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AUGUSTUS 63 BC - AD 14 Roman Emperor |
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Augustus was the first Roman emperor who established the form of
government under which Rome ruled the empire for 300 years.
Caesar's murder in 44 BC plunged the Roman world into civil war, from which Caesar's adopted son, Ocatavian, emerged victorious. He claimed to have restored the Republic and declined to be dictator or king. He was to be called Augustus Caesar, and became in fact the first of the Roman emperors. Augustus had great administrative gifts, he centralized the power of the Roman empire of his day in Rome itself, and he proclaimed world peace, or 'Pax Augusta' ending the endless violence of the civil wars. Rome reached its greatest glory under his reign which was also the golden age of Roman literature and architecture. He also introduced a system of succession whereby the reigning emperor designated a member of his family as successor. By the time of his death, his adoptive son, Tiberius, had already become his successor in all but name. |
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