Excerpts from Books and Wikipedia
Julius Caesar was his maternal great-uncle. [Wikipedia] Augustus took steps to secure his position: making the army loyal to him only; cutting off opponents from support networks; and transforming the senate from competing dynasts to an aristocracy of service and honour. "A classic ‘poacher turned gamekeeper’, Augustus set out to make sure that no one could easily follow the example of his own youth: that is, raise a private army and take over the state." [Beard: SPQR, p. 370] Augustus removed the Roman legions from politics. [Beard: SPQR, p. 371] "This reform [pensions for soldiers] was one of the most expensive things Augustus ever did, and it was close to unaffordable." [SPQR, p. 371] "After the cremation, Livia – now called Augusta, because Augustus had formally adopted her in his will – rewarded with the sum of a million sesterces the man who swore that he had seen Augustus soaring to heaven. Augustus was now a god." [SPQR, p. 384] "How Augustus managed to recast so much of the political landscape of Rome, how he managed to get his own way for more than forty years, and with what support, is still puzzling." His broad framework lasted for more than 200 years. [SPQR, p. 384]