Caesar Augustus (born
Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as
Octavian, was the founder of the
Roman Empire; he reigned as the first
Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in AD 14.
[a] 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. The
Principate system of imperial rule established by Augustus lasted until the
Crisis of the Third Century.
Gaius Octavius was born into an old and wealthy
equestrian branch of the
plebeian gens Octavia. His maternal great-uncle
Julius Caesar was
assassinated in 44 BC, and Octavius 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. He,
Mark Antony, and
Marcus Lepidus formed the
Second Triumvirate to defeat the assassins of Caesar. Following their victory at the
Battle of Philippi (42 BC), the Triumvirate divided the
Roman Republic among themselves and ruled as
de facto dictators. 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. Antony and his wife
Cleopatra, the
Ptolemaic queen of
Egypt,
killed themselves during Octavian's invasion of Egypt, which then became a
Roman province.
After 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. 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.
Augustus 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. Beyond the frontiers, he secured the empire with a buffer region of
client states and made peace with the
Parthian Empire through diplomacy. 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. Augustus died in AD 14 at age 75, probably from natural causes. Persistent rumors, substantiated somewhat by deaths in the imperial family, have claimed his wife
Livia poisoned him. He was succeeded as emperor by his adopted son
Tiberius, Livia's son and former husband of Augustus' only biological child
Julia.