Augustus

Life

His birth name was Gaius Octavius, and he was the grandnephew of Julius Caesar. When Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC, Octavius became his adopted son and heir under the terms of Caesar's will. He then formed the Second Triumvirate (an arrangement in which three men shared power) with Antony and Lepidus. In 31 BC he defeated Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium, bringing the civil wars to an end. In 27 BC the Senate conferred on him the title "Augustus," meaning "the revered one." He died in AD 14. His successor was his adopted son Tiberius, the "Tiberius Caesar" mentioned in Luke 3:1.

Work and Achievements

Augustus preserved the outward forms of the Republic while holding real power under the title princeps ("first citizen"), in effect inaugurating the imperial system. The roughly two centuries of relative peace that he ushered in are commonly called the Pax Romana ("Roman Peace"). He improved the road network, reorganized provincial administration, and conducted censuses. In Judea he recognized the rule of Herod the Great, who in turn built the port city of Caesarea in his honor. After his death the Senate proclaimed him a god, and even during his lifetime cults devoted to his worship were practiced in the eastern provinces.

In the Bible and the Korean Church

Luke 2:1 records that, because of the census decree issued by "Caesar Augustus," Joseph of Nazareth and Mary traveled to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born. For this reason, Augustus is mentioned in the Korean church chiefly in Christmas sermons and in discussions of the account of the birth of Jesus. Augustus had no direct influence on the Korean church; he is treated as a figure in the historical background of the biblical text.

Sermons and devotional books commonly present him in two ways. The first holds that the Roman Peace and the road network became channels for the spread of the gospel, connecting this with "when the fulness of the time was come" in Galatians 4:4 and interpreting it as an expression of God's providence. The second contrasts the emperor, who was called "son of a god," with the Son of God laid in a manger. Scholars note that an inscription from Asia Minor dating to around 9 BC celebrated Augustus's birthday as the beginning of "good news," and it is frequently cited to explain the background of the New Testament's use of the word gospel. The example of early Christians who refused to take part in emperor worship is also sometimes cited in the Korean church alongside the history of resistance to Shinto shrine worship.

Assessment

Historians praise him for ending the long civil wars and laying the foundations of the empire. On the other hand, he is criticized for taking part in the purge of political opponents in his youth and for consolidating one-man rule behind the outward facade of the Republic.

The census account in Luke is also a subject of scholarly debate. According to the historical record, Quirinius (Cyrenius) served as governor of Syria and conducted a census around AD 6, whereas Jesus is thought to have been born before the death of Herod the Great around 4 BC. Conservative scholars propose that the passage refers to a different, earlier census or that the text can be translated differently, while critical scholars hold that the author made a chronological error.