Monumentum Ancyranum

Monumentum Ancyranum, inscription engraved soon after ad 14 on the walls of the temple of Rome and Augustus at Ancyra (modern Ankara, Tur.), capital of the Roman province of Galatia, giving the Latin text and official Greek paraphrase of the official account of the reign of the Roman emperor Augustus (27 bc–ad 14). This official account is known as the “Res gestae devi Augusti.” The res gestae (“achievements”) were composed by Augustus himself, who directed in his will that they should be engraved in bronze on two pillars in front of his mausoleum in Rome. The original columns are missing, but copies were probably erected before many temples across the empire. Besides the one in Ancyra, fragments also exist at Apollonia in Pisidia and at nearby Antioch, both of which were also in Galatia.

The inscription recounts his early career, magistracies, and other honours; the public benefactions he had made from his private means; and his warlike and diplomatic achievements. It culminates with his claim to have restored to Rome the republic, a form of government that actually ended with his accession in 27 bc. A summary of his benefactions was added after his death. This valuable inscription gives a picture of how Augustus wished to be remembered—presenting him as a traditional Roman aristocrat, who, working in accordance with popular consensus, saved the republic from violent attacks, enriched the state by his munificence, and never resorted to unconstitutional or illegal means. The early chapters of Tacitus’s Annals give an alternative interpretation.