<P> The use of Egypt's immense land rents to finance the Empire's operations resulted from Augustus' conquest of Egypt and the shift to a Roman form of government . As it was effectively considered Augustus' private property rather than a province of the Empire, it became part of each succeeding emperor's patrimonium . Instead of a legate or proconsul, Augustus installed a prefect from the equestrian class to administer Egypt and maintain its lucrative seaports; this position became the highest political achievement for any equestrian besides becoming Prefect of the Praetorian Guard . The highly productive agricultural land of Egypt yielded enormous revenues that were available to Augustus and his successors to pay for public works and military expeditions, as well as bread and circuses for the population of Rome . </P> <P> During his reign the circus games resulted in the killing of 3,500 elephants . </P> <P> The month of August (Latin: Augustus) is named after Augustus; until his time it was called Sextilis (named so because it had been the sixth month of the original Roman calendar and the Latin word for six is sex). Commonly repeated lore has it that August has 31 days because Augustus wanted his month to match the length of Julius Caesar's July, but this is an invention of the 13th century scholar Johannes de Sacrobosco . Sextilis in fact had 31 days before it was renamed, and it was not chosen for its length (see Julian calendar). According to a senatus consultum quoted by Macrobius, Sextilis was renamed to honor Augustus because several of the most significant events in his rise to power, culminating in the fall of Alexandria, fell in that month . </P> <P> On his deathbed, Augustus boasted "I found a Rome of bricks; I leave to you one of marble ." Although there is some truth in the literal meaning of this, Cassius Dio asserts that it was a metaphor for the Empire's strength . Marble could be found in buildings of Rome before Augustus, but it was not extensively used as a building material until the reign of Augustus . </P>

Where did the name of the month august come from