Bust of emperor Augustus

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Augustus was a visionary leader who established the Roman Principate and earned the title of Rome's first emperor, ruling the vast empire from 27 BC until his passing in AD 14. He was born Gaius Octavius into an illustrious and affluent equestrian family that boasted a long history within the plebeian gens Octavia. His maternal great-uncle Julius Caesar met a tragic end in 44 BC, and Octavius was designated as Caesar's adopted son and heir, subsequently known as Octavianus or Octavian. Octavian, Mark Antony, and Marcus Lepidus formed an alliance known as the Second Triumvirate to avenge Caesar's assassination and defeat his murderers. After their triumph at the Battle of Philippi, the Triumvirate parcelled out power within the Roman Republic among themselves and governed as military dictators. However, internal conflicts eventually tore the Triumvirate apart, with Lepidus being forced into exile and stripped of his authority, while Antony took his own life following his defeat at the Battle of Actium by Octavian in 31 BC.