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Augustus (pluralAugusti;/ɔːˈɡʌstəs/aw-GUST-əs,[1]Classical Latin:[au̯ˈɡʊstʊs]; "majestic", "great" or "venerable") was the main title of theRoman emperors duringAntiquity.[2][3][4] It was given as both name and title toGaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (often referred to simply asAugustus) in 27 BC, marking his accession as Rome's first emperor. On his death, it became an official title of his successor, and was so used by all emperors thereafter. The feminine formAugusta was used for Roman empresses and other female members of the imperial family. The masculine and feminine forms originated in the time of theRoman Republic, in connection with things considered divine or sacred intraditional Roman religion. Their use as titles for major and minor Roman deities of the Empire associated the imperial system and family with traditional Roman virtues and the divine will and may be considered a feature of theRoman imperial cult.
In Rome'sGreek-speaking provinces, "Augustus" was translated asSebastos (Σεβαστός), or Hellenised asAugoustos (Αὔγουστος); these titles continued to be used in theByzantine Empire until theFall of Constantinople in 1453, although they gradually lost their imperial exclusivity in favour ofBasileus andAutokrator.
After thefall of the Western Roman Empire, the title "Augustus" would later be incorporated into the style of theHoly Roman Emperor, a precedent set byCharlemagne who used the titleserenissimus Augustus. As such, Augustus was sometimes also used as a name for men of aristocratic birth, especially in the lands of theHoly Roman Empire. It remains agiven name for males.
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Some thirty years before its first association with Caesar's heir,augustus was an obscure honorific with religious associations. One early context (58 BC) associates it with provincialLares (Roman household gods).[5] In Latin poetry and prose, it signifies the further elevation or augmentation of what is already sacred or religious.[6] Some Roman sources connected it toaugury, and Rome was said to have been founded with the "august augury" of Romulus.[7]
The first true Roman known as "Augustus" (and first counted as aRoman emperor) wasOctavian. He was the grand-nephew and later posthumously adopted as the son and heir ofJulius Caesar, who had been murdered for his seeming aspiration to divine monarchy, then subsequently and officially deified. Octavian studiously avoided any association with Caesar's claims, other than acknowledging his position and duties asDivi filius ("son of the deified one"). Nevertheless, his position was unique and extraordinary. He had ended Rome's prolonged and bloody civil war with his victory atActium, and established a lasting peace. He was self-evidently favoured by the gods. Asprinceps senatus ("first man or head of the senate") he presided at senatorial meetings. He waspontifex maximus, chief priest of Roman state religion. He heldconsularimperium, withauthority equal to the official chief executive. He was supreme commander of allRoman legions, and heldtribunicia potestas ("tribunician power"). As a tribune, his person was inviolable (sacrosanctitas) and he had the right toveto any act or proposal by any magistrate within Rome.
He was officially renamedAugustus by theRoman Senate on 16 January 27 BC – or perhaps the Senate ratified his own careful choice; "Romulus" had been considered, and rejected.[8][9] This name was deemed too blatant as it would make Octavius the second founder of Rome.[10] So his official renaming in a form vaguely associated with a traditionally Republican religiosity, but unprecedented as acognomen, may have served to show that he owed his position to the approval of Rome and its gods, and possibly his own unique, elevated, "godlike" nature and talents.[8] His full and official title thus becameImperatorCaesarDivi Filius Augustus.
Augustus' religious reforms extended or affirmedAugusti as a near ubiquitous title or honour for various minor local deities, including theLares Augusti of local communities, and obscure provincial deities such as theNorth AfricanMarazgu Augustus. This extension of an Imperial honorific to major and minor deities of Rome and her provinces is considered a ground-level feature ofImperial cult, which continued until the official replacement of Rome's traditional religions by Christianity. The religious ambiguity of the title allowed for this kind of deification throughout the empire as subjects – beginning fromAsia andBithynia – adopted the worship of thegenius or soul of Augustus, establishing a ruler-cult.[11]
The first emperor bequeathed the titleAugustus to his adopted heir and successorTiberius in his will.[4] From then on, though it conferred no specific legal powers,Augustus was a titular element of the imperial name.[4] Subsequently, the title was bestowed by theRoman Senate.[4] Until the reign ofMarcus Aurelius (r. 161–180), the title was unique to its bearer; in 161 Marcus Aurelius elevatedLucius Verus (r. 161–169) toAugustus and both bore the title at the same time.[4]
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The date of an emperor's investiture with the titleAugustus was celebrated as thedies imperii and commemorated annually.[4] From the 3rd century, new emperors were often acclaimed asAugusti by thearmy.[4] Emperors also inheritedCaesar (originally a family name) as part of their titles. TheTetrarchy instituted byDiocletian shared power between twoAugusti and twoCaesares.[4] Nevertheless, asAugustus senior, Diocletian retained legislative power.[4] Diocletian and his eventual successor after thecivil wars of the Tetrarchy,Constantine the Great, both used the titlesemper Augustus ('ever Augustus'), which indicates a formalisation of the name in the late 3rd and early 4th centuries.[4] From the reign of Constantine onwards, theAncient Greek:Σεβαστός,romanized: Sebastós was abandoned as the translation of "Augustus" in favour of thehomophone Ancient Greek:Αὔγουστος,romanized: aúgoustos.[4]
Beginning withValentinian the Great and his brotherValens, whom he raised toAugustus pari iure, 'Augustus without reserve' in 364, the concurrentAugusti of the eastern and western provinces were of equal standing.[4] The last emperor proclaimed in the West,Romulus (r. 475–476), adoptedAugustus not only as a title, but also as a proper name (becomingRomulus Augustus pius felix Augustus).[12]
After the victory over theSasanian Empire in theByzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628, the 7th century final phase of theRoman–Persian Wars, the emperorHeraclius introduced the Ancient Greek:βασιλεύς,romanized: basileús,lit. 'monarch' and the titleAugoustos lost importance.[4] Until Heraclius's 629 reforms, royal titles had been eschewed in Rome since the legendaryoverthrow of the Roman monarchy's last kingTarquinius Superbus byLucius Junius Brutus in the late 6th century BC.[4]
The Imperial titles ofimperator,caesar, andaugustus were respectively rendered in Greek asautokratōr,kaisar, andaugoustos (orsebastos[13]). The Greek titles were used in theByzantine Empire until its extinction in 1453, althoughsebastos lost its imperial exclusivity andautokratōr along withbasileus became the exclusive title of the emperor after the 8th century.
Augusta was the female equivalent ofAugustus, and had similar origins as an obscure descriptor with vaguely religious overtones. It was bestowed on some women of the Imperial dynasties, as an indicator of worldly power and influence and a status near to divinity. There was no qualification with higher prestige. The title or honorific was shared by state goddesses associated with the Imperial regime's generosity and provision, such asCeres,Bona Dea,Juno,Minerva, andOps, and by local or minor goddesses around the empire. Other personifications perceived as essentially female and given the title Augusta includePax (peace) andVictoria (victory).
The first woman to receive the honorific Augusta wasLivia Drusilla, by the last will of her husbandAugustus. From his death (14 AD) she was known asJulia Augusta, until her own death in AD 29.
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Charlemagne used the titleserenissimus Augustus as a prefix to his titles. The style assumed byOtto I wasimperator Augustus. The relative simplicity of the style and absence of any mention of Rome was in deference to Byzantium (although he would briefly use the titleimperator Augustus Romanorum ac Francorum (Emperor-Augustus of the Romans and Franks) in 966), which would soon reach the medieval apex of its power. By the 12th century, the standard style of the Emperor had becomeDei gratia Romanorum imperator semper Augustus (By the grace of God, Emperor of the Romans, ever Augustus) and would remain so until at least the 16th century.
The formula ofsemper Augustus ("ever exalted") when translated into German in the late period of the Holy Roman Empire was not rendered literally, but asallzeit Mehrer des Reiches ("ever Increaser of the Realm"), from the transitive verbal meaning ofaugere "to augment, increase".
The Irish High KingBrian Boru (c. 941 – 1014) was described in theAnnals of Ulster asardrí Gaidhel Erenn & Gall & Bretan, August iartair tuaiscirt Eorpa uile ("High King of theGaels of Ireland, theNorsemen and theBritons,Augustus of the whole of north-west Europe"), the only Irish king to receive that distinction.[14][15]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)Gaius Octavius · Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (Octavian) ·Imperator Caesar Augustus | |||||||||||
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