Augustus

Introduction & Top Questions
Rise to power
Military successes
Government and administration
Expansion of the empire
Personality and achievement

Quotes References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

Ancient Roman marble statue of Caesar Augustus in draped robes, standing in front of a stone wall at the archaeological site of Merida.

Marble portrait bust of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa with short hair and a stern expression, displayed against a stone wall at the Museum of the Ara Pacis in Rome.

Map showing the maximum territorial extent of the Roman Empire in AD 117, shaded in yellow, spanning from western Europe and North Africa to the Near East. Major rivers and seas are labeled, and various symbols mark the locations of Roman colonies and municipia established during the Pre-Caesarian, Caesarian, and Augustan periods. The boundary at the death of Emperor Trajan is highlighted.

Ruins of the House of Augustus on Palatine Hill in Rome, with a partially intact building, ancient stone walls, and scattered marble fragments on grassy ground.

Bronze statue of Augustus Caesar in Rome, Italy, shown in military attire with his right arm raised and pointing outward, holding a staff in his left hand.

The Theatre of Marcellus in Rome, showing a large ancient stone structure with multiple arches and columns, and three standing columns in the foreground amid ruins.

At a Glance

Caesar Augustus, marble statue, c. 20 bce; in the Vatican Museums.

Caesar Augustus summary

Augustus Timeline

Augustus’s Achievements

Quizzes

Statue of of the Roman emperor Nero with the lighthouse in the background at Anzio, Lazio region, Italy

Roman and Byzantine Emperors Quiz

"Hello my name is" badge paper sticker (identification, name badge).

Words Named After People Vocabulary Quiz

Overlooking the Roman Forum with Temple of Saturn in Rome, Italy

The Roman Empire

Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm speaking and thanking delegates at the Democratic National Convention (third session), Miami Beach, Florida, July 12, 1972.

Who Was First? Quiz

Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon in Coronation Robes or Napoleon I Emperor of France, 1804 by Baron Francois Gerard or Baron Francois-Pascal-Simon Gerard, from the Musee National, Chateau de Versailles.

Kings and Emperors (Part III) Quiz

Related Questions

How did Augustus reorganize Rome into wards and precincts?
How did Augustus’s government influence the spread of trade, Roman culture, Judaism, and Christianity?
How did Augustus’s rule help create the Pax Romana?
How did Cleopatra’s departure from the Battle of Actium affect Mark Antony’s forces?
How did Egypt’s treasure help Octavian become sole ruler of the Roman world?
How did Julius Caesar introduce the young Octavian to Roman public life?
How did Julius Caesar’s assassination in 44 BCE create an opportunity for Octavian?
How did Octavian become a consul while still very young?
How did Octavian defeat Sextus Pompeius and gain control of the islands near Italy?
How did Octavian gain support from Julius Caesar’s former followers?
How did Octavian reduce the size of the Roman army after the civil wars?
How did Octavian remove Lepidus from the Second Triumvirate?
How did Octavian use propaganda against Mark Antony and Cleopatra?
How did Roman roads and fleets help Augustus maintain order and trade?
How did the Battle of Philippi affect Brutus and Cassius?
How did the principate preserve the appearance of the Roman Republic?
How did the triumvirs use proscriptions and confiscations to secure control of Italy?
How did tribunician power allow Augustus to lead Rome without being a consul?
How was Augustus related to Julius Caesar?
What happened at the Battle of Mutina in 43 BCE?
What role did Marcus Agrippa play in Octavian’s military victories?
What was the Res Gestae Divi Augusti and where was its best-preserved copy found?
When was Augustus born and when did he die?
Where and when did the Battle of Actium take place?
Where was Octavian studying when he learned about Julius Caesar’s assassination?
Who were the members of the Second Triumvirate?
Why did Augustus call himself princeps instead of king?
Why did Augustus create a permanent Praetorian Guard?
Why did Augustus establish professional fire brigades and urban police forces in Rome?
Why did Augustus stop serving as consul every year after 23 BCE?
Why did Mark Antony form an alliance with Cleopatra of Egypt?
Why did Mark Antony marry Octavia, the sister of Octavian?
Why did Octavian, Mark Antony, and Lepidus create the Second Triumvirate?
Why did Octavian appear to give up his powers before the Roman Senate in 27 BCE?
Why did Octavian cooperate with the Roman Senate against Mark Antony at first?
Why did Octavian declare war on Cleopatra rather than directly on Mark Antony?
Why did control of Spain, Gaul, and Syria give Augustus great military power?
Why did the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest stop Roman expansion into Germany?
Why did the Senate give Octavian the name Augustus in 27 BCE?
Why was the Ara Pacis built and what did it commemorate?
Who was Augustus?
Was Augustus related to Julius Caesar?
How did Augustus come to power?
What did Augustus accomplish?
Why is Alexander the Great famous?
What was Alexander the Great’s childhood like?
How did Alexander the Great die?
What was Alexander the Great like?
What is Julius Caesar best known for?
How did Julius Caesar die?

Politics, Law & Government World Leaders Emperors & Empresses

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External Websites

De Imperatoribus - An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors - Augustus
ABC Religion and Ethics - The Kingdom, the Power and the Glory: Why the Baby in a Manger Threatened Caesar
World History Encyclopedia - Augustus
Ohio State University - Origins - Celebrating Roman Emperor Augustus
San Josï¿½ State University - The Timeline of the Life of Octavian, Caesar Augustus
Jewish Virtual Library - Augustus
University of Chicago - The Life of Augustus

Britannica Websites

Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

Augustus - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
Augustus - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

Augustus

Roman emperor

Also known as: Augustus Caesar, Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, Gaius Octavius, Octavian(Show More)

Written by

Michael Grant

President and Vice-Chancellor, Queen's University of Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1959–66. Author of History of Rome and others; editor of Latin Literature and others.

Michael Grant

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Sep. 25, 2026 •History

Augustus (born September 23, 63 bce—died August 19, 14 ce, Nola, near Naples [Italy]) was the first Roman emperor, following the republic, which had been finally destroyed by the dictatorship of Julius Caesar, his great-uncle and adoptive father. His autocratic regime is known as the principate because he was the princeps, the first citizen, at the head of that array of outwardly revived republican institutions that alone made his autocracy palatable. With unlimited patience, skill,...

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