ABSTRACT
Octavian, having defeated Antony and Cleopatra and the decadent East in 31 bce, surrendered to a purged Senate, which accorded him the title of Augustus. From 27 bce until his death in 14 ce, Augustus was reendowed annually with the disposal of the consulship (which gave him prime authority) and with the tribunit-ian power (which gave him the popular role). Augustus adopted his successor, his stepson, the much-maligned Tiberius (14-37), as he himself had been adopted by his uncle, Julius Caesar. Augustus advised against extending the empire beyond the Rhine, the Danube and the Syrian desert. Emperor Aurelian (270-75) acted on the urgent need to defend the capital from the barbarian tribes who had recently reached as far south as the Po. The ceremonial gate in Rimini's wall was built to mark the end of the restored via Flaminia (with its twin standing in the northern outskirts of Rome).
