The contribution of Augustus to the consolidation and stabilization of the 'Empire' from a governing and military perspective was immense, but the legacy of the man is perhaps best exemplified in his contribution to public works and infrastructure. While Augustus was a necessity to the success of the new imperial government, veiled as a continuation of Republican ideals, without his other contributions, its continuing success may have been in jeopardy. His reinstitution of conservative policy and wide scale public improvements helped to not only bring Rome out of the ashes of a century of civil war, but established Augustus as the unassailable and unchallenged ruler of the Roman world for nearly half a century.
Legislation was introduced under Augustus that (according to his own words in the Res Gestae) "restored many traditions of the ancestors, which were falling into disuse in our age, and I handed on precedents of many things to be imitated in later generations." Among these traditions 'restored' were laws limiting public displays of extravagance. This not only helped secure his own position by limiting the political popularity of potential demagogues, but brought a semblance of refined dignity back to the Senatorial order.
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