 The Senate ostensibly still had power and authority over certain Senatorial provinces, but the critical border provinces, such as Syria, Egypt, and Gaul, requiring the greatest numbers of legions, would be directly ruled by Augustus and succeeding Emperors.With the end of the last Republican civil war, the Republic was replaced by the Empire.The reign of Augustus would usher in the golden era of Roman culture and produce a stability which Rome had not seen in over a century.