Empire - the Principate

In 27 BC, Octavian was the sole Roman leader. His leadership brought the zenith of the Roman civilization, that lasted for two centuries. In that year, he took the name Augustus. That event is usually taken by historians as the beginning of Roman Empire – although Rome was an "imperial" state since 146 BC, when Carthage was razed by Scipio Aemilianus and Greece was conquered by Lucius Mummius. Officially, the government was republican, but Augustus assumed absolute powers.^[64][65]