Augustus Caesar
Augustus Caesar (63 BCE–14 CE), born Gaius Octavius and named Caesar's heir in his will, became Rome's first emperor by defeating all rivals in the civil wars following Caesar's assassination, and then, as perhaps history's most sophisticated mythmaker, built a new Roman order that looked superficially like the Republic while concentrating all real power in one man, beginning a 200-year period known as the Pax Romana.
At 18, Octavian had no military record, no political connections, and no apparent qualifications for power. What he had was Caesar's name and Caesar's will, which specified him as adopted son and heir, and which promised every Roman citizen three months of soldier's wages from Caesar's personal fortune. Octavian borrowed the money to honor the will immediately, establishing himself in the public mind as Caesar's legitimate successor before any rival could challenge the claim. It was perhaps the most consequential financial decision in Roman history.
The civil wars that followed (44–31 BCE) required Octavian to form and dissolve alliances with extraordinary tactical flexibility: alliance with Mark Antony and Lepidus against the conspirators, then war against Antony after Lepidus was sidelined, then final war against Antony and Cleopatra culminating at Actium in 31 BCE. Octavian won because he was patient, calculating, and willing to let others take military risks he managed politically, the opposite of Alexander's personal-glory approach.
As Augustus ('the revered one', a title he accepted in 27 BCE), he was a master of republican theater. He kept the Senate, the consuls, and the Republican institutions nominally intact. He refused the title 'king' and insisted he was merely princeps (first citizen). He dressed simply and lived in a relatively modest house on the Palatine Hill. But he controlled Egypt (the empire's primary revenue source), commanded the professional army, and held tribunicia potestas (the tribunes' veto power) permanently, making him constitutionally unchallenged without appearing constitutionally unprecedented. The Principate, as historians call his system, was monarchy in republican costume.
Related articles
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
How did Octavian become Augustus Caesar? ＋
Named heir in Caesar's will at 18, Octavian immediately borrowed money to distribute Caesar's legacy to every Roman citizen, establishing legitimacy through generosity. He outmaneuvered Mark Antony, Lepidus, and the conspirators through a decade of civil wars, winning the final battle at Actium in 31 BCE. He then constructed 'the Principate', Roman monarchy disguised as restored republic, taking the title Augustus rather than king.
Was Augustus Caesar actually a republican or a monarch? ＋
Effectively a monarch with republican window-dressing. Augustus kept the Senate, consuls, and Republican institutions nominally intact, refused the title 'king,' and lived relatively simply. But he owned Egypt personally, controlled the professional army through his own pay system, held the tribunes' veto power permanently, and could not be removed from any of these positions. Republican form; monarchical substance, and he maintained the theater with extraordinary skill for 40 years.