Octavian had no intention of giving up his preeminence in the Empire, and at the same time, it must have been obvious to him that if the Empire went back to the way it was before the civil war, history would undoubtedly repeat itself and the Empire would once again be torn apart by civil strife. His task was to restore enough of the old Republic that the part of the population that cherished their concept of the Republic would be satisfied and at the same time keep enough power to himself that there could be no challengers to his authority. It took ten years, but the system that he developed lasted for well over fifty times that long.

In 27, Octavian made a calculated move that reaped huge rewards. He appeared before the Senate and offered to surrender all his power. Rather than celebrating the return of the Republic, the emasculated Senate was petrified. It gave him a provincial command and proconsular power for ten years. His province was the combined provinces of Gaul, Syria, Eypt, and the two Spains. The Senate received all the rest of the provinces, including Italy and Rome, and was able to govern them through proconsuls. Octavian was not giving up any real power. He was still being elected consul every year and with his power as proconsul as well, he could effectively control any of the governors of the Senatorial provinces. The important part was that his power had been legitimated by the Senate in “true” Republican fashion. Three days later, the Senate accorded him the honor of the name “Augustus,” revered. It had never before been given to a human.