Octavian becomes Augustus: how Rome’s first emperor ruled
Octavian became Augustus in 27 BC, when a political settlement confirmed his exceptional position and the Senate awarded him his new name.
2:29 · Episode film
AI-generated historical dramatization.
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How did Augustus become Rome’s first emperor? Follow Caesar’s heir through civil war, Actium and the settlement of 27 BC, and learn how his power worked.
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Rome, 27 BC. Octavian has defeated Antony and Cleopatra and commands the greatest concentration of military power in the Roman world. Before the Senate, he presents a settlement in the language of restoring the Republic. The senators award him the name Augustus. Consuls, assemblies and the Senate continue, while he retains command of major military provinces and their armies. Authority gathers around the leading citizen who promises stability after generations of conflict. From this settlement grows the principate: an imperial order carried through Rome's familiar institutions, with Augustus at its centre.
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