When Octavian arrived in Rome he found that Mark Antony had claimed Caesar's inheritance and was less than accommodating when Octavian asked for the share that was rightfully his. In Apollonia, Octavian learned the skills required to one day rule the Roman world, such as military strategy as well as political doctrine and administration. Octavian was sent to Apollonia, in modern day Albania, to study with a number of his friends, including Marcus Agrippa. However Caesar now believed Octavian needed to finish his education if he was to truly become capable of being his heir. Upon their return to Rome in 45 BC Caesar wrote a new will, with Octavian as his prime inheritor.Д¬aesar continued to use his virtually limitless power to grant Octavian more power and offices that would further his career. Caesar now begun to teach Octavian to properly rule a province, from maintaining it's military and economy to effectively administrating it's people. On his way to Hispania he was shipwrecked with his entourage and had to cross dangerous and hostile lands to reach Caesar, who praised him on his arrival. After this he begun to take on more responsibility, accompanying Caesar on his triumph tour of the provinces, beginning with Africa in 46 BC, In the next year he would also join Caesar in an expedition to Hispania, despite being in poor health. In 47 BC at the age of 16 Octavian donned his toga in a ceremony that marked him as a man. However it did allow Octavian to be seen and heard by Rome's public, which would greatly help him later in life. Later Octavian would be granted the position of Praefectus urbi, a largely honourary role with no real power. In this office Octavian was responsible for supervising sacrifices made to the Roman pantheon of gods. This was one of the most prestigious roles one could attain within the state religion of the Roman Republic. Caesar was responsible for Octavian being appointed as a pontiff in the College of Pontiffs. Philippus was a caring man and looked after Octavian and his sisters as if they were his own children.Д¬aesar had seen great potential in Octavian and begun to groom him as a potential successor. His mother eventually remarried Lucius Marcius Philippus, a staunch supporter of Caesar and consul in 56 BC. This would give Octavian the skills he would require for his bid for power later in life.

He was taught Latin, Greek and Oratory - typical subjects for an aspiring member of Rome's aristocracy. Thanks to his mother's efforts, Octavian enjoyed a good education among Rome's elite. When he was 12 he made his first public appearance, delivering a speech at funeral of his grandmother Julia. He also had two sisters, Octavia Major and Octavia Minor. His mother was the daughter of Julius Caesar's sister, Julia, making Octavian Caesar's great-nephew. Unfortunately when Octavian was only four years old his father died leaving him in the care of his mother, Atia Balba Caesonia. The family only truly came into prominence when Octavian's father, Gaius Octavius, became the first in the family to become a senator and then served as quaestorin 69 BC, and then praetor in 61 BC, which ranked second only to a consul in Rome's political hierarchy.

Octavian's family was wealthy thanks to owning a banking business located in Velletri, but they were not particularly distinguished. Gaius Octavius Thurinus, more commonly known as Octavian, was born 23 September 63 BC inВ Velletri some 20 miles southeast of Rome.

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