Augustus

Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in AD 14.BC and the Julian after 45 BC. Due to departures from Julius Caesar's intentions, Augustus finished restoring the Julian calendar in March AD 4 and the correspondence between the proleptic Julian calendar and the calendar observed in Rome is uncertain before 8 BC.}} The reign of Augustus initiated an imperial cult and an era of imperial peace (the or ) in which the Roman world was largely free of armed conflict. The principate, a style of government where the emperor showed nominal deference to the Senate, was established during his reign and lasted until the Crisis of the Third Century.

Octavian was born into an equestrian branch of the plebeian Octavia. Following the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC, Octavian was named in Caesar's will as his primary heir. Inheriting Caesar's estate and assuming his name, Octavian fought for the loyalty of Caesar's legions. He, Mark Antony, and Marcus Lepidus formed a triumvirate regime to avenge themselves upon the assassins of Caesar. Following their victory at the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC, the triumvirate divided the Roman Republic among themselves and ruled as ''de facto'' autocrats. The triumvirate was eventually torn apart by the competing ambitions of its members; Lepidus was sidelined in 36 BC and Antony was defeated by Octavian's naval commander Marcus Agrippa 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 Octavian's personal property.

After the demise of the triumvirate, Augustus reached an accord with the remaining Roman elite: he would restore the façade of a free republic, centred around the Senate, the executive magistrates and the legislative assemblies. But his control of the armies meant he maintained autocratic power legitimized by his appointment as commander-in-chief of most Roman armies along with assuming the powers of the tribunate and censorship. A similar ambiguity is seen in his chosen names, the implied rejection of monarchical titles whereby he called himself ('first citizen'), juxtaposed with his adoption of the name Augustus. He was also granted the title () by the Senate.

Augustus dramatically enlarged the empire, annexing Egypt, Dalmatia, Pannonia, Noricum, and Raetia, expanding possessions in Africa, and completing the conquest of Hispania. His expansionism, however, suffered a major setback in Germania. Beyond the frontiers, he secured the empire with a buffer region of client states and negotiated peace with the Parthians. He reformed the Roman system of taxation, developed networks of roads with an official courier system, established a standing professional army, established the Praetorian Guard as well as official police and fire-fighting services for Rome, and renovated much of the city during his reign. Augustus died in AD 14 at age 75 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 adoptive son Tiberius, Livia's son and former husband of Augustus's only biological child, Julia. Provided by Wikipedia