Augustus Caesar Two thousand years ago, Rome was the greatest nation in the world. It had been a republic for hundreds of years. Augustus Caesar changed it to an empire and after 27 b.c.
Rome was ruled by emperors until finally the Roman Empire ceased to exist. When Augustus was born in 63 b.c., his name was Octavian. He was the adopted son of Julius Caesar, the great general and statesman who ruled Rome as dictator before Octavian. Julius Caesar was murdered, and control of Rome passed into the hands of three men — Mark Antony, Lepidus, and Octavian.
Later Octavian fought and defeated Antony, and became the ruler of Rome. Octavian never wore a crown and never called himself king or emperor, but he had all the power of an emperor and acted like one. He was one of Rome's greatest leaders. He built many roads, set up a good postal system, built beautiful marble temples and palaces, and created a good police force and fire protection system in the city of Rome, the capital of the empire. He encouraged colonists to settle in the empty lands of the empire and established a fair and honest system of taxes. He helped artists and writers, including Horace, Virgil, Ovid, and Livy. The Roman senate gave Octavian the title "Augustus," which means great or majestic, and named the eighth month of the year August in his honor. His family name was Caesar, so he has become known as Augustus Caesar. He died in the year 14.
