Born Gaius Octavius on September 23, 63 BCE, the future emperor came from a prosperous family in Velitrae, southeast of Rome. His mother Atia was Julius Caesar's niece, and when Caesar was assassinated in 44 BCE, the eighteen-year-old learned he had been adopted and named chief heir. Taking the name Gaius Julius Caesar, Octavian entered a brutal power struggle that saw him form the Second Triumvirate with Mark Antony and Lepidus. After disposing of Lepidus in 32 BCE and defeating Antony and Cleo