Congratulations, Boy.

Many gave their lives that we might stand here once again,

united in the government of a lawful republic.

Gaiis Octavian

Which henceforth to be regarded for all intents and purposes

As my lawful son, Gaius Octavian, Caesar

On the 19th of August 14 CE, 767 years after the founding of Rome, nearly exactly 2,001 years ago,

the first emperor of Rome, Augustus, finally died at 75 years of age. His great uncle, an adoptive father, Julius Caesar,

the most brilliant and successful general in Rome's history, had been assassinated, age 56,

after being the dictator of Rome for only five years. Augustus, on the other hand, thrust into the limelight at age 18 with no military or political

experience, ruled Rome either as one-third of a triumvirate or by himself for 58 years and died

probably of natural causes while still in power.

His reign laid the foundations of a regime that lasted in one form or another for nearly

1500 years through the ultimate decline of the Western Roman Empire and until the fall of

Constantinople in 1453.

He was one of the most influential figures in all of Western history, and yet I bet most

of you hardly know anything about him.

Well, that's about to change.

This is his story.

It's a story that contains shipwrecks, human sacrifice, betrayal, hairbreadth escapes, unbridled sex,

battles on land and at sea, ambushes, family scandals, and the unforgiving pursuit of absolute power.

But that's just a regular week for my co-host, the Queen of Bethinia who lives in Virginia,

...