Augustus (honorific) - Caesar Augustus

Caesar Augustus

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, Augustus (as he became 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 recognized 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 leader of the Senate, presiding over the meetings and bringing forth motions before the body, equivalent to a modern day prime minister or American Speaker of the House; as pontifex maximus he was the chief priest of the Roman state religion.

As bearing consular imperium he had authority equal to the official chief executive (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, acting as the chief officer for the general legislative body of the people.

This concentration of powers became the ideal model, as presented by the surviving histories, by which all subsequent emperors were to have ruled Rome in theory (in practice this systematic and sophisticated theory gradually lost any resemblance to reality and completely collapsed in the 3rd and 4th centuries, when the emperors became rather more reminiscent of oriental despots, nakedly displaying their despotic and monarchical power, than the moderate "first among equals").

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 renamed himself "Imperator Caesar Augustus"); of these names, only "Augustus" was unique to the emperor himself (although the emperor's mother or wife could bear the name "Augusta"), as others could and did bear the titles "Imperator", and "Caesar" was the name of a clan within the Julian line.

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 ("First among the Youth"). Upon accession to the purple, the new emperor usually adopted at least one of these titles and integrated it into their official name. Later emperors took to inserting Pius Felix, "Pious and Blessed", and Invictus, "Unconquered", into his personal names.

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"). "Augustus" in and of itself signified that the individual in question had both the dignitas and auctoritas to hold these informal positions.

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, though as time passed imperator or Caesar became more common terms.