The Roman Empire at its height stretched from Scotland to Mesopotamia and accomplished a feat never matched before or since—uniting the entire Mediterranean basin under a single rule. Not only was one state dominant, but most of that time that state also was ruled by a single man, the emperor. One-man rule vanquished the pluralistic and competitive system of the Roman Republic in the first century BCE. The first emperor was Augustus Caesar (r. 31 BCE–14 CE), and the empire was originally established as hereditary in the Julio-Claudian dynasty he founded. Although Augustus attempted to conceal his despotic power with a show of homespun informality and respect for the senate, the governing body of Rome under the republic, the empire he founded was functionally an autocracy. In addition to commanding the military—the term imperator, from which “emperor” is derived, originally meant “commander”—the emperor appointed provincial governors, judged cases, made law, and issued coinage. Emperors could also win popularity by sponsoring games and shows and by building temples, baths, and palaces.