Brief Background of the Name Octavian

That the empire survived the civil wars that destroyed the republic was largely due to the long life (63 B.C.-14 A.D.) and political skill of Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, later known as Augustus. He was the first emperor of Rome and founder of a Roman state that endured for centuries. Gaius Octavian was born on September 23, 63 B.C., to C. Octavius and atia, a niece of Julius Caesar, by his sister Julia. The family of Octavian was a good one, but its alliance to the Julians was far more important, and Octavian came under their direct influence when his father died in 59 B.C. Atia raised him and ensured his education by grammarians and philosophers, but it was Julius Caesar himself who had the most impact upon Octavian, and who had personally prepared him with the greatest opportunities. The Roman world had thought Marc Antony, Caesar’s powerful Lieutenant, would be next in line after Caesar but they were soon to find that Julius Caesar would leave a will naming Octavian, a virtually unknown, as his adopted son and chief heir to his throne.