The emperor Augustus was born Gaius Octavius in 63 BCE.  In his will, Julius Caesar had adopted Octavius and made him his heir, so that after Caesar's assassination in 44 BCE, Octavius took the name Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus. Augustus, the new name confirmed on him by the senate in 27 BCE, means "worthy of reverence" (i.e., as a god) and is the equivalent of the Greek sebastos. He ruled Rome from 31 BCE to 14, bringing peace and political stability to Rome through the centralization of power.

Coin featuring head of Augustus on obverse with IMP CAESAR underneath; the reverse has AVGVSTVS across the field.