Augustus- The Senate and Roman people conferred this title on Octavian, the emperor Augustus, in 27 BC as an acknowledgment of the services he had rendered to the state. The epithet, which signifies “revered” or “worthy of veneration” chosen for its dignified but vague significance, became attached to the first emperor, and after him became the title of sovereignty. Most of the emperors took the title as much as a sign of respect for the memory of the founder of the empire on whom it was first bestowed, as for the mark of their right to succeed him.