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After landing at Lupiae near Brundisium, Octavian learned the contents of Caesar's will, and only then did he decide to become Caesar's political heir as well as heir to two-thirds of his estate. [20] [33] [37] Upon his adoption, Octavian assumed his great-uncle's name Gaius Julius Caesar. [6]
It was then made public that Caesar had adopted Octavius as his son and main heir. In response, Octavius changed his name to Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus. Though modern scholars to avoid confusion commonly refer to him at this point as Octavian, he called himself "Caesar", which is the name his contemporaries also used.
Augustus (Imperator Caesar Divi Filius Augustus), as Caesar's adopted son and heir, discarded the family name of his natural father and initially renamed himself "Gaius Julius Caesar" after his adoptive father. It was also customary for the adopted son to acknowledge his original family by adding an extra name at the end of his new name.
Octavian summoned the senate and accused Antony of anti-Roman sentiments. Octavian had illegally seized Antony's will from the Temple of Vesta. In it, Antony recognized Caesarion as Caesar's legal heir, left his possessions to his children by Cleopatra, and finally indicated his desire to be buried with Cleopatra in Alexandria instead of in Rome.
Before he died, Julius Caesar had designated his great-nephew, Gaius Octavius (who would be named Augustus by the Roman Senate after becoming emperor), as his adopted son and heir. Octavius' mother, Atia , was the daughter of Caesar's sister, Julia Minor .
After Octavian and his forces reached Rome on 19 August 43 BC, he secured for himself election to the consulship with his cousin Quintus Pedius. They moved quickly to enact legislation confirming Octavian's adoption as Caesar's heir and establishing courts to condemn Caesar's assassins in absentia.
Octavian's political position was threatened by the recognition of Caesarion as the legitimate heir to Caesar's name. Octavian's base of power was his connection to Caesar through adoption , which gave him much-needed popularity and the loyalty of the legions.
The first true Roman known as "Augustus" (and first counted as a Roman emperor) was Octavian. He was the grand-nephew and later posthumously adopted as the son and heir of Julius Caesar, who had been murdered for his seeming aspiration to