Augustus | 27-23 BCE | Bust/Laurel wreath

Comment: A lovely coin in the hand. Not as fancy as other Augustus coins but the color really makes the details pop. 

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First Settlement and Augustus

On 13 January 27 BC, Octavian made a show of returning full power to the Roman Senate and relinquishing his control of the Roman provinces and their armies. Under his consulship, however, the Senate had little power in initiating legislation by introducing bills for senatorial debate. Octavian was no longer in direct control of the provinces and their armies, but he retained the loyalty of active duty soldiers and veterans alike. The careers of many clients and adherents depended on his patronage, as his financial power was unrivaled in the Roman Republic.

Feigning reluctance, he accepted a ten-year responsibility of overseeing provinces that were considered chaotic. The provinces ceded to Augustus for that ten-year period comprised much of the conquered Roman world, including all of Hispania and Gaul, Syria, Cilicia, Cyprus, and Egypt. Moreover, command of these provinces provided Octavian with control over the majority of Rome's legions.

On 16 January 27 BC the Senate gave Octavian the titles of augustus and princeps. Augustus is from the Latin word augere (meaning to increase) and can be translated as "the illustrious one". It was a title of religious authority rather than political authority. His name of Augustus was also more favorable than Romulus, the previous one which he styled for himself in reference to the story of the legendary founder of Rome, which symbolized a second founding of Rome. The title of Romulus was associated too strongly with notions of monarchy and kingship, an image that Octavian tried to avoid. The title princeps senatus originally meant the member of the Senate with the highest precedence, but in this case it became an almost regnal title for a leader who was first in charge. The name augustus was inherited by all future emperors, eventually becoming, at least in practice, the main title of the emperor. As a result, modern historians usually regard this event as the beginning of Augustus' reign as "emperor". Augustus also styled himself as Imperator Caesar divi filius, "Commander Caesar son of the deified one". With this title, he boasted his familial link to deified Julius Caesar, and the use of imperator signified a permanent link to the Roman tradition of victory. He transformed Caesar, a cognomen for one branch of the Julian family, into a new family line that began with him.

Riferimento : McAlee 190. RPC I 4100

Collezione : Julio-Claudian Dynasty