He was born Gaius Octavius. After his adoption by Julius Caesar,following the naming conventions for adoptees, he became GaiusJulius Caesar Octavianius. Although historians use the nameOctavian (Octavianus in English) for the period prior to hisbecoming the first Roman emperor, he never used this name. Therenamed himself Imperator Caesar Divi Filius (Winner in Battle, Son of theDivine Caesar). Imperator did not mean emperor. It was a title theRoman troops shouted for their victorious commander. He made a bigdeal of the fact that he was the adoptive son and main heir ofCaesar and used this as the basis for his bid for power. Caesar wasdeified after his death. Hence his renaming himself Son of theDivine Caesar. In 27 BC the senate bestowed the title of Augustuson him (the Venerable One) . So his full name became ImperatorCaesar Divi Filius Augustus. The title Augustus hadreligious connotations, rather than political ones. Althoughhistorians call Augustus and the subsequent Roman rulers emperors.the Romans did not use this title. They used the title of princeps(First Citizen).

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