Sextilis was the original Latin name for the sixth month in the Roman calendar. It was renamed Augustus (August) in 8 BC in honor of the first Roman emperor, Augustus Caesar. because it came after the month of July (named after his granduncle, adopted father, and predecessor, the Divine Julius) and of several fortunate events that occurred in his life during this month: the Battle of Pharsalus, the Battle of Actium, and the deaths of Cleopatra and Mark Antony. It also happened to be the month his grandnephew (the future Emperor Claudius) was born, and the month in which Augustus died. The month reputedly has 31 days because Augustus wanted as many days as Julius Caesar's July, but this idea is a medieval mistake. Sextilis had had 31 days since the time of Julius Caesar (see Julian calendar). The Senate decree renaming Sextilis to Augustus reads in part:
- "Whereas the Emperor Augustus Caesar, in the month of Sextilis, was first admitted to the consulate, and thrice entered the city in triumph, and in the same month the legions, from the Janiculum, placed themselves under his auspices, and in the same month Egypt was brought under the authority of the Roman people, and in the same month an end was put to the civil wars; and whereas for these reasons the said month is, and has been, most fortunate to this empire, it is hereby decreed by the senate that the said month shall be called Augustus."[1]
