Augustus was born Octavian, the nephew of Julius Caesar. He was later adopted by his uncle and inherited his supporters. Following his uncle's murder in 44 BC, Octavian formed a triumvirate with Marcus Antonius and Marcus Aemilianus Lepidus, which descended into a civil war from which Octavian emerged victorious. Slowly Octavian became what we now come to recognise as an emperor, a term itself derived from the title the senate gave to Octavian: imperator. Though the senate continued to exist, and Rome was nominally still a republic, Octavian was becoming more and more of a Roman autocrat. In 27 BC he was given the honourific title of Augustus, the name by which he is best known today.

He greatly expanded what was now the Roman Empire, and beautified the capital with a carefully orchestrated wave of propaganda. When he died in 14 AD, he was succeeded by his stepson, Tiberius, and a long line of autocrats all known by the title of 'Augustus', emperor.

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