Augustus (honorific)

:For the Emperor, see Caesar Augustus. For his (last) wife, see Julia Augusta

Origin and nature

Although the use of the cognomen "Augustus" as part of one's name is generally understood to identify the Emperor Augustus, this is somewhat misleading; "Augustus" was the most significant name associated with the Emperor, but it did not actually represent any sort of constitutional office. The Imperial dignity was not an ordinary office, but rather an extraordinary concentration of ordinary powers in the hands of one man; "Augustus" was the name that unambiguously identified that man.

Related Topics:
Cognomen - Emperor Augustus

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• The first "Augustus" (and first man counted as a Roman Emperor) was Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, who was given that name by the Roman Senate on January 16, 27 BC; over the next forty years, Caesar Augustus (as he is now known) literally set the standard by which subsequent Emperors could be recognised, by accumulating various offices and powers and making his own name ("Augustus") identifiable with the consolidation of powers. Although the name signified nothing in constitutional theory, it was recognised as representing all the powers that Caesar Augustus had accumulated.

As princeps senatus (lit., "prince of the senate", "first man of the senate") he was the parliamentary leader of the house in the Senate and received diplomatic embassages on behalf of that body; as pontifex maximus (lit. "greatest bridgemaker") he was the chief priest of the Roman state religion; as bearing consular imperium he had authority equal to the official chief (and eponymous) magistrates within Rome and as bearing imperium maius he had authority greater than theirs outside Rome (because of this, he outranked all provincial governors and was also supreme commander of all Roman legions); as bearing tribunicia potestas ("tribunician power") he had personal inviolability (sacrosanctitas) and the right to veto any act or proposal by any magistrate within Rome. This concentration of powers became the model by which all subsequent Emperors ruled Rome in constitutional theory (in practice this systematic and sophisticated theory gradually lost any resemblance to reality in the III and IV centuries, when the Emperors became rather more reminiscent of oriental despots than "first among equals").

Related Topics:
Princeps senatus - Pontifex maximus - Consul - Imperium - Eponym - Rome - Legion - Tribunicia potestas - Veto - III - IV centuries

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• Octavian "Caesar Augustus" also set the standard by which Roman Emperors were named. The three titles used by the majority of Roman Emperors -- "imperator", "caesar" and "augustus" -- were all used personally by Caesar Augustus (he officially styled himself "Imperator Caesar Augustus"); of these names, only "Augustus" was unique to the Emperor himself, as others could and did bear the titles "Imperator" and "Caesar" (it should be noted, however, that the Emperor's mother or wife could bear the name "Augusta"). It became customary for an Emperor-designate to adopt the name NN. Caesar (where NN. is the individual's personal name) or later NN. Nobilissimus Caesar ("NN. Most Noble Caesar"), and occasionally to be awarded the title Princeps Iuventutis ("Prince of Youth"). Upon accession to the purple, the new Emperor usually adopted the name Imperator Caesar NN. Augustus (later Emperors took to inserting Pius Felix, "Pious and Blest", and Invictus, "Unconquered", between their personal names and Augustus).

In this usage, by signifying the complete assumption of all Imperial powers, "Augustus" is roughly analogous to "Emperor", though a modern reader should be careful not to project onto the ancients a modern, monarchical understanding of what an emperor is. As noted, there was no constitutional office associated with the imperial dignity; the Emperor's personal authority (dignitas) and influence (auctoritas) derived from his position as princeps senatus, and his legal authority derived from his consulari imperium and tribunicia potestas; in Roman constitutional theory, one might consider "augustus" as being shorthand for "princeps senatus et pontifex maximus consulari imperio et tribuniciae potestate" (loosely, "Leader of the House and Chief Priest with Consular Imperium and Tribunician Power").

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In many ways, "augustus" is comparable to the British dignity of prince; it is a personal title, dignity, or attribute rather than a title of nobility such as duke or king. The Emperor was most commonly referred to as princeps (basileus, "king", in Greek).

Related Topics:
British - Prince - Duke

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