Augustus famously commemorated his achievements in an extensive inscription known as the Res Gestae Divi Augusti, or
“The Achievements of the Divine Augustus.” This document allows us to consider how Augustus wished to be understood.

But criticism is never far behind Augustus—the Roman historian Tacitus is an important early critical source of Augustus.

Our collective fascination with Augustus can be found in Ronald Syme’s major twentieth-century work The Roman Revolution.

You can also learn more about Augustus via The Partial Historians podcast, which Peta Greenfield co-hosts with Fiona Radford.