![]() In his childhood, he received the cognomen "Thurinus", possibly commemorating his father's victory at Thurii over a rebellious band of slaves which occurred a few years after his birth. He was born at Ox Head, a small property on the Palatine Hill, very close to the Roman Forum. His paternal family was from the Volscian town of Velletri, approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) south-east of the city. He was born in Rome on 23 September 63 BC. The name is sometimes given as "Augustus Caesar". Historians use this name to refer to him from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. On 16 January 27 BC, partly on his own insistence, the Roman Senate granted him the honorific Augustus ( Latin: ). Occasionally the epithet divi filius or divi Iuli(i) filius ("son of the divine Julius") was included, alluding to Julius Caesar's deification in 42 BC. Octavian's early coins and inscriptions all refer to him simply as Gaius Caesar, but by 38 BC he had replaced "Gaius" with the victory title imperator ("commander"). In English he is mainly known by the anglicization "Octavian" ( / ɒ k ˈ t eɪ v i ə n/ ok- TAY-vee-ən) for the period between 44 and 27 BC. ![]() After his adoption by Julius Caesar on the latter's death in 44 BC, he took from Caesar's name, but was often distinguished by historians from his adoptive father by the addition "Octavianus" ( Latin: ) after the name, denoting that he was a former member of the gens Octavia. In response, he merely said he was surprised that "using his old name was thought to be an insult". Later, after he had taken the name of Caesar, his rival Mark Antony referred to him as "Thurinus" in order to belittle him. ![]() According to Suetonius, the cognomen Thurinus ( Latin: ) was added to his birth name as a toddler in 60 BC. Gaius Octavius ( / ɒ k ˈ t eɪ v i ə s/ ok- TAY-vee-əs, Latin: ).He was succeeded as emperor by his adopted son Tiberius, Livia's son and former husband of Augustus' only biological child Julia.Īs a consequence of Roman customs, society, and personal preference, Augustus ( / ɔː ˈ ɡ ʌ s t ə s/ aw- GUST-əs) was known by many names throughout his life: Persistent rumors, substantiated somewhat by deaths in the imperial family, have claimed his wife Livia poisoned him. Augustus died in AD 14 at age 75, probably from natural causes. He reformed the Roman system of taxation, developed networks of roads with an official courier system, established a standing army, established the Praetorian Guard as well as official police and fire-fighting services for Rome, and rebuilt much of the city during his reign. Beyond the frontiers, he secured the empire with a buffer region of client states and made peace with the Parthian Empire through diplomacy. A similar ambiguity is seen in his chosen names, the implied rejection of monarchical titles whereby he called himself Princeps Civitatis (First Citizen) juxtaposed with his adoption of the title Augustus.Īugustus dramatically enlarged the empire, annexing Egypt, Dalmatia, Pannonia, Noricum, and Raetia, expanding possessions in Africa, and completing the conquest of Hispania, but he suffered a major setback in Germania. Antony and his wife Cleopatra, the Ptolemaic queen of Egypt, killed themselves during Octavian's invasion of Egypt, which then became a Roman province.Īfter the demise of the Second Triumvirate, Augustus restored the outward facade of the free republic, with governmental power vested in the Roman Senate, the executive magistrates and the legislative assemblies, yet he maintained autocratic authority by having the Senate grant him lifetime tenure as commander-in-chief, tribune and censor. The Triumvirate was eventually torn apart by the competing ambitions of its members Lepidus was exiled in 36 BC, and Antony was defeated by Octavian at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC. ![]() Following their victory at the Battle of Philippi (42 BC), the Triumvirate divided the Roman Republic among themselves and ruled as de facto dictators. He, Mark Antony, and Marcus Lepidus formed the Second Triumvirate to defeat the assassins of Caesar. His maternal great-uncle Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC, and Octavian was named in Caesar's will as his adopted son and heir as a result, he inherited Caesar's name, estate, and the loyalty of his legions. Octavian was born into an old and wealthy equestrian branch of the plebeian gens Octavia. The Principate system of imperial rule established by Augustus lasted until the Crisis of the Third Century. The reign of Augustus initiated an imperial cult as well as an era associated with imperial peace, the Pax Romana or Pax Augusta, in which the Roman world was largely free of armed conflict aside from expansionary wars and the Year of the Four Emperors. Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavianus or Octavian, was the founder of the Roman Empire he reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in AD 14.
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