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Augustus, Emperor Gaius Julius “Divi Filius” Caesar Octavianus Augustus (63 BC – 43 AD) Founder and 1st Emperor of the Roman Empire







Head of statue, thought to be Gaius Octavius

Virgil once declared that “a new race of human beings is descending from the heights of the heavens” with respect to Augustus’ advent as the first Emperor of the Roman Empire in 27 BC. He truly believed that Augustus was the heaven-sent savior of Rome after the assassination of Julius Caesar (100 – 44 BC).

Augustus, both in name and deed, set the bar high for all Roman emperors to follow him. As such, anyone deemed worthy of association with his name had a heavy responsibility to match or rise above his accomplishments. Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (10 BC – 54 AD) was the last to have the same title conferred on him by the Senate. 

Pax Romana, the 200 years of relatively lax imperial expansion, commenced with his rule. He instituted the first organized civil police force and firefighting companies in human history. By all measures, these accomplishments and his others place Augustus as the first effective civic planner and organizer of his caliber as a ruler. On his deathbed, he even boasted, “I found a Rome of bricks; I leave to you one of marble.”

His mother Atia Maior was an agnatic descendant of Aeneas the Dardanian, King of Latium (1245 – 1175 BC) Founder of Alba Longa, and an agnatic cousin of Brutus of Troy (1150 – 1091 BC) 1st King of Britons, Eponymic Founder of Britain and Romulus, the First King of Rome (771 – 717 BC). His great-granddaughter Julia “the Younger” Agrippina was the wife of Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, Emperor of Rome (10 BC – 54 AD). She was the grandmother of Marius Meurig Cyllin, King of Britons (65 – 125). He was the great-grandfather of Constantine the Great I (279 – 337) First Christian Emperor of Rome, Saint.

Another plausible pedigree (FamilySearch) has him as the son of Julius Caesar and one of his wives, Cornelia Cinna Minor (97 – 68 BC). It’s compelling since it makes him an agnatic descendant of Romulus, the first King of Rome, which may explain the reason Julius named him instead of his other three sons, including Ptolemy XV Caesarion, as his adopted son and sole heir in his will. In most academic pedigrees, however, he is the maternal grand-nephew of Julius Caesar.

He is the namesake of August.

Augustus ranks #18 ranking in Hart’s The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History.

European Royalty

Historically Noted Military Commanders

9 Emperors of Rome

Gaius Julius Octavianus Augustus, 1st Emperor of Rome
Birth 63 BC in Rome, Roman Empire
Death 14 AD in Nola, Italia, Roman Empire

Ancestry.com citation/Lineages

59th great-grandfather …ROCHECHOUART…-CYR-BRULE

63rd great-grandfather …PLANTAGENET-HOWARD-WOOD-COLLINS
63rd great-granduncle …VERE-HOLLAND-SIMMONS-COLLINS
63rd great-granduncle …DEMAREST-BANTA-BRINKERHOFF-OUTWATER-COLLINS
65th great-grandfather CLAUDIAN-COELING-WESSEX-MERCIA-HOWARD-WOOD-COLLINS

8th cousin 65x removed LE ROY – ROYAL BLOODLINE
1st great-granduncle of wife of 60th great-granduncle …HOWARD-WOOD-COLLINS
74th great-grandfather COELING…-ROHAN…CYR-BRULE
great-grandson of husband of 6th cousin 67x removed LE ROY – ROYAL BLOODLINE
step 2nd great-grandfather of 60th great-grandmother COELING-VERE-WARREN-HOLLAND-SIMMONS-COLLINS


Fab Pedigree

Geneanet

Wiki

SOURCES

Timeline of the Life of Octavian, Augustus Caesar

Augustus: The Life of Rome’s First Emperor

YouTube videos

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Virgil: Quoted in Jaroslav Pelikan‘s Jesus Through the Centuries. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1985, p. 20

The Patricians, A Genealogical Study – Ebook Editions US$5.95

Author at Harrod’s Deli – London

Steven Wood Collins (1952 – ) Antiquarian, Genealogist, Novelist

By Steven Wood Collins

I spent most of my life unaware of my ancestral heritage. Sure, I knew of the personal history of my more immediate relatives; but beyond that, I never had any inkling as to my ancestral heritage. Then one day many years ago my sister said to me, “I sometimes wonder about our family background.” And so my quest to discover our genealogical roots commenced.

I started building my family tree with the very basic relationships, going back in time from my grandparents, one ancestor at a time. That initial effort proved to be the hardest part of the pursuit, mainly due to my lack of expertise as a novice genealogical researcher. As I gained familiarity with the databases and how to efficiently mine them, my progress gained ever-increasing momentum. Today, The Patricians! tree (Ancestry.com) contains nearly 120,000 individuals, stretching over 135 generations, 5,800 of which are my direct ancestors in a genealogical sense.

During this trek back in time, I encountered fascinating figures in both history and obscurity. This blog contains many stories about their genealogical relationship to me (and many of you). By far and away, as a student of history, the historically obscure individuals are of particular interest to me. I cite Baron “Blue Beard” Montmorency-Laval de Rais (1405 – 1440) as an example of a historically maligned personage whose real contribution to history, as both a playwright and hero of France, has yet to be properly recognized. Another example is Earl Edward de Vere (1550 – 1604), who’s yet to gain widespread recognition as the actual author of the body of literary work wrongly ascribed to William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616).

My life-long interest in international economics and finance continues unabated. I primarily demonstrate this professional involvement as a contributor to the Long Room, the members-only international finance professionals' forum hosted by the Financial Times of London.

I'm an avid recreational scuba diver who enjoys traveling to exotic dive sites. My love of the sea and marine life gives me an unbounded appreciation and support of “green” issues, especially those devoted to the conservation of endangered species and coral reefs.

He continually posts results of his personal genealogical research to his Goodreads Authors Blog. Entitled The Patricians - The Ancestral Heritage of Steven Wood Collins, the work represents thousand of hours of his research efforts and related commentary.

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