Was Augustus different from a dictator or king?

In my opinion Augustus and the emperors that followed are not like a dictator or a king although they seem to be pretty much the same.

First, a dictator is someone put in charge in case of emergency to rule over the entire place usually by winning a battle. An emperor has to divide the work and power with the senate. Caesar is somewhere in between. Augustus and the others realized one way to get the people and senate to love you is not to do the mistakes Caesar has done as well as adopt the good things. Augustus tried to make himself seem normal like all the others as much as possible. On the other hand, Nero and emperors part of the second dynasty were an exception.
A king would try to rule the conquered land by himself but when Rome became an empire it was split into provinces and each had a governor.

Although they are very similar, having almost the same duties, they are also different.

Roman Genius

Romans deserve full credit for amazing inventions in our everyday life. They might have inspired or received help from Greeks and other big civilizations, they overtook their knowledge greatly. 


First, they had an amazing army- one of the greatest the world had ever seen. Not only they usually outnumbered the enemy, they were also discipline and determined. It was organized, split in self-contained regions of 6,000 soldiers. They had amazing strategy plans to defend as well as to attack. 


Secondly, they were amazing engineers. Not only they created the arch, they made other amazing inventions. One of the most important ones being concrete which led to the development of road, stretching for thousands of miles. They also created a the first sewer system and aqueducts.


Finally, they developed the law system that most of us use today. They wrote the 12 Tablets. At courts there were fair judges and lawyers.