There was indeed always some ambiguity in the titles that the Roman
emperors assumed. Augustus—which was adopted by all subsequent
emperors—alone implies the semisacral powers assumed by
the Hellenistic monarchs. Princeps, "first amongst men," suggests,
at least, that there were others like him; and the word imperator,
meaning "he who exercises imperium," merely describes the
sphere of executive authority possessed by all Roman magistrates.