General Notes

Augustus (63 BC-AD 14), first emperor of Rome (27 BC-AD 14), who restored unity and orderly government to the realm after nearly a century of civil wars. He presided over an era of peace, prosperity, and cultural achievement known as the Augustan Age. Originally named Gaius Octavius (and known as Octavian), Augustus was born in Rome; he was the grandnephew and adoptive heir of Julius Caesar.
Caesar's assassination in 44 BC plunged Rome into turmoil. Octavian vied with Mark Antony, Caesar's ambitious colleague, for power and honor. In 43 BC Octavian, Antony, and Roman general Marcus Aemilius Lepidus formed the Second Triumvirate to rule the Roman domains. After defeating the armies of Caesar's assassins, the three divided the Roman world among them. Octavian gave Antony his sister, Octavia, in marriage.
The triumvirate did not hold together for long. Octavian forced Lepidus from power while Antony was in the east fighting the Parthians. Having sent Octavia back to Rome, Antony married Cleopatra, queen of Egypt. Octavian defeated the combined naval forces of Antony and Cleopatra in the Battle of Actium in 31 BC; Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide the following year. In 29 BC Octavian returned to Rome in triumph, at age 34 the sole master of the Roman world.
In 27 BC the Roman Senate gave Octavian the title Augustus and bestowed on him many other titles and powers that had been held by different officials in the Republic. The Senate vested him with paramount authority throughout the empire. Despite all this, Augustus carefully avoided the appearance of monarchy, claiming that he had restored the Roman Republic. Augustus was succeeded by his stepson and son-in-law, Tiberius.

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