# Did Mussolini style really himself "Caesar" or "Emperor" in his speeches or in private?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-mussolini-style-really-himself-caesar-or-emperor-in-his-speeches-or-in-private/977530>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 2, 2023, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-mussolini-style-really-himself-caesar-or-emperor-in-his-speeches-or-in-private/977530 "2023-01-02T13:56:08Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Octagon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/2acd7d/32.png) [@Octagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octagon)\
**Post date:** [January 2, 2023, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-mussolini-style-really-himself-caesar-or-emperor-in-his-speeches-or-in-private/977530/1 "2023-01-02T13:56:08Z")

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I’ve seen references over the years that state that Benito Mussolini called himself ‘emperor’ or “Caesar”. Other than ‘duce’ I haven’t come across any direct evidence of his having styled himself as either ‘emperor’ or ‘Caesar’… Is there any evidence for that?

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**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\
**Post date:** [January 2, 2023, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-mussolini-style-really-himself-caesar-or-emperor-in-his-speeches-or-in-private/977530/2 "2023-01-02T15:02:40Z")

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He might have likened his army to the Romans, and tried to build an empire, but the title of Emperor went to the King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel.

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**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\
**Post date:** [January 2, 2023, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-mussolini-style-really-himself-caesar-or-emperor-in-his-speeches-or-in-private/977530/3 "2023-01-02T15:16:48Z")

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The first Caesar wasn’t an emperor; he was a dictator, so as far as Roman terminology is concerned, I think everybody was on the same page when Mussolini took full power.

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**Author:** ![Octagon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/2acd7d/32.png) [@Octagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octagon)\
**Post date:** [January 2, 2023, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-mussolini-style-really-himself-caesar-or-emperor-in-his-speeches-or-in-private/977530/4 "2023-01-02T16:00:12Z")

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Thank you PatrickLondon.