A brief analysis of the Strabo study, the cultural belonging and identity of a provincial elite. After describing numerous achievements in conquest and war, Strabo, like most of his contemporaries, also tried to describe Augustus' benevolence and gentleness.
As Augustus himself declared, despite his victories in many internal and external wars, he forgave the lives of the vanquished.
The war against the Ethiopians mentioned earlier not only showed Augustus' exploits, but also showed Augustus' tolerance after the victory.
According to Strabo, the Ethiopians, while Garnus led the Roman army to war against the Arabs, crossed the Nile Falls, attacked the Roman fortress on the border, and toppled the statue of Augustus.
Petronius immediately sent his troops, subduing 30,000 enemy troops with only 10,000 infantry and 800 cavalry, pushing them back to the Ethiopian city of Pasekis, and then sending men to recover the property plundered by these men and to inquire about the cause of the war.
The Ethiopian rebels said they could not bear the oppression of the local Norma to rebel, and Petronius persuaded them to accept Augustus as their ruler , but after receiving no positive response, Petronius continued to send troops and soon defeated the Ethiopian army and captured many important generals of the Ethiopian queen.
He then took the important cities of Pasekis and Paremnis, and after some looting of Nabata, where the royal palace was located, he sold the city's inhabitants into slavery.
The queen personally led her men to Augustus, who was on his way from Samos to Syria.
The envoys' requests for peace were granted, and Augustus even reduced the tribute imposed on them.
The attack of Petronius and the forgiveness of Augustus are in stark contrast.
From the above analysis, it appears that Strabo's description of Augustus basically corresponds to Augustus' own propaganda.
Although he rarely mentions Augustus' political changes and achievements, his religious, financial, and city-building accounts, as well as military and diplomatic accounts, are largely consistent with the foreign propaganda of the Fuhrer period.
Augustus' proud character is also reflected in the above passages of Strabo.
And does this mean that the author admires Augustus and recognizes his rule? An important part of Augustus' image propaganda is the fabrication of family myths, and Strabo also appears in the relevant narrative in his works.
From his participation in political contests as Caesar's heir, Caesar was a label that Augustus flaunted himself, and he traced the Trojan origins of Julias's family from Caesar.
Correspondingly, Strabo, in his introduction to the city of Ilion, mentions that Caesar took special care of the area, not only granting them residence in their ancestral homeland, but also exempting them from taxes.
There was an element of imitation of Alexander, but it was also to show the kinship of the Romans to Ilion.
The founder of Rome was Aeneas, and Julius, to which Caesar belonged, inherited the family name from their ancestors, and it was this name that showed that they were descendants of Aeneas.
Creating an aura for Augustus' family and lineage through mythical Caesar was a common propaganda model in the early days of the empire; (2) Strabo also claims that Augustus had dedicated an Aphrodesque portrait to his father Caesar and reduced the local tribute as compensation, thus showing Augustus' family lineage and indicating his illustrious family lineage.
Bibliography:
Encyclopedia Britannica, International Chinese Edition, China Encyclopedia Press, 1999.
"Damei Encyclopedia" Editorial Department of "Damei Encyclopedia" of Guangfu Books Bureau 79th Year of the Republic of China.
