Changes

Early forms of propaganda in the Near East and Egypt took the form of visual, often official art such as statues, inscriptions, and monumental art. Sometimes the art was small scale objects, such as cylinder seals. Other times, propaganda included formal statements on public works such as temples created. A consistent theme in history is as new media became invented, governments used those as vehicles of official propaganda and writing and art became among the earliest forms governments used to portray their central messages. In particular, propaganda often focused on war or serving the gods. In both cases, the favor of the gods is demonstrated through propaganda by showing the ruler's power and favour. Inscriptions in buildings, such as temples, and stele would commemorate great acts by kings. These were often intended to demonstrate that kings accomplished accomplishments and fulfilling their sacred duties by upholding the local religion or belief. This also was the case in war, where defending one's people and demonstrating the power of gods through warfare success was also part of the propaganda literature in the Near East, Egypt, and up to China from the 3rd to 1st millennium BCE.<ref>For more on early propaganda in Egypt and Near East, see: Pu, M., 2005. <i>Enemies of civilization: attitudes toward foreigners in ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, and China </i>. SUNY series in Chinese philosophy and culture. State University of New York Press, Albany. </ref>

In the Roman period, Roman politicians began to compete with other leading politicians for political power. Roman leaders, such as Caesar or Dio Cassius, began the art of creating auto-biographies where the authors wrote accounts of battles in wild lands and tribes, such as in Gaul (France) and Caledonian (Scotland). These works were not just historical accounts, although they provide historical detail, but they are intended to serve as propaganda for their vision of Rome and the leadership they provided. They also portrayed those outside of Rome as savages who were unenlightened and helping to justify Roman invasion. Whether it was the Roman standard or other official art, Rome was generally shown as the civilizing power that brought light and justice to those who were conquered. Even well known literature, such as the <i>Aeneid</i>, were written at a timeof propaganda, in this that it was written during the reign of Augustus (the first emperor), where Rome was increasing its Mediterranean authority. Roman triumphs were used to show the glory of the emperor or leader as well as the power of Rome to the wider public through a large spectacle that demonstrated Rome's civilizing power (Figure 1). In the <i>Aeneid</i>, the works of the Greeks are described as great achievements, but even the Greeks needed Roman authority to govern. These works justified the emperor's actions as well as Roman conquest and subsequent governing. Roman triumphs were used to show the glory of the emperor or leader as well as the power of Rome to the wider public through a large spectacle that demonstrated Rome's great military and civilizing power (Figure 1). The emperor cult also began during the time of Augustus, where emperors were worshiped as demi-gods or rulers who were divinely approved. Propaganda did shift over time, from the 1st century CE to 2nd century CE, conquests were critical, thus propaganda justified this. From the 2nd century CE, civil authority and benefit were part of the propaganda. Emperors demonstrating their achievement in public works was just as critical as those who were successful in the battlefield. Roman propaganda often had different audiences. Often, military propaganda focused on the army, as they helped to command influence and building reputation among the rulers , which helped them rulers to solidify their power. As Roman citizenship expanded, Rome portrayed itself as the civilizing power where imperialism and gaining citizenship helped bring order in an otherwise chaotic world. Thus, becoming a Roman citizen was a pinnacle of achievement.<ref>For more on Roman propaganda, see: Jowett, G., O’Donnell, V., 1999. <i>Propaganda and persuasion</i>. 3rd ed. ed. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, pg. 54.</ref>