Octavian Augustus

Octavian Augustus (23 September 63 BC-19 August AD 14), born Gaius Octavius Thurinus, was adopted by his great-uncle Julius Caesar in 44 BC at the age of 18, and was thenceforth known as Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus. He became the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in AD 14.
    He initially came to power as part of the military dictatorship known as the Second Triumvirate (in cahoots with Mark Antony and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus) following the assassination of Caesar in 44 BC. The Triumvirate was eventually torn apart under the competing ambitions of its rulers: Lepidus was driven into exile, and Antony committed suicide following his defeat at the Battle of Actium by the fleet of Octavian in 31 BC.
    After the Triumvirate’s demise, he restored the outward façade of the Roman Republic, while in practice maintaining an iron grip of autocratic rule, through patronage, military power, and accumulation of the offices of the defunct Republic. This would later become the model for all imperial government.
    The rule of Augustus began an era of relative peace known as the Pax Romana, or Roman peace. Despite continuous frontier wars, and one year-long civil war over the imperial succession, the Mediterranean world remained at peace for more than two centuries.
    Augustus expanded the Roman Empire, secured its boundaries with client states, and made peace with Parthia through diplomacy. Much of Rome was rebuilt under Augustus. He wrote a record of his own accomplishments, known as the Res Gestae Divi Augusti, which has survived.
    Upon his death in AD 14, Augustus was declared a god by the Senate, to be worshipped by the Romans. His names Augustus and Caesar were adopted by every subsequent emperor. He was succeeded by his stepson and son-in-law, Tiberius.
 

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