Augustus was arguably the most powerful ruler of Rome. His power came partly from the importance of his family, his great-uncle was Julius Caesar and his father was a Praetor just before he died. Part of his power also came from his clever ability to manipulate the people of Rome and his careful strategising.
Suetonius tells us in "The Lives Of The Caesars-, that in 44 BC, after returning from military service in Illyricum, Augustus discovered that Caesar had been assassinated. Upon reading Caesar's will, Augustus and Caesar's colleague Mark Antony were surprised to see that Caesar had made Augustus his adopted son, leaving him ¾ of his vast property. "AUGUSTUS (31 B.C. - 14 A.D.)- by Garrett G. Fagan, tells us that whilst disappointed, Antony had no problem with Augustus as he did not seem like a threat at the time.
Augustus' inheritance was important because it enabled him to promise rewards for his troops. In "The Deeds of the Divine Augustus-, by Augustus, Augustus claims, "I assigned all of them [Roman citizens] fields or gave them money for their military service-. This suggests that Augustus' success was reliant upon the inheritance.
"Octavian and Antony: The Rise of Augustus- by John Porter, explains that Augustus was born with the name Octavius. Augustus immediately took on the name Octavius Caesar, after Caesar's death, making him the only son of Caesar [see note 1]. This enabled Augustus to manipulate Caesar's supporters into following him because they believed he would continue to serve them like Caesar did. He gathered a large army and with their support, he became a Praetor in 43 BC. This legitimised his control of an army, which according to Garrett G. Fagan was "perhaps 10,000 strong-.
Augustus' control of an army was very important. He used his army to defeat Mark Antony, who tried to prevent Augustus' rise to the top. It also enabled Augustus to avenge his adopted father's assassins and to seize Rome with eight legions so he could become a Consul.
