Augustus, Romans [Introduction - part 1 of 7] (Photo Archive)

Gaius Octavius, later Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus and Imperator Caesar Augustus (63 BCE - 14 CE) was the founder of the Roman Empire and its first emperor. Before being accorded the title Augustus by the Senate in 27 BCE, he was normally referred to as Octavian.

Gaius Octavius was a great-nephew of Julius Caesar (grandson of Caesar's sister Julia). His father Octavius was of undistinguished birth, but reached the praetorship and married Atia, a daughter of Caesar's only daughter Julia before his premature death when Gaius Octavius was four. Octavius grew up outside Rome in a small provincial city. His first public appearance was in 51 BCE when his grandmother Julia died and he delivered the eulogy at her funeral.

Reaching maturity in 48 BCE he embarked on a normal patrician career (as normal as it could be under Caesar's dictatorship), which included political, military and religious offices. Caesar must have noticed him early and advanced his career, but their relationship is not clear. It is not known why and when Caesar decided on Octavius as his successor.

Octavius was elected to the pontifical college in 48 BCE, and he participated in the four triumphs Caesar celebrated in 46 BCE. In 45 BCE he followed Caesar to Spain and fought honourably in the battle of Munda against the last of the followers of Pompey. In 44 BCE Octavius was in Illyricum in preparation for the Parthian campaign Caesar had planned.

When Caesar was murdered in 44 BCE, Octavius decided to return to Rome, but when he heard of the way Caesar was killed and that Caesar had adopted him as principal heir, he knew that he was in danger. Yet he returned to Rome as a private citizen to obtain the recognition of his adoption and to take possession of his vast inheritance.

This article has been split into 7 separate sections. Use the menu below to jump to another section.

Documents related to "Augustus":

Agrippa - Roman general and close associate of Augustus (c. 63 BCE - 12 BCE) (Romans, Historical Persons)
Forum of Caesar (Rome, Italy)
Gaius Caesar - Grandson and designated heir to emperor Augustus (Romans, Historical Persons)
Julia - Daughter of Augustus and Scribonia, wife of Agrippa and Tiberius (Romans, Historical Persons)
Julius Caesar - Roman patrician, politician, writer, reformator, general, dictator and god (Romans, Historical Persons)
Livia - Roman Empress (27 BCE-14 CE), wife of Augustus and mother of Tiberius (Romans, Historical Persons)
Lucius Caesar - Grandson and designated heir to emperor Augustus (Romans, Historical Persons)
Tiberius - Roman Emperor (14-37 CE) (Romans, Historical Persons)

Documents linking to "Augustus":

Agrippina the Elder - Roman princess, daughter of Agrippa and Julia, wife of Germanicus, mother of Caligula (Romans, Historical Persons)
Arch of Augustus - Triumphal arch celebrating Augustus' victory at Actium (Forum Romanum, Rome, Italy)
Basilica Aemilia - The last of the republican basilicas in the Forum Romanum (Forum Romanum, Rome, Italy)
Colossal Head of Augustus (Cortile della Pigna, Vatican Museums, Vatican City State)
Comitium - The ancient political centre of Rome (Forum Romanum, Rome, Italy)
Curia Julia - The meeting place of the Roman senate (from c. 50 BCE) (Forum Romanum, Rome, Italy)
Domus Publica - The official residence of the Rex Sacrorum on the Via Sacra (Forum Romanum, Rome, Italy)
Forum Romanum - The Roman Forum was the political and religious centre in ancient Rome (Rome, Italy)
Germanicus - Adopted heir of Tiberius (Romans, Historical Persons)
Hadrian's Villa - Luxurious imperial villa from the first century CE (Tivoli, Lazio, Italy)
Lapis Niger and Vulcanal - Archaic monument and altar in the Comitium (Forum Romanum, Rome, Italy)
Marcellus - Augustus' first designated heir (died 23 BCE) (Romans, Historical Persons)
Mars - Roman god of war (Roman Religion and Mythology, Lexicon)
Pontifex maximus - The high priests of ancient Roman religion (Roman Religion and Mythology, Lexicon)
Regia - The house of the Roman kings and later the Pontifex Maximus (Forum Romanum, Rome, Italy)
Roman Calendar - The Romans used a calendar of 13 lunar months (Roman Culture, Lexicon)
Rostra - The speakers platform on the Forum (Forum Romanum, Rome, Italy)
Spring of Juturna - The fountain where Castor and Pollux watered their horses (Forum Romanum, Rome, Italy)
Temple of Augustus - A lost temple dedicated to the deified Augustus (Forum Romanum, Rome, Italy)
Temple of Caesar - Temple dedicated in 29 BC by Augustus to deified Julius Caesar (Forum Romanum, Rome, Italy)
Temple of Janus - A lost temple for the two-faced god Janus (Forum Romanum, Rome, Italy)
Vesta - Goddess of the hearth (Roman Religion and Mythology, Lexicon)
Victoria - Godess of victory (Roman Religion and Mythology, Lexicon)