After the defeat of Anthony and Cleopatra in a sea battle off Actium in 31 BC, Octavian, Julius Caesar's great-nephew and heir, became sole ruler and the first emperor of the Roman world. He brought a lasting peace after thirteen years of civil war and in 27 BC the Senate bestowed upon him the title Augustus.
He instigated the rebuilding of Rome, boasting that he left it a city of marble, though he found it one of brick. His reforms encompassed law, finance, administration, the army and family life, and he encouraged the revival of Rome's traditional religion. These internal measures were designed to strengthen the empire.
Augustus was glorified in Virgil's epic poem, the 'Aeneid'. His chosen heirs all died young, forcing him to appoint his step-son Tiberius as successor. Shortly after his death in AD 14 Augustus was deified by the Senate.
