Augusta (honorific)

Augusta (honorific)

Augusta (Greek: αὐγούστα) was the imperial honorific title of empresses. It was given to the women of the Roman and Byzantine imperial families. In the third century, Augustae could also receive the titles of Mater castrorum ("Mother of the Camp") and Mater Patriae ("Mother of the Fatherland").The title implied the greatest prestige, with the Augustae able to issue their own coinage, wear imperial regalia, rule having their own courts. Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra, took the title Augusta when she took Egypt from the Romans and declared herself Queen of Egypt.