The idea of police was tentative and novel as it went against the principle that a citizen should not be subjected to force of arms within his own city

•The attempt in 25BC to create a city prefect failed spectacularly, within six days the first holder resigned his post as “uncitizenly”

•The Praetorian roughly date to 27BC, gradually moved to guard games etc; as well as Augustus. He found them useful to suppress kidnapping and brigandry as they were the only troops allowed in Italy. In 2BC they were given a separate command structure under 2 Praetorian Prefects

•By 14 AD, there were 3,000 in urban cohorts under senior senators

•Most obviously illustrates the movement from the tradition of a small city state that relied upon, essentially, self help under elected magistrates to a more military solution disposing of large amounts of manpower under a non-elected junior military officer.

•The idea of a fire brigade originated from Egnatius Rufus

•7 local fire stations were created under aediles and tribunes

•AD 6: 7,000 freedmen (vigils) under an army prefect reporting directly to the emperor

•Axes and buckets

•Enter any house and summarily try householder for lack of firefighting equipment

•23BC Crisis, Augustus begged to spared the dictatorship but took on stewardship of the corn supply

•22BC created a senatorial board

•8 AD, military prefect and staff placed in charge

•Free grain to a certain number of citizens 200,000 approx. (RG 15)

•Needed to support tourists, troops and maintenance supplies as well as the efficient trade between Rome and the provinces

•Augustus began work in 27BC

•(RG 5) Augustus restored the Via Flaminia to Arinium (building arches at each end of the section he restored). The Ara Parcis and Augustan Mausoleum lay on this road.

•20BC, assumed title of Cura Viarum (care of the highways in Rome) only repaired Via Flaminia (mentioned again RG 20)

•Augustus encourage other triumphal generals to repair roads as well, they didn’t