Augustus was born on September 23, 63 BC and died on August 19, AD 14). He was known as Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (in English Octavian) until 27 BC because he was Julius Caesar's heir. He was the first and one of the most important of the Roman Emperors.

He ruled for over 40 years. He ended a century of civil wars and gave Rome an long period of peace, prosperity, and greatness. This time is known as the 'Pax Romana', or Roman peace.

Augustus was made a Roman god soon after his death, and both his borrowed surname, Caesar, and his title Augustus became the permanent titles of the rulers of Rome for the next 400 years.

Also the word Caesar became to mean the word for emperor, as in German (Kaiser) and in Russian (Tsar). Because he was made a god, many statues were made of him for placing in temples and as a result, we now exactly what he looked like.

Many people think he was the greatest of all the Roman emperors.

The things that Augustus did lasted down many centuries. For example, he organised a professional paid army to protect the empire and he stationed these troops near to the borders of the empire so that it could be defended quickly.

He arranged a system for one ruler to take over from another to save the fighting that had always broken out when a ruler died in earlier times.

He paid for many important buildings in Rome, the remains of some can still be seen.

The month of August (Latin Augustus) is named after Augustus; until his time it was called Sextilis (the sixth month of the Roman calendar).

Augustus boasted that he 'found Rome brick and left it marble'. He rebuilt two central parts of Rome, including the building of a huge market place and business centre =, or forum. He also helped in the building of major temples such as the Pantheon.