5. The Dictatorship of Augustus Ushered in the Most Prosperous Stretch of Roman History
The Roman Empire ushered in by Augustus as dictator in fact but not in name, replaced the Roman Republic. It was a stable, autocratic, and centralized de-facto monarchy, whose founding kicked off a period known as the Pax Romana. It brought the Greco-Roman world two centuries of peace, stability, and prosperity.
Augustus held power in the Roman world from 43 BC, first in conjunction with Mark Antony until 31 BC, and thereafter alone, until his death in 14 AD. As he lay dying, Augustus compared the role he had played as emperor to that of an actor on a stage. His last words to those gathered around his deathbed were: “Have I played the part well? Then applaud as I exit“.