Nice debunking, thanks. :-) if I could be indulged just a minor quibble, Rome did not "officially" become an "empire" with Augustus, although its practical system of government changed dramatically. But, the Roman government remained officially a republic, with all the trappings and offices. SPQR may have been a fiction, but it was one the Senate was firmly committed to, and one that Augustus was perfectly willing to indulge ... officially but not in actual practice.