# If Julius Caesar Was Never an Emperor--What Was He? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 6, 2004, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-julius-caesar-was-never-an-emperor-what-was-he/238500 "2004-04-06T04:20:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-julius-caesar-was-never-an-emperor-what-was-he/238500/1 "2004-04-06T04:20:13Z")
I have to admit, it has been a while since I took a history class. But I know most dictionary entries list Caesar Augustus (63 BC-14AD), Julius Caesar’s grandnephew, as the first Roman emperor. And yet, Julius Caesar seems to have held _some_ important political role. I know I read some place that he instituted the Julian calendar reform in 46BC. And whenever you see statues, movies, etc. of him, he is seen in the quasi-emperor’s role, with a garland around his head, etc. So what was the highest political title he ever achieved, if not emperor? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![mcbiggins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7c8e57/32.png) [@mcbiggins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcbiggins)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-julius-caesar-was-never-an-emperor-what-was-he/238500/2 "2004-04-06T04:24:39Z")
Julius Caesar was Dictator for Life. ---
**Author:** ![Gunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gunslinger)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-julius-caesar-was-never-an-emperor-what-was-he/238500/3 "2004-04-06T04:42:07Z")
Minor point: he was elected to a six-month term as dictator, and made himself dictator-for-life. He _was_ the head of government, with the same level of power as an emperor or king (a _real_ king, not that silly figurehead-with-little-involvement-in-the-actual-governing setup that Great Britain has 😛 ). Then his associates got tired of his arrogance and stabbed him to death. There’s a lesson in there somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Gunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gunslinger)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-julius-caesar-was-never-an-emperor-what-was-he/238500/4 "2004-04-06T04:45:25Z")
[All you ever wanted to know](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_dictator) about the Roman dictatorship but were afraid to ask. ---
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-julius-caesar-was-never-an-emperor-what-was-he/238500/5 "2004-04-06T04:46:05Z")
Understand that _Dictator_ had a somewhat different connotation back then. A _Dictator_ was appointed by (Praetors or Consuls?) for a term of 6 months, during a military emergency. The idea was a single authority figure, with greater-than-normal powers, would be better equipped to deal with certain crisis. Ol’ Jules took it a bit far though… ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-julius-caesar-was-never-an-emperor-what-was-he/238500/6 "2004-04-06T05:47:12Z")
> [@Brutus](#): > > … The idea was a single authority figure, with greater-than-normal powers, would be better equipped to deal with certain crisis. Ol’ Jules took it a bit far though… Gee, that has a certain familiar ring to it. “Plus ca change …” (I don’t know how to get the “c” with the little curlyque on it." ---
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-julius-caesar-was-never-an-emperor-what-was-he/238500/7 "2004-04-06T05:54:10Z")
> [@David Simmons](#): > > Gee, that has a certain familiar ring to it. “Plus ca change …” (I don’t know how to get the “c” with the little curlyque on it." Ç. Like another? Ç. Plenty more where that came from. ÇÇÇ. That’s enough. The **Ç** is not to be misused. (I can’t do it either, but I can copy/paste it…;)) ---
**Author:** ![GawnFishin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e9bcb4/32.png) [@GawnFishin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GawnFishin)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-julius-caesar-was-never-an-emperor-what-was-he/238500/8 "2004-04-06T06:27:54Z")
Ç like that? Alt+0199 see the “Character Map” a basic part of Windows for a long time I believe. Cæsår was the dictator but the how did the name become a title? I recall one of my first tech jobs the other tech was a history major, lots of stories but I don’t remember much. I should be reported for character assassination… Oh I kill me… Though I do note the board is seemingly deficient in character recognition? I’m not even able to use the font tag to force the font…??? ---
**Author:** ![Achilles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dc4da7/32.png) [@Achilles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achilles)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-julius-caesar-was-never-an-emperor-what-was-he/238500/9 "2004-04-06T11:14:40Z")
On an interesting note, Augustus Caesar never refered to himself as “Imperator”, but rather regarded himself as “primus inter pares”, or “first among equals” - a kind of caretaker of the state who’s job it was to protect the fragile state from itself in the aftermath of the civil war. It seems that Augustus was well aware of the dangers of having a King / Emperor, since Rome had lived through a time of Monarchy some centuries earlier, and had expelled the last King and instituted the Roman Republic, and it was actually stipulated in Augustus’ will that, on his death, the power that was at the time vested in him, be returned to the Senate. This never happened for a few reasons - most notably his wife didn’t want it to. Anyhoo, there is about another 10,000,000,000 pages of history on this subject, so I won’t bore you with it all - suffice it to say that anyone interested should have a bit of a read. H.H. Scullards “From the Gracchi to Nero” is a great book on the subject, as is Suetonius’ “The Twelve Caesars” - especially the chapters on Augustus. Enjoy ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-julius-caesar-was-never-an-emperor-what-was-he/238500/10 "2004-04-06T11:17:49Z")
> [@Brutus](#): > > Ç. > > Like another? > > Ç. > > Plenty more where that came from. > > ÇÇÇ. > > That’s enough. The **Ç** is not to be misused. Et tu, Brute ? It’s that very **Ç** that you used to stab the great Caesar’s back with, isn’t it ? And now you want to come after us. Oh, the pain. You off all people, you **Brutus**? ---
**Author:** ![Achilles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dc4da7/32.png) [@Achilles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achilles)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-julius-caesar-was-never-an-emperor-what-was-he/238500/11 "2004-04-06T11:20:36Z")
> [@GawnFishin'](#): > > Cæsår was the dictator but the how did the name become a title? The name became a title because patronymics was a big thing in Ancient Rome. To signify that you were actually the rightful inheritor of the position of Emperor / Ruler you took the name of the previous guy - “same name, same family”, was the (spurious) reasoning. This even happened where it was patently obvious that the next-in-line was in no way related to the guy in question. After it happened a few times, “Caesar” became synonymous with Ruler - and it stuck. All the way down to “Kaiser” in Prussia, and Czar in Russia… ---
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-julius-caesar-was-never-an-emperor-what-was-he/238500/12 "2004-04-06T11:54:47Z")
> [@xash](#): > > Et tu, Brute ? > > It’s that very **Ç** that you used to stab the great Caesar’s back with, isn’t it ? And now you want to come after us. Oh, the pain. > > You off all people, you **Brutus**? If certain histories are to be believed, it wasn’t in the back that he was stabbed… ---
**Author:** ![Achilles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dc4da7/32.png) [@Achilles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achilles)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-julius-caesar-was-never-an-emperor-what-was-he/238500/13 "2004-04-06T12:18:00Z")
> [@Brutus](#): > > If certain histories are to be believed, it wasn’t in the back that he was stabbed… That’s too true. Although there were probably _some_ stab wounds in his back, Caesar was stabbed IIRC 42 times. There were quite a few wounds in the neck and face, and the groin and genitals apparently came in for quite a stabbing too… Makes you think… ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-julius-caesar-was-never-an-emperor-what-was-he/238500/14 "2004-04-06T12:20:40Z")
> [@Jim B.](#): > > And whenever you see statues, movies, etc. of him, he is seen in the quasi-emperor’s role, with a garland around his head, etc. That’s a corona. The Romans would award various coronae for valor in battle, most notably the corona graminea, the crown of grass, which was awarded to a soldier for singlehandedly saving a legion. Winning a corona would bestow social benefits, and, after Sulla, also political benefits. ---
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-julius-caesar-was-never-an-emperor-what-was-he/238500/15 "2004-04-06T13:08:59Z")
> [@GawnFishin'](#): > > Cæsår was the dictator but the how did the name become a title? I recall one of my first tech jobs the other tech was a history major, lots of stories but I don’t remember much. The first Roman emperors were relatives of Caesar, either by birth or adoption, and they wanted to harken back to their famous progenitor. After a time the name simply became another word for “emperor”. ---
**Author:** ![Popup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@Popup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Popup)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-julius-caesar-was-never-an-emperor-what-was-he/238500/16 "2004-04-06T13:28:20Z")
> [@Captain Amazing](#): > > That’s a corona. The Romans would award various coronae for valor in battle, most notably the corona graminea, the crown of grass, which was awarded to a soldier for singlehandedly saving a legion. Yes, but what Gaius Julius wore was a _corona civica_ [sub](No, that’s not a japanese car)[/sub], made of oak leaves, awarded in 80BC. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-julius-caesar-was-never-an-emperor-what-was-he/238500/17 "2004-04-06T14:16:56Z")
> [@Popup](#): > > Yes, but what Gaius Julius wore was a _corona civica_ [sub](No, that’s not a japanese car)[/sub], made of oak leaves, awarded in 80BC. At the siege of Mytilene. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-julius-caesar-was-never-an-emperor-what-was-he/238500/18 "2004-04-06T14:31:21Z")
> [@](#): > > After it happened a few times, “Caesar” became synonymous with Ruler - and it stuck. All the way down to “Kaiser” in Prussia, and Czar in Russia… And Roddy McDowell’s character in _Conquest of the Planet of the Apes_. ---
**Author:** ![Achilles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dc4da7/32.png) [@Achilles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achilles)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-julius-caesar-was-never-an-emperor-what-was-he/238500/19 "2004-04-06T14:32:16Z")
> [@Popup](#): > > Yes, but what Gaius Julius wore was a _corona civica_ [sub](No, that’s not a japanese car)[/sub], made of oak leaves, awarded in 80BC. IIRC, the Oak Wreath / Grass Wreath was only on statues of Divius Julius Soter (the saviour). Triumphal wreathes were usually made of Laurel. ---
**Author:** ![Satyagrahi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f475e1/32.png) [@Satyagrahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satyagrahi)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-julius-caesar-was-never-an-emperor-what-was-he/238500/20 "2004-04-06T14:39:02Z")
OK, everyone here who has read the Coleen McCullough series, hold up your hand. 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-julius-caesar-was-never-an-emperor-what-was-he/238500.md?page=2)