Why didn't Octavius name himself king of Rome and not Emporer?

Romans wanted to keep the idea of the Republic and they had an aversion towards monarchic and oligarchic titles. That is why Octavian never proclaimed himself an emperor nor king but got the title of the commandant, the divine son, and first citizen from the Senate.

Explanation:

While we call Octavian Augustus the first Roman emperor today, he never claimed that title himself. His titles included Princeps Civitas, which means First Citizen of the State, and full title Imperator Caesar Divi filius Augustus, but the title of Imperator in Latin would translate to the commandant because it comes from imperare – to order or to command. These titles were given to him by the Senate and he did not claim them himself.

This wasn’t because he was too shy or modest to think of himself as emperor, but because the tiles of king and emperor were connected to ideas of dictatorship in Roman beliefs. Roman people had aversion to the idea of someone having complete, monarch power. This was among things why they have assassinated Caesar in the first place – once he himself thought he was the sole ruler, Roman people have turned against him.

Therefore, while Octavian held the powers of the emperor, he did not claim any of the monarch titles himself as he wanted to keep the illusion of the Republic and democracy.

an era of negotiation.

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