In my sixth and seventh consulships [28/7 B.C.], after I had stamped out the civil wars, and at a time when by universal consent I was in absolute control of everything, I transferred
the res publica from my own charge ('ex mea potestate') to the discretion of the Senate and People of Rome. For this service I was given the name 'Augustus' by a decree of the
Senate.
The Augustan Age had begun, and the quintessential character of the Augustan Principate was determined. The princeps, the 'first man' of the Roman Commonwealth, was to have
no institutionalized authoritarian power, no perpetual dictatorship such as Julius Caesar had had himself voted early in 44, or anything like it. From Senate and People he accepted
the charge of Gaul, Spain, Syria, and Egypt, where the great bulk of the legions was stationed and which he could govern in absence through successive deputies chosen by, and
immediately subordinate to, himself. At Rome his overt authority rested on his repeated tenure of one of the two annual consulships, "while his enormous personal wealth, patronage,
influence, prestige, and diplomatic and political skills could be counted on to plug any gaps and to oil the wheels of government, and friends and confidants-most notably Agrippa
and Maecenas-shared the burden of administration and policy-making.