The colossal head of Imperator Caesar Divi F. Augustus in the Court of the Pigna ( So named for the giant bronze Pine-cone at one end of the yard ) at the Vatican in Rome, Italy. I could not find any background info beyond the name to my dismay.
Born into an old, wealthy equestrian branch of the Plebeian
Octavii family, Augustus was adopted posthumously by his maternal great-uncle
Gaius Julius Caesar in 44 BC following Caesar's assassination. Together with
Mark Antony and Marcus Lepidus, he formed the Second Triumvirate to defeat the
assassins of Caesar. Following their victory at Phillipi, the Triumvirate
divided the Roman Republic between themselves and ruled as military
dictators.[note 3] The Triumvirate was eventually torn apart under the
competing ambitions of its members: Lepidus was driven into exile and stripped
of his position, and Antony committed suicide following his defeat at the
Battle of Actium by Augustus in 31 BC.
After the demise of the Second Triumvirate, Augustus
restored the outward facade of the free Republic, with governmental power
vested in the Roman Senate, the executive magistrates, and the legislative
assemblies. In reality, however, he retained his autocratic power over the
Republic as a military dictator. By law, Augustus held a collection of powers
granted to him for life by the Senate, including supreme military command, and
those of tribune and censor. It took several years for Augustus to develop the
framework within which a formally republican state could be led under his sole
rule. He rejected monarchical titles, and instead called himself Princeps
Civitatis ("First Citizen"). The resulting constitutional framework
became known as the Principate, the first phase of the Roman Empire.
The reign of Augustus initiated an era of relative peace
known as the Pax Romana (The Roman Peace). Despite continuous wars or imperial
expansion on the Empire's frontiers and one year-long civil war over the
imperial succession, the Mediterranean world remained at peace for more than
two centuries. Augustus dramatically enlarged the Empire, annexing Egypt,
Dalmatia, Pannonia, Noricum, and Raetia, expanded possessions in Africa,
expanded into Germania, and completed the conquest of Hispania. Beyond the
frontiers, he secured the Empire with a buffer region of client states, and
made peace with the Parthian Empire through diplomacy. He reformed the Roman
system of taxation, developed networks of roads with an official courier
system, established a standing army, established the Praetorian Guard, created
official police and fire-fighting services for Rome, and rebuilt much of the
City during his reign.
Augustus died in 14 AD at the age of 75. He may have died
from natural causes, though there were unconfirmed rumors that his wife Livia
poisoned him. He was succeeded as Emperor by his adopted son (also stepson and
former son-in-law) Tiberius
Augustus on Wikipedia
