Augustus Caesar started a time in Rome called the Pax-Romania Era. He brought about a system of government in which he encouraged trade and glorified Rome by a splendid building program. He created denarius, a silver coin that we used which made trade between different parts of the empire much easier. Trade became faster when Augustus eliminated all taxed goods which created the Roman lands to form into one large economic empire. He also created faster transportation between cities by beginning a program of highway construction. Our emperors that served after he continued his work and by 100 AD there were 50,000 miles of major roads and more than 200,000 miles of secondary roads connecting each of the cities in the empire. .
Augustus turned our city of Rome from a city of brick into a city of marble as he liked to say. A building material was discovered and was used to make roads and bridges. This building substance was concrete. We figured out that if we mixed lime mortar, pour it into a wooden mold, and then wait for it to dry then we would have a substance that was as hard as stone. This was a new age for us because the concrete formed the backbone of Rome's bold architecture. These materials were then covered with a costly material, usually marble, to look more decorative. This was used around the city and people claimed that it looked as if it were the world capital, for which of course we are. .
The last important contribution to the Pax Romana Augustus made was setting up the civil service. This service was open to anybody of all ranks. The civil service took care of Rome's grain supply, road repairs, the postal system, and all the other work of running the empire. Even the former slaves worked hard to find many of the highest and most influential positions because they were given a rare opportunity to improve their lot, so they served Augustus hard and well. Even when Augustus died the Pax Romana still went on.
