Home Encyclopedia Summa Fathers ... A > Augustus A B C D ... Z Augustus The name by which Caius Julius Caesar Octavianus, the first Roman emperor, in whose reign Jesus Christ was born, is usually known; born at Rome, 62 B.C.; died A.D. 14. It is the title which he received from the Senate 27 B.C., in gratitude for the restoration of some privileges of which that body had been deprived. The name was afterwards assumed by all his successors. Augustus belonged to the gens Octavia and was the son of Caius Octavius, a praetor. He was the grand-nephew of (Caius) Julius Caesar, and was named in the latter's will as his principal heir. After the murder of Julius Caesar, the young Octavianus proceeded to Rome to gain possession of his inheritance. Though originally in league with the republican party, he eventually allied himself with Mark Antony. Through his own popularity, and in opposition to the will of the senate he succeeded (43 B.C.) in obtaining the consulate. In the same year he entered into a pat with Antony and Lepidus by which it was agreed that for five years they would control the affairs of Rome. This (second) Triumvirate ( tresviri reipublicae constituendae ) so apportioned the Roman dominions that Lepidus received Spain; Antony, Gaul; and Augustus, Africa, Sicily, and Sardinia. The first concerted move of the Triumvirate was to proceed against the murderers of Caesar and the party of the Senate under the leadership of Brutus and Cassius. A crushing defeat was inflicted on the latter at the battle of Philippi (42 B.C.), after which the fate of Rome rested practically in the hands of two men. Lepidus, always treated with neglect, sought to obtain Sicily for himself, but Augustus soon won over his troops, and, on his submission, sent him to Rome where he spent the rest of his life as | |
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