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{{Roman government}}
{{Roman government}}
'''Caesar''' ({{IPA-la|ˈkae̯.sar|lang}} [[English language|English]] {{abbr|pl.|Plural}} '''Caesars'''; [[Latin]] {{abbr|pl.|Plural}} ''Caesares''; in Greek: {{lang|grc|Καῖσαρ}} ''Kaîsar'') is a [[title]] of [[emperor|imperial]] character. It derives from the ''[[cognomen]]'' of the [[Roman dictator]] [[Julius Caesar]]. The change from being a surname to a title used by the [[Roman emperors]] can be traced to AD 68, following the fall of the [[Julio-Claudian dynasty]]. When used on its own, the title denoted [[Heir apparent|heir apparents]], which would later adopt the title ''[[Augustus (title)|augustus]]'' on accession.{{Sfn|Greenidge|1901|p=353-355}} The title remained an essential part of the style of the emperors, and became the word for "[[emperor]]" in some languages, such as German ([[kaiser]]) and Russian ([[tsar]]).
'''Caesar''' ({{IPA|la|ˈkae̯.sar|lang}} [[English language|English]] {{abbr|pl.|Plural}} '''Caesars'''; [[Latin]] {{abbr|pl.|Plural}} {{lang|la|Caesares}}; in Greek: {{lang|grc|Καῖσαρ}} {{lang|grc-latn|Kaîsar}}) is a [[title]] of [[emperor|imperial]] character. It derives from the ''[[cognomen]]'' of the [[Roman dictator]] [[Julius Caesar]]. The change from being a surname to a title used by the [[Roman emperors]] can be traced to AD 68, following the fall of the [[Julio-Claudian dynasty]]. When used on its own, the title denoted [[heirs apparent]], who would later adopt the title ''[[Augustus (title)|Augustus]]'' on accession.{{Sfn|Greenidge|1901|p=353-355}} The title remained an essential part of the style of the emperors, and became the word for "[[emperor]]" in some languages, such as German ({{lang|de|[[kaiser]]}}) and Russian ({{lang|ru-latn|[[tsar]]}}).


==Origins==
==Origins==
The first known individual to bear the ''cognomen'' of "Caesar" was [[Sextus Julius Caesar (praetor 208 BC)|Sextus Julius Caesar]], who is likewise believed to be the common ancestor of all subsequent [[Julii Caesares]].<ref>''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. I, p. 537.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=William |title=[[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology]] |date=1870 |publisher=[[Little, Brown and Company]] |others= |volume=1 |pages=537 |chapter=1. Sex. Julius Caesar |author-link=William Smith (lexicographer) |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofgre01smituoft/page/536/mode/2up?view=theater}}</ref> Sextus' great-grandson was the dictator [[Julius Caesar|Gaius Julius Caesar]], who seized control of the [[Roman Republic]] following his [[Caesar's civil war|war]] against the [[Roman Senate|Senate]]. He appointed himself as ''[[dictator perpetuo]]'' ("dictator in perpetuity"), a title he only held for about a month before he was [[Assassination of Julius Caesar|assassinated]] in 44 BC. Julius Caesar's death did not lead to the restoration of the Republic, and instead led to the rise of the [[Second Triumvirate]], which was made up of three generals, including Julius' adopted son [[Augustus|Gaius Octavius]].
The first known individual to bear the ''cognomen'' of "Caesar" was [[Sextus Julius Caesar (praetor 208 BC)|Sextus Julius Caesar]], who is likewise believed to be the common ancestor of all subsequent [[Julii Caesares]].<ref>''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. I, p. 537.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=William |title=[[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology]] |date=1870 |publisher=[[Little, Brown and Company]] |volume=1 |pages=537 |chapter=1. Sex. Julius Caesar |author-link=William Smith (lexicographer) |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofgre01smituoft/page/536/mode/2up?view=theater}}</ref> Sextus's great-grandson was the dictator [[Gaius Julius Caesar]], who seized control of the [[Roman Republic]] following his [[Caesar's civil war|war]] against the [[Roman Senate|Senate]]. He appointed himself as {{lang|la|[[dictator perpetuo]]}} ("dictator in perpetuity"), a title he held for only about a month before he was [[Assassination of Julius Caesar|assassinated]] in 44 BC. Julius Caesar's death did not lead to the restoration of the Republic, and instead led to the rise of the [[Second Triumvirate]], which was made up of three generals, including Julius' adopted son [[Augustus|Gaius Octavius]].


Following [[Roman naming conventions]], Octavius adopted the name of his adoptive father, thus also becoming "Gaius Julius Caesar", though he was often called "Octavianus" to avoid confusion. He styled himself simply as "Gaius Caesar" to emphasize his relationship with Julius Caesar.<ref>{{Citation |last=Syme |first=Ronald |title=Livy and Augustus |date=1959 |journal=Harvard Studies in Classical Philology |volume=64 |pages=175, 179 |doi=10.2307/310937 |jstor=310937 |author-link=Ronald Syme}}</ref> Eventually, distrust and jealousy between the triumvirs led to a lengthy civil war which ultimately ended with Octavius gaining control of the entire Roman world in 30 BC. In 27 BC, Octavius was given the honorific ''[[Augustus (title)|Augustus]]'' by the Senate, adopting the name of "Imperator Caesar Augustus". He had previously dropped all his names except for "Caesar", which he treated as a ''[[Nomen gentilicium|nomen]]'', and had adopted the victory title ''[[imperator]]'' ("commander") as a new ''[[praenomen]]''.<ref>{{Citation |last=Syme |first=Ronald |title=Imperator Caesar: A Study in Nomenclature |date=1958 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4434568 |work=Historia |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=175–188 |jstor=4434568 |author-link=Ronald Syme}}</ref>
Following [[Roman naming conventions]], Octavius adopted the name of his adoptive father, thus also becoming "Gaius Julius Caesar", though he was often called "Octavianus" to avoid confusion. He styled himself simply as "Gaius Caesar" to emphasize his relationship with Julius Caesar.<ref>{{Citation |last=Syme |first=Ronald |title=Livy and Augustus |date=1959 |journal=Harvard Studies in Classical Philology |volume=64 |pages=175, 179 |doi=10.2307/310937 |jstor=310937 |author-link=Ronald Syme}}</ref> Eventually, distrust and jealousy between the triumvirs led to a lengthy civil war which ultimately ended with Octavius gaining control of the entire Roman world in 30 BC. In 27 BC, Octavius was given the honorific ''[[Augustus (title)|Augustus]]'' by the Senate, adopting the name of "Imperator Caesar Augustus". He had previously dropped all his names except for "Caesar", which he treated as a ''[[Nomen gentilicium|nomen]]'', and had adopted the victory title ''[[imperator]]'' ("commander") as a new ''[[praenomen]]''.<ref>{{Citation |last=Syme |first=Ronald |title=Imperator Caesar: A Study in Nomenclature |date=1958 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4434568 |work=Historia |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=175–188 |jstor=4434568 |author-link=Ronald Syme}}</ref>


As a matter of course, Augustus' own adopted son and successor, [[Tiberius]], followed his (step)father's example and bore the name "Caesar" following his adoption on 26 June 4 AD, restyling himself as "Tiberius Julius Caesar". Upon his own ascension to the throne, he styled himself as "Tiberius Caesar Augustus". The precedent was thus then set: the Emperor, styled as "Augustus", designated his successor by adopting him and giving him the name "Caesar".
As a matter of course, Augustus's own adopted son and successor, [[Tiberius]], followed his (step)father's example and bore the name "Caesar" following his adoption on 26 June 4 AD, restyling himself as "Tiberius Julius Caesar". Upon his own ascension to the throne, he styled himself as "Tiberius Caesar Augustus". The precedent was thus then set: the Emperor, styled as "Augustus", designated his successor by adopting him and giving him the name "Caesar".


The fourth Emperor, [[Claudius]] (in full, "Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus"), was the first to assume the name without having been adopted by the previous emperor. However, he was at least a member of the [[Julio-Claudian dynasty]], being the maternal great-nephew of Augustus on [[Antonia Minor|his mother]]'s side, the nephew of Tiberius, and the uncle of [[Caligula]] (who was also called "Gaius Julius Caesar"). Claudius, in turn, adopted his stepson and grand-nephew Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, giving him the name "Caesar" in addition to his own ''nomen'', "Claudius". His stepson thus became "[[Nero]] Claudius Caesar Augustus".
The fourth emperor, [[Claudius]] (in full, "Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus"), was the first to assume the name without having been adopted by the previous emperor. However, he was at least a member of the [[Julio-Claudian dynasty]], being the maternal great-nephew of Augustus on [[Antonia Minor|his mother]]'s side, the nephew of Tiberius, and the uncle of [[Caligula]] (who was also called "Gaius Julius Caesar"). Claudius, in turn, adopted his stepson and grand-nephew Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, giving him the name "Caesar" in addition to his own ''nomen'', "Claudius". His stepson thus became "[[Nero]] Claudius Caesar Augustus".


== Dynastic title ==
== Dynastic title ==
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===Tetrarchy and Diarchy===
===Tetrarchy and Diarchy===
In 293, [[Diocletian]] established the [[Tetrarchy]], a system of rule by two senior emperors and two junior colleagues. The two coequal senior emperors were styled identically to previous Emperors, as ''augustus'' (in plural, ''augusti''). The two junior colleagues were styled identically to previous Emperors-designate, as ''nobilissimus caesar''. Likewise, the junior colleagues retained the title ''caesar'' upon becoming full emperors. The ''caesares'' of this period are sometimes referred as "emperors", with the Tetrarchy being a "rule of four emperors", despite being clearly subordinate of the ''augusti'' and thus not actually sovereigns.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Potter |first=David S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F5wAfRUNxRQC&pg=PA194 |title=A Companion to the Roman Empire |date=2008 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4051-7826-6 |pages=193-196}}</ref>
In 293, [[Diocletian]] established the [[Tetrarchy]], a system of rule by two senior emperors and two junior colleagues. The two coequal senior emperors were styled identically to previous Emperors, as ''augustus'' (in plural, ''augusti''). The two junior colleagues were styled identically to previous Emperors-designate, as ''nobilissimus caesar''. Likewise, the junior colleagues retained the title ''caesar'' upon becoming full emperors. The ''caesares'' of this period are sometimes referred as "emperors", with the Tetrarchy being a "rule of four emperors", despite being clearly subordinate of the ''augusti'' and thus not actually sovereigns.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Potter |first=David S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F5wAfRUNxRQC&pg=PA194 |title=A Companion to the Roman Empire |date=2008 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4051-7826-6 |pages=193–196}}</ref>


The Tetrarchy collapsed as soon as Diocletian stepped down in 305, resulting in a [[Civil wars of the Tetrarchy|lengthy civil war]]. Constantine reunited the Empire 324, after defeating the Eastern emperor [[Licinius]]. The tetrarchic division of power was abandoned, although the divisions of the [[praetorian prefecture]]s were maintained. The title ''caesar'' continued to be used, but now merely as a ceremorial honorific for young heirs. Constantine had four ''caesares'' at the time of his death: his sons [[Constantius II]], [[Constantine II (emperor)|Constantine II]], [[Constans]] and his nephew [[Dalmatius]], with his eldest son [[Crispus]] having been executed in mysterious circumstances earlier in his reign. He would be succeeded only by his three sons, with Dalmatius dying in the summer of 337 in similarly murky circumstances.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=McEvoy |first=Meaghan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lgygc7HDBt0C&pg=PA2 |title=Child Emperor Rule in the Late Roman West, AD 367-455 |date=2013 |publisher=OUP |isbn=978-0-19-966481-8 |pages=3-7}}</ref> Constantius II himself would nominate as ''caesares'' his cousins [[Constantius Gallus]] and [[Julian (emperor)|Julian]] in succession in the 350s, although he first executed Gallus and then found himself at war with Julian before his own death. After Julian's revolt of 360, the title fell out of imperial fashion for some time, with emperors preferring simply to elevate their sons directly to ''augustus'', starting with [[Gratian]] in 367.<ref name=":1" />
The Tetrarchy collapsed as soon as Diocletian stepped down in 305, resulting in a [[Civil wars of the Tetrarchy|lengthy civil war]]. Constantine reunited the Empire in 324, after defeating the Eastern emperor [[Licinius]]. The tetrarchic division of power was abandoned, although the divisions of the [[praetorian prefecture]]s were maintained. The title ''caesar'' continued to be used, but now merely as a ceremorial honorific for young heirs. Constantine had four ''caesares'' at the time of his death: his sons [[Constantius II]], [[Constantine II (emperor)|Constantine II]], [[Constans]] and his nephew [[Dalmatius]], with his eldest son [[Crispus]] having been executed in mysterious circumstances earlier in his reign. He would be succeeded only by his three sons, with Dalmatius dying in the summer of 337 in similarly murky circumstances.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=McEvoy |first=Meaghan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lgygc7HDBt0C&pg=PA2 |title=Child Emperor Rule in the Late Roman West, AD 367-455 |date=2013 |publisher=OUP |isbn=978-0-19-966481-8 |pages=3–7}}</ref> Constantius II himself would nominate as ''caesares'' his cousins [[Constantius Gallus]] and [[Julian (emperor)|Julian]] in succession in the 350s, although he first executed Gallus and then found himself at war with Julian before his own death. After Julian's revolt of 360, the title fell out of imperial fashion for some time, with emperors preferring simply to elevate their sons directly to ''augustus'', starting with [[Gratian]] in 367.<ref name=":1" />


The title would be revived in 408 when [[Constantine III (Western Roman emperor)|Constantine III]] gave it to his son [[Constans II (son of Constantine III)|Constans II]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kent |first=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uHPKDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA50 |title=Roman Imperial Coinage. Volume X |date=2018 |publisher=Spink Books |isbn=978-1-912667-37-6 |pages=50}}</ref> and then in 424 when [[Theodosius II]] gave it to his nephew [[Valentinian III]] before successfully installing him upon the western throne as ''augustus'' in 425.<ref name=":1" /> Thereafter it would receive limited use in the Eastern Empire; for example, it was given to [[Leo II (emperor)|Leo II]] in 472 several months before [[Leo I (emperor)|his grandfather]]'s death. In the Western Empire, [[Palladius (Caesar)|Palladius]], the son of emperor [[Petronius Maximus]], became the last person bearing the title ''caesar'' in 455.
The title would be revived in 408 when [[Constantine III (Western Roman emperor)|Constantine III]] gave it to his son [[Constans II (son of Constantine III)|Constans II]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kent |first=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uHPKDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA50 |title=Roman Imperial Coinage. Volume X |date=2018 |publisher=Spink Books |isbn=978-1-912667-37-6 |pages=50}}</ref> and then in 424 when [[Theodosius II]] gave it to his nephew [[Valentinian III]] before successfully installing him upon the western throne as ''augustus'' in 425.<ref name=":1" /> Thereafter it would receive limited use in the Eastern Empire; for example, it was given to [[Leo II (emperor)|Leo II]] in 472 several months before [[Leo I (emperor)|his grandfather]]'s death. In the Western Empire, [[Palladius (Caesar)|Palladius]], the son of emperor [[Petronius Maximus]], became the last person bearing the title ''caesar'' in 455.
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[[File:Seal of the Caesar Michael Angelos (Schlumberger, 1900).png|thumb|Seal of the ''caesar'' Michael Angelos]]
[[File:Seal of the Caesar Michael Angelos (Schlumberger, 1900).png|thumb|Seal of the ''caesar'' Michael Angelos]]
In the late Byzantine hierarchy, as recorded in the mid-14th century ''Book of Offices'' of [[pseudo-Kodinos]], the rank continued to come after the ''sebastokratōr''. Pseudo-Kodinos further records that the ''caesar'' was equal in precedence to the ''[[panhypersebastos]]'', another creation of Alexios I, but that Emperor [[Michael VIII Palaiologos]] (r. 1259–1282) had raised his nephew [[Michael Tarchaneiotes]] to the rank of ''[[protovestiarios]]'' and decreed that to come after the ''caesar''; while under [[Andronikos II Palaiologos]] (r. 1282–1328) the ''[[megas domestikos]]'' was raised to the same eminence, when it was awarded to the future emperor [[John VI Kantakouzenos]] (r. 1347–1354).{{sfn|Verpeaux|1966|pp=134–136}} According to pseudo-Kodinos, the ''caesar''{{'}}s insignia under the Palaiologoi were a ''skiadion'' hat in red and gold, decorated with gold-wire embroideries, with a veil bearing the wearer's name and [[Pendilia|pendants]] identical to those of the ''despotēs'' and the ''sebastokratōr''. He wore a red tunic (''rouchon'') similar to the emperor's (without certain decorations), and his shoes and stockings were blue, as were the accouterments of his horse; these were all identical to those of the ''sebastokratōr'', but without the embroidered eagles of the latter. Pseudo-Kodinos writes that the particular forms of another form of hat, the domed ''skaranikon'', and of the mantle, the ''tamparion'', for the ''caesar'' were not known.{{sfn|Verpeaux|1966|pp=147–149}}
In the late Byzantine hierarchy, as recorded in the mid-14th century ''Book of Offices'' of [[pseudo-Kodinos]], the rank continued to come after the ''sebastokratōr''. Pseudo-Kodinos further records that the ''caesar'' was equal in precedence to the ''[[panhypersebastos]]'', another creation of Alexios I, but that Emperor [[Michael VIII Palaiologos]] (r. 1259–1282) had raised his nephew [[Michael Tarchaneiotes]] to the rank of ''[[protovestiarios]]'' and decreed that to come after the ''caesar''; while under [[Andronikos II Palaiologos]] (r. 1282–1328) the ''[[megas domestikos]]'' was raised to the same eminence, when it was awarded to the future emperor [[John VI Kantakouzenos]] (r. 1347–1354).{{sfn|Verpeaux|1966|pp=134–136}} According to pseudo-Kodinos, the ''caesar''{{'}}s insignia under the Palaiologoi was a ''skiadion'' hat in red and gold, decorated with gold-wire embroideries, with a veil bearing the wearer's name and [[Pendilia|pendants]] identical to those of the ''despotēs'' and the ''sebastokratōr''. He wore a red tunic (''rouchon'') similar to the emperor's (without certain decorations), and his shoes and stockings were blue, as were the accouterments of his horse; these were all identical to those of the ''sebastokratōr'', but without the embroidered eagles of the latter. Pseudo-Kodinos writes that the particular forms of another form of hat, the domed ''skaranikon'', and of the mantle, the ''tamparion'', for the ''caesar'' were not known.{{sfn|Verpeaux|1966|pp=147–149}}


==Ottoman Empire==
===Ottoman Empire===
{{Main|Ottoman claim to Roman succession}}
{{Main|Ottoman claim to Roman succession}}
[[File:Gennadios II and Mehmed II.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[Mehmed II]] and Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople [[Gennadius Scholarius|Gennadios]].]]
[[File:Gennadios II and Mehmed II.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[Mehmed II]] and Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople [[Gennadius Scholarius|Gennadios]].]]
"Caesar" is the title officially used by the [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanid Persians]] to refer to the Roman and Byzantine emperors.<ref>{{lang-pal|[[wikt:𐭪𐭩𐭮𐭫𐭩|𐭪𐭩𐭮𐭫𐭩]]}} kysly ([[Inscriptional Pahlavi]]), kysl ([[Book Pahlavi]]), transcribed as ''kēsar''</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hurbanič |first1=Martin |title=The Avar Siege of Constantinople in 626: History and Legend |date=2019 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-030-16684-7 |page=234 |language=en}}</ref> In the [[Middle East]], the Persians and the Arabs continued to refer to the Roman and Byzantine emperors as "Caesar" (in {{lang-fa|قیصر روم}} ''Qaysar-i Rum'', "Caesar of the Romans", from [[Middle Persian]] ''kēsar''). Thus, following the [[Fall of Constantinople|conquest of Constantinople]] in 1453, the victorious [[Ottoman sultan]] [[Mehmed II]] became the first of the rulers of the [[Ottoman Empire]] to assume the title (in {{lang-ota|قیصر روم}} ''Kayser-i Rûm'').
"Caesar" is the title officially used by the [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanid Persians]] to refer to the Roman and Byzantine emperors.<ref>{{langx|pal|[[wikt:𐭪𐭩𐭮𐭫𐭩|𐭪𐭩𐭮𐭫𐭩]]}} kysly ([[Inscriptional Pahlavi]]), kysl ([[Book Pahlavi]]), transcribed as ''kēsar''</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hurbanič |first1=Martin |title=The Avar Siege of Constantinople in 626: History and Legend |date=2019 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-030-16684-7 |page=234 |language=en}}</ref> In the [[Middle East]], the Persians and the Arabs continued to refer to the Roman and Byzantine emperors as "Caesar" (in {{langx|fa|قیصر روم}} ''Qaysar-i Rum'', "Caesar of the Romans", from [[Middle Persian]] ''kēsar''). Thus, following the [[Fall of Constantinople|conquest of Constantinople]] in 1453, the victorious [[Ottoman sultan]] [[Mehmed II]] became the first of the rulers of the [[Ottoman Empire]] to assume the title (in {{langx|ota|قیصر روم}} ''Kayser-i Rûm'').


After the Fall of Constantinople, having conquered the Byzantine Empire, Mehmed took the title ''[[Kayser-i Rûm]]'', claiming succession to the Roman imperium.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Michalis N. Michael|author2=Matthias Kappler|author3=Eftihios Gavriel|title=Archivum Ottomanicum|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SjwMAQAAMAAJ|year=2009|publisher=Mouton|page=10|isbn=978-3447057530}}</ref> His claim was that, by possession of the city, he was emperor, a new dynast [[Right of conquest|by conquest]], as had been done previously by the likes of [[Heraclius]] and [[Leo III the Isaurian|Leo III]].<ref>{{cite book|author1=Christine Isom-Verhaaren|author2=Kent F. Schull|title=Living in the Ottoman Realm: Empire and Identity, 13th to 20th Centuries|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZX2_CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA38|date=11 April 2016|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0-253-01948-6|pages=38–}}</ref> Contemporary scholar [[George of Trebizond]] wrote "the seat of the Roman Empire is Constantinople ... and he who is and remains Emperor of the Romans is also the Emperor of the whole world".<ref name="Crowley2009">{{cite book|first=Roger |last=Crowley|title=Constantinople: The Last Great Siege, 1453|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ftOp1cR7VK8C&pg=PT13|year=2009|publisher=Faber & Faber|isbn=978-0-571-25079-0|pages=13–}}</ref>
After the Fall of Constantinople, having conquered the Byzantine Empire, Mehmed took the title ''[[Kayser-i Rûm]]'', claiming succession to the Roman imperium.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Michalis N. Michael|author2=Matthias Kappler|author3=Eftihios Gavriel|title=Archivum Ottomanicum|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SjwMAQAAMAAJ|year=2009|publisher=Mouton|page=10|isbn=978-3447057530}}</ref> His claim was that, by possession of the city, he was emperor, a new dynast [[Right of conquest|by conquest]], as had been done previously by the likes of [[Heraclius]] and [[Leo III the Isaurian|Leo III]].<ref>{{cite book|author1=Christine Isom-Verhaaren|author2=Kent F. Schull|title=Living in the Ottoman Realm: Empire and Identity, 13th to 20th Centuries|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZX2_CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA38|date=11 April 2016|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0-253-01948-6|pages=38–}}</ref> Contemporary scholar [[George of Trebizond]] wrote "the seat of the Roman Empire is Constantinople ... and he who is and remains Emperor of the Romans is also the Emperor of the whole world".<ref name="Crowley2009">{{cite book|first=Roger |last=Crowley|title=Constantinople: The Last Great Siege, 1453|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ftOp1cR7VK8C&pg=PT13|year=2009|publisher=Faber & Faber|isbn=978-0-571-25079-0|pages=13–}}</ref>
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[[Gennadius Scholarius|Gennadius II]], a staunch antagonist of the West because of the [[Sack of Constantinople]] committed by the Western Catholics and theological controversies between the two Churches, had been enthroned the [[Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople|Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople-New Rome]] with all the ceremonial elements and [[ethnarch]] (or ''milletbashi'') status by the Sultan himself in 1454. In turn, Gennadius II formally recognized Mehmed as successor to the throne.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://global.britannica.com/biography/Gennadios-II-Scholarios|title= Gennadios II Scholarios |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Britannica |access-date=13 July 2020}}</ref> Mehmed also had a blood lineage to the Byzantine Imperial family; his predecessor, Sultan [[Orhan]] had married a Byzantine princess, and Mehmed may have claimed descent from [[John Tzelepes Komnenos]].<ref name="Norwich 1995 413–416">{{Cite book| last = Norwich | first = John Julius | author-link = John Julius Norwich | year = 1995 | title = Byzantium:The Decline and Fall | pages = 81–82 | publisher = Alfred A. Knopf | location = New York | isbn = 0-679-41650-1}}</ref> Ottoman sultans were not the only rulers to claim such a title, as there was the [[Holy Roman Empire]] in Western Europe, whose emperor, [[Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick III]], traced his titular lineage from [[Charlemagne]] who obtained the title of Roman Emperor when he was crowned by [[Pope Leo III]] in 800, although he was never recognized as such by the Byzantine Empire.
[[Gennadius Scholarius|Gennadius II]], a staunch antagonist of the West because of the [[Sack of Constantinople]] committed by the Western Catholics and theological controversies between the two Churches, had been enthroned the [[Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople|Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople-New Rome]] with all the ceremonial elements and [[ethnarch]] (or ''milletbashi'') status by the Sultan himself in 1454. In turn, Gennadius II formally recognized Mehmed as successor to the throne.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://global.britannica.com/biography/Gennadios-II-Scholarios|title= Gennadios II Scholarios |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Britannica |access-date=13 July 2020}}</ref> Mehmed also had a blood lineage to the Byzantine Imperial family; his predecessor, Sultan [[Orhan]] had married a Byzantine princess, and Mehmed may have claimed descent from [[John Tzelepes Komnenos]].<ref name="Norwich 1995 413–416">{{Cite book| last = Norwich | first = John Julius | author-link = John Julius Norwich | year = 1995 | title = Byzantium:The Decline and Fall | pages = 81–82 | publisher = Alfred A. Knopf | location = New York | isbn = 0-679-41650-1}}</ref> Ottoman sultans were not the only rulers to claim such a title, as there was the [[Holy Roman Empire]] in Western Europe, whose emperor, [[Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick III]], traced his titular lineage from [[Charlemagne]] who obtained the title of Roman Emperor when he was crowned by [[Pope Leo III]] in 800, although he was never recognized as such by the Byzantine Empire.


In diplomatic writings between the Ottomans and Austrians, the Ottoman bureaucracy was angered by their use of the Caesar title when the Ottomans saw themself as the true successors of [[Roman Empire|Rome]]. When war broke out and peace negotiations were done, the Austrians ([[Holy Roman Empire]]) agreed to give up the use of the [[Julius Caesar|Caesar]] title according to [[Treaty of Constantinople (1533)]] (though they would continue to use it and the Roman imperial title until the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806). The Russians, who defined [[Moscow]] as the [[Third Rome]], were similarly sanctioned by the Ottomans, who ordered the [[Crimean Khanate]] to raid Russia on numerous occasions.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Kırım Hanlığı Tarihi Üzerine Araştırmalar 1441–1700: Seçme Eserleri – XI|last=Halil|first=Inançik|year=2017|isbn=978-6052952511}}</ref> The Ottomans would lose their political superiority over the Holy Roman Empire with the [[Peace of Zsitvatorok|Treaty of Zsitvatorok]] in 1606, and over the [[Russian Empire]] with the [[Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca]] in 1774, by diplomatically recognising the monarchs of these two countries as equals to the Ottoman Sultan for the first time.
In diplomatic writings between the Ottomans and Austrians, the Ottoman bureaucracy was angered by their use of the Caesar title when the Ottomans saw themself as the true successors of [[Roman Empire|Rome]]. When war broke out and peace negotiations were done, the Austrians ([[Holy Roman Empire]]) agreed to give up the use of the [[Julius Caesar|Caesar]] title according to [[Treaty of Constantinople (1533)]] (though they would continue to use it and the Roman imperial title until the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806). The Russians, who defined [[Moscow]] as the [[Third Rome]], were similarly sanctioned by the Ottomans, who ordered the [[Crimean Khanate]] to raid Russia on numerous occasions.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Kırım Hanlığı Tarihi Üzerine Araştırmalar 1441–1700: Seçme Eserleri – XI|last=Halil|first=Inançik|year=2017|isbn=978-6052952511}}</ref> The Ottomans stopped claiming political superiority over the Holy Roman Empire with the [[Peace of Zsitvatorok|Treaty of Zsitvatorok]] in 1606, and over the [[Russian Empire]] with the [[Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca]] in 1774, by diplomatically recognising the monarchs of these two countries as equals to the Ottoman Sultan for the first time.


==List of holders==
==List of holders==
Note: ''Caesars'' who later became ''Augusti'' and thus emperors are highlighted in bold.
Note: ''Caesars'' who later became ''Augusti'' and thus emperors are highlighted in bold.
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
!Coin
!Name
!Name
!Acceded
!Acceded
Line 79: Line 80:
!R.
!R.
|-
|-
|
|[[Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi Licinianus|Piso Licinianus]]
|[[Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi Licinianus|Piso Licinianus]]
|10 January 69
|10 January 69
Line 87: Line 89:
|<ref>{{cite book|author=Harriet I. Flower|title=The Art of Forgetting: Disgrace & Oblivion in Roman Political Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4T6Oyezn_msC&pg=PA225|year=2006|publisher=Univ of North Carolina Press|isbn=978-0-8078-3063-5|page=225|quote=Piso is called by his new adoptive name of Servius Sulpicius Galba Caesar.}}</ref>
|<ref>{{cite book|author=Harriet I. Flower|title=The Art of Forgetting: Disgrace & Oblivion in Roman Political Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4T6Oyezn_msC&pg=PA225|year=2006|publisher=Univ of North Carolina Press|isbn=978-0-8078-3063-5|page=225|quote=Piso is called by his new adoptive name of Servius Sulpicius Galba Caesar.}}</ref>
|-
|-
|[[File:Aureus of Titus as Caesar (obverse).jpg|35x35px]]
|'''[[Titus]]'''
|'''[[Titus]]'''
|21 December 69
|21 December 69
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|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=105|pp=}}
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=105|pp=}}
|-
|-
|[[File:Coin of Domitian as Caesar (obverse).jpg|35x35px]]
|'''[[Domitian]]'''
|'''[[Domitian]]'''
|21 December 69
|21 December 69
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|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=109|pp=}}
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=109|pp=}}
|-
|-
|[[File:Domitia, denarius, cropped, AD 82-83, RIC II 153.jpg|35x35px]]
|[[Flavius Caesar|Flavius]]
|[[Flavius Caesar|Flavius]]
|after AD 74
|after AD 74
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|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=112, perhaps given posthumously|pp=}}
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=112, perhaps given posthumously|pp=}}
|-
|-
|
|'''[[Trajan]]'''
|'''[[Trajan]]'''
|Late October 97
|Late October 97
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|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=116|pp=}}
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=116|pp=}}
|-
|-
|[[File:INC-1843-a Ауреус Элий Вер цезарь ок. 137 г. (аверс).png|36x36px]]
|[[Lucius Aelius Caesar|Lucius Aelius]]
|[[Lucius Aelius Caesar|Lucius Aelius]]
|June/August 136
|June/August 136
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|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=126|pp=}}
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=126|pp=}}
|-
|-
|
|'''[[Antoninus Pius]]'''
|'''[[Antoninus Pius]]'''
|25 February 138
|25 February 138
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|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=128|pp=}}
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=128|pp=}}
|-
|-
|[[File:Aureus of Marcus Aurelius as Caesar.png|35x35px]]
|'''[[Marcus Aurelius]]'''
|'''[[Marcus Aurelius]]'''
|Late 139
|Late 139
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|<ref>{{Cite book|last=J. C.|first=O'Neill|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XdbYAAAAMAAJ&q=%22July+139%22|title=The Theology of Acts in Its Historical Setting|publisher=S.P.C.K.|year=1970|isbn=978-1028102341|page=18}}</ref>
|<ref>{{Cite book|last=J. C.|first=O'Neill|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XdbYAAAAMAAJ&q=%22July+139%22|title=The Theology of Acts in Its Historical Setting|publisher=S.P.C.K.|year=1970|isbn=978-1028102341|page=18}}</ref>
|-
|-
|[[File:Commodus und Annius Verus - Münzkabinett, Berlin - 5483208 (cropped).jpg|35x35px]]
|[[Marcus Annius Verus Caesar|Annius Verus]]
|[[Marcus Annius Verus Caesar|Annius Verus]]
|12 October 166
|12 October 166
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|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=134|pp=}}
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=134|pp=}}
|-
|-
|[[File:INC-2943-a Ауреус. Коммод, цезарь. Ок. 175—176 гг. (аверс).png|35x35px]]
|'''[[Commodus]]'''
|'''[[Commodus]]'''
|12 October 166
|12 October 166
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|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=140|pp=}}
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=140|pp=}}
|-
|-
|[[Publius Helvius Pertinax (son of emperor Pertinax)|Pertinax Junior]]
|[[File:Tetradrachm Pertinax Caesar (obverse).jpg|36x36px]]
|[[Pertinax the Younger|Pertinax Junior]]
|193
|{{Circa|}}January 193
|193
|{{Circa|}}March 193
|title revoked
|title revoked
|[[Pertinax]]
|[[Pertinax]]
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|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=146}}
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=146}}
|-
|-
|[[Clodius Albinus]] (?)
|[[File:Aureus-Clodius Albinus-RIC 0009b (obverse).jpg|35x35px]]
|[[Clodius Albinus]]
|{{Circa|194}}
|{{Circa|194}}
|{{Circa|196}}
|{{Circa|196}}
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|<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lindsay |first=Hugh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3zrBEy7fgzYC&pg=PA214 |title=Adoption in the Roman World |year=2009 |isbn=978-0521760508 |page=214}} The ''[[Historia Augusta]]'' states that Severus considered abdicating in favour of Albinus. [[Herodian]] and [[Cassius Dio|Dio]], however, say this was merely a trick.</ref>
|<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lindsay |first=Hugh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3zrBEy7fgzYC&pg=PA214 |title=Adoption in the Roman World |year=2009 |isbn=978-0521760508 |page=214}} The ''[[Historia Augusta]]'' states that Severus considered abdicating in favour of Albinus. [[Herodian]] and [[Cassius Dio|Dio]], however, say this was merely a trick.</ref>
|-
|-
|[[File:Julia Domna with Caracalla and Geta as Caesars.png|35x35px]]
|'''[[Caracalla]]'''
|'''[[Caracalla]]'''
|4 April 196
|4 April 196
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|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=156|pp=}}
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=156|pp=}}
|-
|-
|[[File:INC-1853-a Ауреус Гета ок. 200-202 гг. (аверс).png|35x35px]]
|'''[[Geta (emperor)|Geta]]'''
|'''[[Geta (emperor)|Geta]]'''
|28 January 198
|28 January 198
|{{Circa}} October 209
|{{Circa}} October 209
|proclaimed ''augustus''
|proclaimed ''augustus''
|[[Septimius Severus]]/[[Caracalla]]
|[[Septimius Severus]]
|Son/Brother
|Son/Brother
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=160|pp=}}
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=160|pp=}}
|-
|-
|[[File:Macrino, aureo per diadoumeniano cesare, 217-18, 01.JPG|35x35px]]
|'''[[Diadumenian]]'''
|'''[[Diadumenian]]'''
|April 217
|April 217
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|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=163|pp=}}
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=163|pp=}}
|-
|-
|[[File:Coin of Severus Alexander as Caesar (obverse).jpg|35x35px]]
|'''[[Severus Alexander]]'''
|'''[[Severus Alexander]]'''
|June 221
|June 221
Line 204: Line 221:
|succeeded as ''augustus''
|succeeded as ''augustus''
|[[Elagabalus]]
|[[Elagabalus]]
|Adopted son and cousin
|Cousin
|<ref>{{Cite web|title=Severus Alexander|url=https://www.livius.org/articles/person/severus-alexander/|website=[[Livius.org]]}}</ref>
|<ref>{{Cite web|title=Severus Alexander|url=https://www.livius.org/articles/person/severus-alexander/|website=[[Livius.org]]}}</ref>
|-
|-
|
|[[Seius Sallustius|Sallustius]] (?)
|[[Seius Sallustius|Sallustius]] (?)
|{{Circa}} 227
|{{Circa}} 227
Line 215: Line 233:
|<ref>{{Cite web|title=Alexander Severus (A.D. 222–235)|url=http://www.roman-emperors.org/alexsev.htm|website=[[De Imperatoribus Romanis]]}}</ref>
|<ref>{{Cite web|title=Alexander Severus (A.D. 222–235)|url=http://www.roman-emperors.org/alexsev.htm|website=[[De Imperatoribus Romanis]]}}</ref>
|-
|-
|[[File:Gaius Iulius Verus Maximus denarius 236 (obverse).jpg|35x35px]]
|[[Gaius Julius Verus Maximus|Verus Maximus]]
|[[Gaius Julius Verus Maximus|Verus Maximus]]
|January/May 236
|January/May 236
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|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=178|pp=}}
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=178|pp=}}
|-
|-
|[[File:Denarius of Gordian III as Caesar (obverse).jpg|35x35px]]
|'''[[Gordian III]]'''
|'''[[Gordian III]]'''
|April/May 238
|April/May 238
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|{{sfn|Peachin|1990|pp=28–34}}
|{{sfn|Peachin|1990|pp=28–34}}
|-
|-
|[[File:Philip II Antoninianus.jpg|35x35px]]
|'''[[Philip II (Roman emperor)|Philip II]]'''
|'''[[Philip II (Roman emperor)|Philip II]]'''
|August 244
|August 244
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|{{sfn|Peachin|1990|pp=28–34}}
|{{sfn|Peachin|1990|pp=28–34}}
|-
|-
|[[File:Herennius Etruscus Coin Obverse with Crown.jpg|35x35px]]
|'''[[Herennius Etruscus]]'''
|'''[[Herennius Etruscus]]'''
|September 250
|September 250
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|{{sfn|Peachin|1990|pp=28–34}}
|{{sfn|Peachin|1990|pp=28–34}}
|-
|-
|[[File:INC-2038-a Ауреус. Гостилиан. Ок. 251 г. (аверс).png|35x35px]]
|'''[[Hostilian]]'''
|'''[[Hostilian]]'''
|September 250
|September 250
|June 251
|June 251
|succeeded as ''augustus''
|succeeded as ''augustus''
|[[Decius]]/[[Herennius Etruscus]]
|[[Decius]]
|Son/Brother
|Son
|{{sfn|Peachin|1990|pp=28–34}}
|{{sfn|Peachin|1990|pp=28–34}}
|-
|-
|[[File:Volusian Caesar (obverse).jpg|35x35px]]
|'''[[Volusianus]]'''
|'''[[Volusianus]]'''
|{{Circa}} July 251
|{{Circa}} July 251
|{{Circa}} August 251
|{{Circa}} August 251
|proclaimed ''augustus''
|proclaimed ''augustus''
|[[Trebonianus Gallus]]/[[Hostilian]]
|[[Trebonianus Gallus]]
|Son/Brother-in-law
|Son
|{{sfn|Peachin|1990|p=36|pp=}}
|{{sfn|Peachin|1990|p=36|pp=}}
|-
|-
|[[File:Antoninianus of Valerian II - cropped.jpg|35x35px]]
|[[Valerian II]]
|[[Valerian II]]
|{{Circa}} September 256
|{{Circa}} September 256
Line 271: Line 296:
|{{sfn|Peachin|1990|p=38|pp=}}
|{{sfn|Peachin|1990|p=38|pp=}}
|-
|-
|[[File:Aureus Saloninus Caesar (obverse).jpg|35x35px]]
|'''[[Saloninus]]'''
|'''[[Saloninus]]'''
|{{Circa}} June 258
|{{Circa}} June 258
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|{{sfn|Peachin|1990|p=38}}
|{{sfn|Peachin|1990|p=38}}
|-
|-
|[[File:Aureus of Carinus as Caesar (obverse).jpg|35x35px]]
|'''[[Carinus]]'''
|'''[[Carinus]]'''
|282
|November (?) 282
|Spring 283
|Spring 283
|proclaimed ''augustus''
|proclaimed ''augustus''
|[[Carus]]
|[[Carus]]
|Son
|Son
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=250|pp=}}
|<ref>Zonaras, 12:30</ref><ref>Victor 38:2</ref>
|-
|-
|[[File:Numerian as Caesar (obverse).jpg|35x35px]]
|'''[[Numerian]]'''
|'''[[Numerian]]'''
|282
|November (?) 282
|July 283
|July 283
|succeeded as ''augustus''
|succeeded as ''augustus''
|[[Carus]]/[[Carinus]]
|[[Carus]]/[[Carinus]]
|Son/Brother
|Son/Brother
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=252|pp=}}
|<ref>Zonaras, 12:30</ref><ref>Victor 38:2</ref>
|-
|-
|
|'''[[Maximian]]'''
|'''[[Maximian]]''' (?)
|21 July (?) 285
|21 July (?) 285{{Efn|Some authors argue that Maximian was never ''caesar'' given the lack of concrete evidence for this.}}
|1 April 286
|1 April (?) 286{{efn|Or, alternatively, December 285.}}
|succeeded as ''augustus''
|succeeded as ''augustus''
|[[Diocletian]] (East)
|[[Diocletian]] (East)
Line 303: Line 332:
|<ref>{{Cite book|last=Omissi|first=Adrastos|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EWliDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA76|title=Emperors and Usurpers in the Later Roman Empire|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=2018|isbn=978-0192558268|pages=76}}</ref>
|<ref>{{Cite book|last=Omissi|first=Adrastos|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EWliDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA76|title=Emperors and Usurpers in the Later Roman Empire|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=2018|isbn=978-0192558268|pages=76}}</ref>
|-
|-
|[[File:Replicated medallion of Constantius I (2) (obverse).png|35x35px]]
|'''[[Constantius I]]'''
|'''[[Constantius I]]'''
|1 March 293
|1 March 293
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|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=269}}
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=269}}
|-
|-
|[[File:Rare aureus of Galerius Caesar (obverse).jpg|35x35px]]
|'''[[Galerius]]'''
|'''[[Galerius]]'''
|21 March 293
|21 March 293
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|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=272|pp=}}
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=272|pp=}}
|-
|-
|[[File:Gold Aureus of Severus II (MANTIS).jpg|35x35px]]
|'''[[Severus II]]'''
|'''[[Severus II]]'''
|1 May 305
|1 May 305
|25 July 306
|August 306
|succeeded as ''augustus''
|succeeded as ''augustus''
|[[Maximian]] (West)
|[[Maximian]] (West)
Line 327: Line 359:
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=278|pp=}}
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=278|pp=}}
|-
|-
|[[File:Maximinus Caesar (obverse).jpg|35x35px]]
|'''[[Maximinus II]]'''
|'''[[Maximinus II]]'''
|1 May 305
|1 May 305
|1 May 310
|May (?) 310
|succeeded as ''augustus''
|succeeded as ''augustus''
|[[Galerius]] (East)
|[[Galerius]] (East)
Line 335: Line 368:
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=277|pp=}}
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=277|pp=}}
|-
|-
|[[File:Aureus of Constantine I as Caesar.jpg|35x35px]]
|'''[[Constantine the Great|Constantine I]]'''
|'''[[Constantine the Great|Constantine I]]'''
|August 306{{Efn|Self-proclaimed ''augustus'', but only recognized as ''caesar'' by his fellow tetrarchs.}}
|25 July 306
|May 310{{Efn|Constantine was recognized as ''augustus'' by Maximian in September 307, but at the same time was excluded of the imperial college by Galerius, who did not recognize the rule of Maximian and Maxentius. Constantine regained the title of ''caesar'' (which he continued to unacknowledge) in November 308, at the [[Conference of Carnuntum]].}}
|May 310
|proclaimed ''augustus''
|recognized as ''augustus''
|[[Severus II]]/[[Licinius]] (West)
|[[Galerius]]/[[Licinius]] (East)
|–/Brother-in-law
|Brothers-in-law
|{{sfn|Barnes|1984|pp=30–33}}
|{{sfn|Barnes|1984|pp=30–33}}
|-
|-
|[[File:Licinius gold multiple CdM Beistegui 232.jpg|35x35px]]
|[[Licinius Junior]]
|[[Licinius Junior]]
|1 March 317
|1 March 317
Line 351: Line 386:
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=284|pp=}}
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=284|pp=}}
|-
|-
|[[File:INC-1822-a Солид Крисп цезарь ок. 317 г. (аверс).png|35x35px]]
|[[Crispus]]
|[[Crispus]]
|1 March 317
|1 March 317
Line 359: Line 395:
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=293|pp=}}
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=293|pp=}}
|-
|-
|[[File:INC-2046-a Ауреус. Константин II. Ок. 337—340 гг. (аверс).png|35x35px]]
|'''[[Constantine II (emperor)|Constantine II]]'''
|'''[[Constantine II (emperor)|Constantine II]]'''
|1 March 317
|1 March 317
Line 367: Line 404:
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=297|pp=}}
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=297|pp=}}
|-
|-
|[[File:Miliarensis of Constantius II, AD 327 (obverse).jpg|35x35px]]
|'''[[Constantius II]]'''
|'''[[Constantius II]]'''
|8 November 324
|1 March 317
|9 September 337
|9 September 337
|succeeded as ''augustus''
|succeeded as ''augustus''
Line 375: Line 413:
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=297|pp=}}
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=297|pp=}}
|-
|-
|[[File:Constans as Caesar (obverse).jpg|35x35px]]
|'''[[Constans I]]'''
|'''[[Constans I]]'''
|25 December 333
|25 December 333
Line 383: Line 422:
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=298|pp=}}
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=298|pp=}}
|-
|-
|[[File:Delmatius Coin Abverse.jpg|35x35px]]
|[[Dalmatius]]
|[[Dalmatius]]
|18 September 335
|18 September 335
|337
|June/Aug. 337
|murdered
|murdered
|[[Constantine I]]
|[[Constantine I]]
Line 391: Line 431:
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=294|pp=}}
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=294|pp=}}
|-
|-
|[[File:Impero, decenzio, medaglione in bronzo (roma), 350-353.JPG|35x35px]]
|[[Decentius]]
|[[Decentius]]
|July/August 350
|July/August 350
Line 399: Line 440:
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=306|pp=}}
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=306|pp=}}
|-
|-
|[[File:INC-1825-a Солид Констанций Галл цезарь ок. 351-354 гг. (аверс).png|35x35px]]
|[[Constantius Gallus]]
|[[Constantius Gallus]]
|15 March 351
|15 March 351
|354
|Late 354
|executed
|executed
|[[Constantius II]]
|[[Constantius II]]
Line 407: Line 449:
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=303|pp=}}
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=303|pp=}}
|-
|-
|'''[[Julian (emperor)|Julian]]'''
|[[File:Emperor Julian as Caesar (obverse).jpg|35x35px]]
|'''[[Julian (emperor)|Julian II]]'''
|6 November 355
|6 November 355
|3 November 361
|3 November 361
Line 415: Line 458:
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=309|pp=}}
|{{sfn|Kienast|Eck|Heil|p=309|pp=}}
|-
|-
|
|'''[[Constans II (son of Constantine III)|Constans II]]'''
|'''[[Constans II (son of Constantine III)|Constans II]]'''
|408
|408
Line 423: Line 467:
|{{sfn|PLRE|loc=II, p. 310}}
|{{sfn|PLRE|loc=II, p. 310}}
|-
|-
|
|'''[[Valentinian III]]'''
|'''[[Valentinian III]]'''
|23 October 424
|23 October 424
Line 431: Line 476:
|{{sfn|PLRE|loc=II, p. 1138}}
|{{sfn|PLRE|loc=II, p. 1138}}
|-
|-
|
|[[Palladius (Caesar)|Palladius]]
|[[Palladius (Caesar)|Palladius]]
|17 March 455
|17 March 455
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|{{sfn|PLRE|loc= II, p. 751}}
|{{sfn|PLRE|loc= II, p. 751}}
|-
|-
|
|[[Patricius (Caesar)|Patricius]]
|[[Patricius (Caesar)|Patricius]]
|{{Circa}} 470
|{{Circa}} 470
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|{{sfn|PLRE|loc=II, p. 842}}
|{{sfn|PLRE|loc=II, p. 842}}
|-
|-
|
|'''[[Leo II (emperor)|Leo II]]'''
|'''[[Leo II (emperor)|Leo II]]'''
|{{Circa}} October 472
|{{Circa}} October 472
Line 455: Line 503:
|<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Croke|first=Brian|date=2004|title=The Imperial Reigns of Leo II|url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/BYZS.2003.559/html|journal=[[Byzantinische Zeitschrift]]|volume=96|issue=2|pages=559–575|doi=10.1515/BYZS.2003.559|s2cid=191460505 }}</ref>
|<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Croke|first=Brian|date=2004|title=The Imperial Reigns of Leo II|url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/BYZS.2003.559/html|journal=[[Byzantinische Zeitschrift]]|volume=96|issue=2|pages=559–575|doi=10.1515/BYZS.2003.559|s2cid=191460505 }}</ref>
|-
|-
|
|'''[[Marcus (son of Basiliscus)|Marcus]]'''
|'''[[Marcus (son of Basiliscus)|Marcus]]'''
|475
|475
Line 463: Line 512:
|{{sfn|PLRE||loc=II, p. 720}}
|{{sfn|PLRE||loc=II, p. 720}}
|-
|-
|
|[[Basiliscus (Caesar)|Basiliscus]]
|[[Basiliscus (Caesar)|Basiliscus]]
|476
|476
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|{{sfn|PLRE||loc=II, 211}}
|{{sfn|PLRE||loc=II, 211}}
|-
|-
|
|'''[[Justinian I]]'''
|'''[[Justinian I]]'''
|525
|525
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|<ref>[[Victor of Tunnuna]] ({{Circa}} 570), [https://www.dmgh.de/mgh_auct_ant_11/#page/196/mode/1up ''Chronica'' s.a. 525].</ref>
|<ref>[[Victor of Tunnuna]] ({{Circa}} 570), [https://www.dmgh.de/mgh_auct_ant_11/#page/196/mode/1up ''Chronica'' s.a. 525].</ref>
|-
|-
|
|'''[[Tiberius II]]'''
|'''[[Tiberius II]]'''
|7 December 574
|7 December 574
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|{{sfn|PLRE|loc=III, pp. 1321–1326}}
|{{sfn|PLRE|loc=III, pp. 1321–1326}}
|-
|-
|
|[[Germanus (Caesar)|Germanus]]
|[[Germanus (Caesar)|Germanus]]
|5 August 582
|5 August 582
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|{{sfn|PLRE||loc=III, p. 529}}
|{{sfn|PLRE||loc=III, p. 529}}
|-
|-
|
|'''[[Maurice (emperor)|Maurice]]'''
|'''[[Maurice (emperor)|Maurice]]'''
|5 August 582
|5 August 582
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|{{sfn|PLRE||loc=III, pp. 855–860}}
|{{sfn|PLRE||loc=III, pp. 855–860}}
|-
|-
|
|'''[[Theodosius (son of Maurice)|Theodosius]]'''
|'''[[Theodosius (son of Maurice)|Theodosius]]'''
|{{Circa}} 587
|{{Circa}} 587
Line 511: Line 566:
|{{sfn|PLRE||loc=III, p. 1293}}
|{{sfn|PLRE||loc=III, p. 1293}}
|-
|-
|
|'''[[Heraclonas]]'''
|'''[[Heraclonas]]'''
|1 January 632
|1 January 632
Line 519: Line 575:
|<ref>{{Cite book |last=Grierson |first=Philip |url=https://archive.org/details/docoins-2 |title=Catalogue of the Byzantine Coins, Vol. 2 |publisher=[[Dumbarton Oaks]] |year=1996 |isbn=978-0884020240 |pages=216 & 390 |author-link=Philip Grierson}}</ref>
|<ref>{{Cite book |last=Grierson |first=Philip |url=https://archive.org/details/docoins-2 |title=Catalogue of the Byzantine Coins, Vol. 2 |publisher=[[Dumbarton Oaks]] |year=1996 |isbn=978-0884020240 |pages=216 & 390 |author-link=Philip Grierson}}</ref>
|-
|-
|
|'''[[David Tiberius]]'''
|'''[[David Tiberius]]'''
|4 July 638
|4 July 638
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|<ref name=":0">{{cite journal |last1=Gonis |first1=Nikolaos |date=2008 |title=SB VI 8986 and Heraclius' Sons |journal=Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik |volume=166 |pages=199–202 |jstor=20476531}}</ref>
|<ref name=":0">{{cite journal |last1=Gonis |first1=Nikolaos |date=2008 |title=SB VI 8986 and Heraclius' Sons |journal=Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik |volume=166 |pages=199–202 |jstor=20476531}}</ref>
|-
|-
|
|[[Martinus (son of Heraclius)|Martinus]]
|[[Martinus (son of Heraclius)|Martinus]]
|4 July 638 (?)
|4 July 638 (?)
Line 534: Line 592:
|Son
|Son
|<ref name=":0" />
|<ref name=":0" />
|-
|
|'''[[Constans II]]'''
|c. February 641
|c. July 641
|title revoked (?),<br/>later proclaimed ''augustus''
|[[Heraclius Constantine]]
|Son
|<ref>Zuckerman, Constantin (2010): "[http://www.academia.edu/2481312/ On the title and the office of the Byzantine basileus]." ''Travaux et Mémoires du Centre de recherche d'Histoire et Civilisation de Byzance'' '''16''': pp. 869–874.</ref>
|}
|}


Line 574: Line 641:
*[[Mehmed II]] (r. 1451–1481) assumed title ''[[kayser-i Rûm]]'' following the conquest of Constantinople in 1452
*[[Mehmed II]] (r. 1451–1481) assumed title ''[[kayser-i Rûm]]'' following the conquest of Constantinople in 1452
*[[Bayezid II]] (r. 1481–1512) is addressed as ''kayser'' in contemporary sources<ref>{{Cite book |last=Casale |first=Sinem Arcak |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rta8EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA42 |title=Ottoman-Safavid Cultural Exchange, 1500–1639 |date=2023 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-82042-2 |pages=42}}</ref>
*[[Bayezid II]] (r. 1481–1512) is addressed as ''kayser'' in contemporary sources<ref>{{Cite book |last=Casale |first=Sinem Arcak |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rta8EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA42 |title=Ottoman-Safavid Cultural Exchange, 1500–1639 |date=2023 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-82042-2 |pages=42}}</ref>
*[[Suleiman the Magnificent|Suleiman I]] (r. 1520–1566) called himself Caesar of Rome in the inscription of [[Bender, Moldova]], dating from {{ca|1538/39}}.<ref>{{cite book |author=Dimitri Korobeinikov |url=https://www.medievalworlds.net/0xc1aa5576%200x003d0810.pdf |title=Medieval Worlds Comparative & Interdisciplinary Studies |publisher=Austrian Academy of Sciences Press |year=2021 |volume=14 |page= |pages=180, 185 |chapter=Conquest of a Fortress as a Source of Legitimacy |quote=}}</ref> In one of his poems, he also called himself "Roman caesar".<ref>{{TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi|url=https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/kayser|title=Kayser قيصر Araplar’ın Roma ve Bizans imparatorları için kullandıkları unvan.}}</ref>
*[[Suleiman the Magnificent|Suleiman I]] (r. 1520–1566) called himself "Caesar of Rome" in the inscription of [[Bender, Moldova]], dating from {{ca|1538/39}}.<ref>{{cite book |author=Dimitri Korobeinikov |url=https://www.medievalworlds.net/0xc1aa5576%200x003d0810.pdf |title=Medieval Worlds Comparative & Interdisciplinary Studies |publisher=Austrian Academy of Sciences Press |year=2021 |volume=14 |pages=180, 185 |chapter=Conquest of a Fortress as a Source of Legitimacy |quote=}}</ref> In one of his poems, he also called himself "Roman caesar".<ref>{{TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi|url=https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/kayser|title=Kayser قيصر Araplar’ın Roma ve Bizans imparatorları için kullandıkları unvan.}}</ref>
**See [[List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire]]; the title ''kayser'' continued to be used as late as the 18th century.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kumar |first=Krishan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q8iXDwAAQBAJ |title=Visions of Empire: How Five Imperial Regimes Shaped the World |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2017 |isbn=978-0691192802 |location=Princeton |page=89}}</ref>
**See [[List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire]]; the title ''kayser'' continued to be used as late as the 18th century.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kumar |first=Krishan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q8iXDwAAQBAJ |title=Visions of Empire: How Five Imperial Regimes Shaped the World |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2017 |isbn=978-0691192802 |location=Princeton |page=89}}</ref>


==See also==
== See also ==
* [[Caesaropapism]]
* [[Caesaropapism]]


==Notes==
{{notelist}}
==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}
Line 590: Line 659:
* {{cite book|last=Jones|first=A.H.M.|url=https://archive.org/details/prosopography-later-roman-empire|title=Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire|author2=J.R. Martindale|author3=J. Morris|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1971–1992|isbn=0-521-07233-6|ref={{sfnref|PLRE}}|author-link=A. H. M. Jones|author-link2=John Robert Martindale|author-link3=John Morris (historian)|name-list-style=amp}}
* {{cite book|last=Jones|first=A.H.M.|url=https://archive.org/details/prosopography-later-roman-empire|title=Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire|author2=J.R. Martindale|author3=J. Morris|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1971–1992|isbn=0-521-07233-6|ref={{sfnref|PLRE}}|author-link=A. H. M. Jones|author-link2=John Robert Martindale|author-link3=John Morris (historian)|name-list-style=amp}}
* {{Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium|ref={{harvid|ODB}}}}
* {{Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium|ref={{harvid|ODB}}}}
* {{cite book|last=Kienast|first=Dietmar|title=Römische Kaisertabelle: Grundzüge einer römischen Kaiserchronologie|author2=Werner Eck|author3=Matthäus Heil|publisher=[[Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft|WBG]]|year=2017|isbn=978-3-534-26724-8|place=Darmstadt|ref={{sfnref|Kienast|Eck|Heil}}|author-link2=Werner Eck|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rYRorgEACAAJ}}
* {{cite book |last=Kienast |first=Dietmar |title=Römische Kaisertabelle: Grundzüge einer römischen Kaiserchronologie |author2=Werner Eck |author3=Matthäus Heil |publisher=[[Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft|WBG]] |year=2017 |isbn=978-3-534-26724-8 |place=Darmstadt |ref={{sfnref|Kienast|Eck|Heil}} |author-link2=Werner Eck |url=https://archive.org/details/romische-kaisertabelle}}
* {{cite book|last=Peachin|first=Michael|url=https://archive.org/details/ritac235|title=Roman Imperial Titulature and Chronology, A.D. 235–284|publisher=Gieben|year=1990|isbn=90-5063-034-0|place=Amsterdam}}
* {{cite book|last=Peachin|first=Michael|url=https://archive.org/details/ritac235|title=Roman Imperial Titulature and Chronology, A.D. 235–284|publisher=Gieben|year=1990|isbn=90-5063-034-0|place=Amsterdam}}
* {{cite book|editor-first=Jean|editor-last=Verpeaux|title=Pseudo-Kodinos, Traité des Offices|publisher=Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique|year=1966|language=fr}}
* {{cite book|editor-first=Jean|editor-last=Verpeaux|title=Pseudo-Kodinos, Traité des Offices|publisher=Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique|year=1966|language=fr}}
Line 596: Line 665:
== Further reading ==
== Further reading ==
* {{cite journal|last=Ferjančić|first=Božidar|author-link=Božidar Ferjančić|title=Севастократори и кесари у Српском царству|trans-title=Sebastocrators and Caesares in the Serbian Empire|year=1970|journal=Зборник Филозофског факултета |location=Belgrade|pages=255–269}}
* {{cite journal|last=Ferjančić|first=Božidar|author-link=Božidar Ferjančić|title=Севастократори и кесари у Српском царству|trans-title=Sebastocrators and Caesares in the Serbian Empire|year=1970|journal=Зборник Филозофског факултета |location=Belgrade|pages=255–269}}
* Krebs, C. B. (2023), "[https://histos.org/documents/2023AA02KrebsIt'sCaesarNotMrKing.pdf It's Caesar [Kaiser/Tsar<nowiki>]</nowiki>, Not Mr. King.' (Mis)understanding a Caesarian Pun (Suet. ''Iul.'' 79.2) and Its Ironies]," in ''Histos'' 17: 43-51.
* [[Pauly-Wissowa]]&nbsp;– ''Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft''


{{Ancient Rome topics}}
{{Ancient Rome topics}}

Latest revision as of 00:16, 13 November 2024

Caesar
Sculpture depiction of Julius Caesar
PronunciationEnglish: /ˈszər/ SEE-zər
Classical Latin: [ˈkae̯sar]
GenderMale
Language(s)Latin
Origin
Region of originRoman Empire
Other names
Variant form(s)
Popularitysee popular names

Caesar (Latin: [ˈkae̯.sar] English pl. Caesars; Latin pl. Caesares; in Greek: Καῖσαρ Kaîsar) is a title of imperial character. It derives from the cognomen of the Roman dictator Julius Caesar. The change from being a surname to a title used by the Roman emperors can be traced to AD 68, following the fall of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. When used on its own, the title denoted heirs apparent, who would later adopt the title Augustus on accession.[1] The title remained an essential part of the style of the emperors, and became the word for "emperor" in some languages, such as German (kaiser) and Russian (tsar).

Origins

[edit]

The first known individual to bear the cognomen of "Caesar" was Sextus Julius Caesar, who is likewise believed to be the common ancestor of all subsequent Julii Caesares.[2][3] Sextus's great-grandson was the dictator Gaius Julius Caesar, who seized control of the Roman Republic following his war against the Senate. He appointed himself as dictator perpetuo ("dictator in perpetuity"), a title he held for only about a month before he was assassinated in 44 BC. Julius Caesar's death did not lead to the restoration of the Republic, and instead led to the rise of the Second Triumvirate, which was made up of three generals, including Julius' adopted son Gaius Octavius.

Following Roman naming conventions, Octavius adopted the name of his adoptive father, thus also becoming "Gaius Julius Caesar", though he was often called "Octavianus" to avoid confusion. He styled himself simply as "Gaius Caesar" to emphasize his relationship with Julius Caesar.[4] Eventually, distrust and jealousy between the triumvirs led to a lengthy civil war which ultimately ended with Octavius gaining control of the entire Roman world in 30 BC. In 27 BC, Octavius was given the honorific Augustus by the Senate, adopting the name of "Imperator Caesar Augustus". He had previously dropped all his names except for "Caesar", which he treated as a nomen, and had adopted the victory title imperator ("commander") as a new praenomen.[5]

As a matter of course, Augustus's own adopted son and successor, Tiberius, followed his (step)father's example and bore the name "Caesar" following his adoption on 26 June 4 AD, restyling himself as "Tiberius Julius Caesar". Upon his own ascension to the throne, he styled himself as "Tiberius Caesar Augustus". The precedent was thus then set: the Emperor, styled as "Augustus", designated his successor by adopting him and giving him the name "Caesar".

The fourth emperor, Claudius (in full, "Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus"), was the first to assume the name without having been adopted by the previous emperor. However, he was at least a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, being the maternal great-nephew of Augustus on his mother's side, the nephew of Tiberius, and the uncle of Caligula (who was also called "Gaius Julius Caesar"). Claudius, in turn, adopted his stepson and grand-nephew Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, giving him the name "Caesar" in addition to his own nomen, "Claudius". His stepson thus became "Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus".

Dynastic title

[edit]

The first emperor to assume both the position and name without any real claim was Galba, who took the throne under the name "Servius Galba Caesar Augustus" following the death of Nero in AD 68. Galba helped solidify "Caesar" as the title of the designated heir by giving it to his own adopted heir, Piso Licinianus.[6] His reign did not last long, however, and he was soon killed by Otho, who became "Marcus Otho Caesar Augustus". Otho was then defeated by Vitellius, who became "Aulus Vitellius Germanicus Augustus", adopting the victory title "Germanicus" instead. Nevertheless, "Caesar" had become such an integral part of the imperial dignity that its place was immediately restored by Vespasian, who ended the civil war and established the Flavian dynasty in AD 69, ruling as "Imperator Caesar Vespasianus Augustus".[7]

The placement of the name "Caesar" varied among the early emperors. It usually came right before the cognomen (Vespasian, Titus, Domitian, Trajan, Hadrian); a few placed it right after it (Galba, Otho, Nerva). The imperial formula was finally standardised during the reign of Antoninus Pius. Antoninus, born "Titus Aurelius Antoninus", became "Titus Aelius Caesar Antoninus" after his adoption but ruled as "Imperator Caesar Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Augustus Pius". The imperial formula thus became "Imperator Caesar [name] Augustus" for emperors. Heir-apparents added "Caesar" to their names, placing it after their cognomen.[7] Caesars occasionally were given the honorific princeps iuventutis ("First among the Youth") and, starting with the 3rd century, nobilissimus ("Most Noble").[1]

Later developments

[edit]

Crisis of the Third Century

[edit]

The popularity of using the title caesar to designate heirs-apparent increased throughout the third century. Many of the soldier-emperors during the Crisis of the Third Century attempted to strengthen their legitimacy by naming their sons as heirs with the title of caesar, namely Maximinus Thrax, Philip the Arab, Decius, Trebonianus Gallus, Gallienus and Carus. With the exception of Verus Maximus and Valerian II all of them were later either promoted to the rank of augustus within their father's lifetime (like Philip II) or succeeded as augusti after their father's death (Hostilian and Numerian). The same title would also be used in the Gallic Empire, which operated autonomously from the rest of the Roman Empire from 260 to 274, with the final Gallic emperor Tetricus I appointing his heir Tetricus II as caesar and his consular colleague.

Despite the best efforts of these emperors, however, the granting of this title does not seem to have made succession in this chaotic period any more stable. Almost all caesares would be killed before, or alongside, their fathers, or, at best, outlive them for a matter of months, as in the case of Hostilian. The sole caesar to successfully obtain the rank of augustus and rule for some time in his own right was Gordian III, and even he was heavily controlled by his court.

Tetrarchy and Diarchy

[edit]

In 293, Diocletian established the Tetrarchy, a system of rule by two senior emperors and two junior colleagues. The two coequal senior emperors were styled identically to previous Emperors, as augustus (in plural, augusti). The two junior colleagues were styled identically to previous Emperors-designate, as nobilissimus caesar. Likewise, the junior colleagues retained the title caesar upon becoming full emperors. The caesares of this period are sometimes referred as "emperors", with the Tetrarchy being a "rule of four emperors", despite being clearly subordinate of the augusti and thus not actually sovereigns.[8]

The Tetrarchy collapsed as soon as Diocletian stepped down in 305, resulting in a lengthy civil war. Constantine reunited the Empire in 324, after defeating the Eastern emperor Licinius. The tetrarchic division of power was abandoned, although the divisions of the praetorian prefectures were maintained. The title caesar continued to be used, but now merely as a ceremorial honorific for young heirs. Constantine had four caesares at the time of his death: his sons Constantius II, Constantine II, Constans and his nephew Dalmatius, with his eldest son Crispus having been executed in mysterious circumstances earlier in his reign. He would be succeeded only by his three sons, with Dalmatius dying in the summer of 337 in similarly murky circumstances.[9] Constantius II himself would nominate as caesares his cousins Constantius Gallus and Julian in succession in the 350s, although he first executed Gallus and then found himself at war with Julian before his own death. After Julian's revolt of 360, the title fell out of imperial fashion for some time, with emperors preferring simply to elevate their sons directly to augustus, starting with Gratian in 367.[9]

The title would be revived in 408 when Constantine III gave it to his son Constans II,[10] and then in 424 when Theodosius II gave it to his nephew Valentinian III before successfully installing him upon the western throne as augustus in 425.[9] Thereafter it would receive limited use in the Eastern Empire; for example, it was given to Leo II in 472 several months before his grandfather's death. In the Western Empire, Palladius, the son of emperor Petronius Maximus, became the last person bearing the title caesar in 455.

Byzantine Empire

[edit]
The Roman emperor Constantine the Great, mosaic in Hagia Sophia, Constantinople

Caesar or Kaisar (Καῖσαρ) remained a senior court title in the Eastern or Byzantine Empire. Originally, as in the classical Roman Empire, it was used for the heir apparent, and was first among the "awarded" dignities. From the reign of Theodosius I, however, most emperors chose to solidify the succession of their intended heirs by raising them to co-emperors, i.e. augustus. Hence the title was more frequently awarded to second- and third-born sons, or to close and influential relatives of the Emperor: for example, Alexios Mosele who was the son-in-law of Theophilos (ruled 829–842), Bardas who was the uncle and chief minister of Michael III (r. 842–867), and Nikephoros II (r. 963–969) who awarded the title to his father, Bardas Phokas.[11][12] An exceptional case was the conferment of the dignity and its insignia to the Bulgarian khan Tervel by Justinian II (r. 685–695, 705–711) who had helped him regain his throne in 705.[12] The title was awarded to the brother of Empress Maria of Alania, George II of Georgia in 1081.[13]

The office enjoyed extensive privileges, great prestige and power. When Alexios I Komnenos created the title of sebastokrator, kaisar became third in importance, and fourth after Manuel I Komnenos created the title of despot, which it remained until the end of the Empire. The feminine form was kaisarissa. It remained an office of great importance, usually awarded to imperial relations, as well as a few high-ranking and distinguished officials, and only rarely awarded to foreigners.[14]

According to the Klētorologion of 899, the Byzantine caesar's insignia were a crown without a cross, and the ceremony of a caesar's creation (in this case dating to Constantine V), is included in De Ceremoniis I.43.[15] The title remained the highest in the imperial hierarchy until the introduction of the sebastokratōr (a composite derived from sebastos and autokrator, the Greek equivalents of augustus and imperator) by Alexios I Komnenos (r. 1081–1118) and later of despotēs by Manuel I Komnenos (r. 1143–1180). The title remained in existence through the last centuries of the Empire. In the Palaiologan period, it was held by prominent nobles such as Alexios Strategopoulos, but from the 14th century, it was mostly awarded to rulers of the Balkans such as the princes of Vlachia, Serbia and Thessaly.[12]

Seal of the caesar Michael Angelos

In the late Byzantine hierarchy, as recorded in the mid-14th century Book of Offices of pseudo-Kodinos, the rank continued to come after the sebastokratōr. Pseudo-Kodinos further records that the caesar was equal in precedence to the panhypersebastos, another creation of Alexios I, but that Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos (r. 1259–1282) had raised his nephew Michael Tarchaneiotes to the rank of protovestiarios and decreed that to come after the caesar; while under Andronikos II Palaiologos (r. 1282–1328) the megas domestikos was raised to the same eminence, when it was awarded to the future emperor John VI Kantakouzenos (r. 1347–1354).[16] According to pseudo-Kodinos, the caesar's insignia under the Palaiologoi was a skiadion hat in red and gold, decorated with gold-wire embroideries, with a veil bearing the wearer's name and pendants identical to those of the despotēs and the sebastokratōr. He wore a red tunic (rouchon) similar to the emperor's (without certain decorations), and his shoes and stockings were blue, as were the accouterments of his horse; these were all identical to those of the sebastokratōr, but without the embroidered eagles of the latter. Pseudo-Kodinos writes that the particular forms of another form of hat, the domed skaranikon, and of the mantle, the tamparion, for the caesar were not known.[17]

Ottoman Empire

[edit]
Mehmed II and Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Gennadios.

"Caesar" is the title officially used by the Sasanid Persians to refer to the Roman and Byzantine emperors.[18][19] In the Middle East, the Persians and the Arabs continued to refer to the Roman and Byzantine emperors as "Caesar" (in Persian: قیصر روم Qaysar-i Rum, "Caesar of the Romans", from Middle Persian kēsar). Thus, following the conquest of Constantinople in 1453, the victorious Ottoman sultan Mehmed II became the first of the rulers of the Ottoman Empire to assume the title (in Ottoman Turkish: قیصر روم Kayser-i Rûm).

After the Fall of Constantinople, having conquered the Byzantine Empire, Mehmed took the title Kayser-i Rûm, claiming succession to the Roman imperium.[20] His claim was that, by possession of the city, he was emperor, a new dynast by conquest, as had been done previously by the likes of Heraclius and Leo III.[21] Contemporary scholar George of Trebizond wrote "the seat of the Roman Empire is Constantinople ... and he who is and remains Emperor of the Romans is also the Emperor of the whole world".[22]

Gennadius II, a staunch antagonist of the West because of the Sack of Constantinople committed by the Western Catholics and theological controversies between the two Churches, had been enthroned the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople-New Rome with all the ceremonial elements and ethnarch (or milletbashi) status by the Sultan himself in 1454. In turn, Gennadius II formally recognized Mehmed as successor to the throne.[23] Mehmed also had a blood lineage to the Byzantine Imperial family; his predecessor, Sultan Orhan had married a Byzantine princess, and Mehmed may have claimed descent from John Tzelepes Komnenos.[24] Ottoman sultans were not the only rulers to claim such a title, as there was the Holy Roman Empire in Western Europe, whose emperor, Frederick III, traced his titular lineage from Charlemagne who obtained the title of Roman Emperor when he was crowned by Pope Leo III in 800, although he was never recognized as such by the Byzantine Empire.

In diplomatic writings between the Ottomans and Austrians, the Ottoman bureaucracy was angered by their use of the Caesar title when the Ottomans saw themself as the true successors of Rome. When war broke out and peace negotiations were done, the Austrians (Holy Roman Empire) agreed to give up the use of the Caesar title according to Treaty of Constantinople (1533) (though they would continue to use it and the Roman imperial title until the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806). The Russians, who defined Moscow as the Third Rome, were similarly sanctioned by the Ottomans, who ordered the Crimean Khanate to raid Russia on numerous occasions.[25] The Ottomans stopped claiming political superiority over the Holy Roman Empire with the Treaty of Zsitvatorok in 1606, and over the Russian Empire with the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca in 1774, by diplomatically recognising the monarchs of these two countries as equals to the Ottoman Sultan for the first time.

List of holders

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Note: Caesars who later became Augusti and thus emperors are highlighted in bold.

Coin Name Acceded Relinquished Reason Reigning Emperor Relation R.
Piso Licinianus 10 January 69 15 January 69 murdered Galba Adopted son [26]
Titus 21 December 69 24 June 79 succeeded as augustus Vespasian Son [27]
Domitian 21 December 69 14 September 81 succeeded as augustus Vespasian/Titus Son/Brother [28]
Flavius after AD 74 before AD 83 (?) died as a child Domitian Son [29]
Trajan Late October 97 28 January 98 succeeded as augustus Nerva Adopted son [30]
Lucius Aelius June/August 136 1 January 138 died of illness Hadrian Adopted son [31]
Antoninus Pius 25 February 138 10 July 138 succeeded as augustus Hadrian Adopted son [32]
Marcus Aurelius Late 139 7 March 161 succeeded as augustus Antoninus Pius Son-in-law [33]
Annius Verus 12 October 166 10 September 169 died of a tumor Marcus Aurelius/Lucius Verus Son/Nephew [34]
Commodus 12 October 166 Summer 177 proclaimed augustus Marcus Aurelius/Lucius Verus Son/Nephew [35]
Pertinax Junior c.January 193 c.March 193 title revoked Pertinax Son [36]
Clodius Albinus c. 194 c. 196 title revoked Septimius Severus [37]
Caracalla 4 April 196 28 January 198 proclaimed augustus Septimius Severus Son [38]
Geta 28 January 198 c. October 209 proclaimed augustus Septimius Severus Son/Brother [39]
Diadumenian April 217 May 218 proclaimed augustus Macrinus Son [40]
Severus Alexander June 221 14 March 222 succeeded as augustus Elagabalus Adopted son and cousin [41]
Sallustius (?) c. 227 c. 227 executed Severus Alexander Father-in-law [42]
Verus Maximus January/May 236 May/June 238 murdered Maximinus Thrax Son [43]
Gordian III April/May 238 August 238 succeeded as augustus Balbinus/Pupienus [44]
Philip II August 244 July/August 247 proclaimed augustus Philip the Arab Son [44]
Herennius Etruscus September 250 May 251 proclaimed augustus Decius Son [44]
Hostilian September 250 June 251 succeeded as augustus Decius Son [44]
Volusianus c. July 251 c. August 251 proclaimed augustus Trebonianus Gallus Son [45]
Valerian II c. September 256 Summer 258 murdered? Valerian/Gallienus Grandson/Son [46]
Saloninus c. June 258 c. July 260 proclaimed augustus Valerian/Gallienus Grandson/Son [46]
Carinus November (?) 282 Spring 283 proclaimed augustus Carus Son [47]
Numerian November (?) 282 July 283 succeeded as augustus Carus/Carinus Son/Brother [48]
Maximian (?) 21 July (?) 285[a] 1 April (?) 286[b] succeeded as augustus Diocletian (East) [49]
Constantius I 1 March 293 1 May 305 succeeded as augustus Maximian (West) Son-in-law [50]
Galerius 21 March 293 1 May 305 succeeded as augustus Diocletian (East) Son-in-law [51]
Severus II 1 May 305 August 306 succeeded as augustus Maximian (West) [52]
Maximinus II 1 May 305 May (?) 310 succeeded as augustus Galerius (East) Nephew [53]
Constantine I August 306[c] May 310[d] recognized as augustus Galerius/Licinius (East) Brothers-in-law [54]
Licinius Junior 1 March 317 19 September 324 deposed Licinius (East) Son [55]
Crispus 1 March 317 c. March 326 executed Constantine I Son [56]
Constantine II 1 March 317 9 September 337 succeeded as augustus Constantine I Son [57]
Constantius II 8 November 324 9 September 337 succeeded as augustus Constantine I Son [57]
Constans I 25 December 333 9 September 337 succeeded as augustus Constantine I Son [58]
Dalmatius 18 September 335 June/Aug. 337 murdered Constantine I Nephew [59]
Decentius July/August 350 18 August 353 committed suicide Magnentius (West) Brother [60]
Constantius Gallus 15 March 351 Late 354 executed Constantius II Half-cousin [61]
Julian II 6 November 355 3 November 361 succeeded as augustus Constantius II Cousin [62]
Constans II 408 409 / 410 proclaimed augustus Constantine III/Honorius (West) Son/- [63]
Valentinian III 23 October 424 23 October 425 proclaimed augustus Theodosius II (East) Half-cousin [64]
Palladius 17 March 455 31 May 455 executed by Avitus Maximus (West) Son [65]
Patricius c. 470 c. 471 deposed or executed Leo I (East) Son-in-law [66]
Leo II c. October 472 17 November 473 proclaimed augustus Leo I (East) Son [67]
Marcus 475 475 proclaimed augustus Basiliscus (East) Son [68]
Basiliscus 476 477 executed Zeno (East) [69]
Justinian I 525 1 April 527 proclaimed augustus Justin I Adopted son [70]
Tiberius II 7 December 574 26 September 578 proclaimed augustus Justin II Adopted son [71]
Germanus 5 August 582 by 11 August 582 rejected the title Tiberius II Son-in-law [72]
Maurice 5 August 582 13 August 582 proclaimed augustus Tiberius II Son-in-law [73]
Theodosius c. 587 26 March 590 proclaimed augustus Maurice Son [74]
Heraclonas 1 January 632 4 July 638 proclaimed augustus Heraclius Son [75]
David Tiberius 4 July 638 November 641 proclaimed augustus Heraclius Son [76]
Martinus 4 July 638 (?) November 641 deposed Heraclius Son [76]
Constans II c. February 641 c. July 641 title revoked (?),
later proclaimed augustus
Heraclius Constantine Son [77]
Byzantine nobles
Serbian rulers
Ottoman rulers

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Some authors argue that Maximian was never caesar given the lack of concrete evidence for this.
  2. ^ Or, alternatively, December 285.
  3. ^ Self-proclaimed augustus, but only recognized as caesar by his fellow tetrarchs.
  4. ^ Constantine was recognized as augustus by Maximian in September 307, but at the same time was excluded of the imperial college by Galerius, who did not recognize the rule of Maximian and Maxentius. Constantine regained the title of caesar (which he continued to unacknowledge) in November 308, at the Conference of Carnuntum.

References

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  1. ^ a b Greenidge 1901, p. 353-355.
  2. ^ Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. I, p. 537.
  3. ^ Smith, William (1870). "1. Sex. Julius Caesar". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Vol. 1. Little, Brown and Company. p. 537.
  4. ^ Syme, Ronald (1959), "Livy and Augustus", Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, 64: 175, 179, doi:10.2307/310937, JSTOR 310937
  5. ^ Syme, Ronald (1958), "Imperator Caesar: A Study in Nomenclature", Historia, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 175–188, JSTOR 4434568
  6. ^ Harriet I. Flower (2006). The Art of Forgetting: Disgrace & Oblivion in Roman Political Culture. Univ of North Carolina Press. p. 225. ISBN 978-0-8078-3063-5.
  7. ^ a b Hammond 1957.
  8. ^ Potter, David S. (2008). A Companion to the Roman Empire. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 193–196. ISBN 978-1-4051-7826-6.
  9. ^ a b c McEvoy, Meaghan (2013). Child Emperor Rule in the Late Roman West, AD 367-455. OUP. pp. 3–7. ISBN 978-0-19-966481-8.
  10. ^ Kent, John (2018). Roman Imperial Coinage. Volume X. Spink Books. p. 50. ISBN 978-1-912667-37-6.
  11. ^ Bury 1911, p. 36.
  12. ^ a b c d ODB, "Caesar" (A. Kazhdan), p. 363.
  13. ^ Herrin, Judith (2013). Unrivalled Influence: Women and Empire in Byzantium. Princeton University Press. p. 313. ISBN 978-0-691-15321-6.
  14. ^ Choniates, Nicetas (1984). O City of Byzantium: Annals of Niketas Choniatēs. Wayne State University Press. p. 412. ISBN 978-0-8143-1764-8.
  15. ^ Bury 1911, pp. 20, 36.
  16. ^ Verpeaux 1966, pp. 134–136.
  17. ^ Verpeaux 1966, pp. 147–149.
  18. ^ Middle Persian: 𐭪𐭩𐭮𐭫𐭩 kysly (Inscriptional Pahlavi), kysl (Book Pahlavi), transcribed as kēsar
  19. ^ Hurbanič, Martin (2019). The Avar Siege of Constantinople in 626: History and Legend. Springer. p. 234. ISBN 978-3-030-16684-7.
  20. ^ Michalis N. Michael; Matthias Kappler; Eftihios Gavriel (2009). Archivum Ottomanicum. Mouton. p. 10. ISBN 978-3447057530.
  21. ^ Christine Isom-Verhaaren; Kent F. Schull (11 April 2016). Living in the Ottoman Realm: Empire and Identity, 13th to 20th Centuries. Indiana University Press. pp. 38–. ISBN 978-0-253-01948-6.
  22. ^ Crowley, Roger (2009). Constantinople: The Last Great Siege, 1453. Faber & Faber. pp. 13–. ISBN 978-0-571-25079-0.
  23. ^ "Gennadios II Scholarios". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  24. ^ Norwich, John Julius (1995). Byzantium:The Decline and Fall. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. pp. 81–82. ISBN 0-679-41650-1.
  25. ^ Halil, Inançik (2017). Kırım Hanlığı Tarihi Üzerine Araştırmalar 1441–1700: Seçme Eserleri – XI. ISBN 978-6052952511.
  26. ^ Harriet I. Flower (2006). The Art of Forgetting: Disgrace & Oblivion in Roman Political Culture. Univ of North Carolina Press. p. 225. ISBN 978-0-8078-3063-5. Piso is called by his new adoptive name of Servius Sulpicius Galba Caesar.
  27. ^ Kienast, Eck & Heil, p. 105.
  28. ^ Kienast, Eck & Heil, p. 109.
  29. ^ Kienast, Eck & Heil, p. 112, perhaps given posthumously.
  30. ^ Kienast, Eck & Heil, p. 116.
  31. ^ Kienast, Eck & Heil, p. 126.
  32. ^ Kienast, Eck & Heil, p. 128.
  33. ^ J. C., O'Neill (1970). The Theology of Acts in Its Historical Setting. S.P.C.K. p. 18. ISBN 978-1028102341.
  34. ^ Kienast, Eck & Heil, p. 134.
  35. ^ Kienast, Eck & Heil, p. 140.
  36. ^ Kienast, Eck & Heil, p. 146.
  37. ^ Lindsay, Hugh (2009). Adoption in the Roman World. p. 214. ISBN 978-0521760508. The Historia Augusta states that Severus considered abdicating in favour of Albinus. Herodian and Dio, however, say this was merely a trick.
  38. ^ Kienast, Eck & Heil, p. 156.
  39. ^ Kienast, Eck & Heil, p. 160.
  40. ^ Kienast, Eck & Heil, p. 163.
  41. ^ "Severus Alexander". Livius.org.
  42. ^ "Alexander Severus (A.D. 222–235)". De Imperatoribus Romanis.
  43. ^ Kienast, Eck & Heil, p. 178.
  44. ^ a b c d Peachin 1990, pp. 28–34.
  45. ^ Peachin 1990, p. 36.
  46. ^ a b Peachin 1990, p. 38.
  47. ^ Kienast, Eck & Heil, p. 250.
  48. ^ Kienast, Eck & Heil, p. 252.
  49. ^ Omissi, Adrastos (2018). Emperors and Usurpers in the Later Roman Empire. Oxford University Press. p. 76. ISBN 978-0192558268.
  50. ^ Kienast, Eck & Heil, p. 269.
  51. ^ Kienast, Eck & Heil, p. 272.
  52. ^ Kienast, Eck & Heil, p. 278.
  53. ^ Kienast, Eck & Heil, p. 277.
  54. ^ Barnes 1984, pp. 30–33.
  55. ^ Kienast, Eck & Heil, p. 284.
  56. ^ Kienast, Eck & Heil, p. 293.
  57. ^ a b Kienast, Eck & Heil, p. 297.
  58. ^ Kienast, Eck & Heil, p. 298.
  59. ^ Kienast, Eck & Heil, p. 294.
  60. ^ Kienast, Eck & Heil, p. 306.
  61. ^ Kienast, Eck & Heil, p. 303.
  62. ^ Kienast, Eck & Heil, p. 309.
  63. ^ PLRE, II, p. 310.
  64. ^ PLRE, II, p. 1138.
  65. ^ PLRE, II, p. 751.
  66. ^ PLRE, II, p. 842.
  67. ^ Croke, Brian (2004). "The Imperial Reigns of Leo II". Byzantinische Zeitschrift. 96 (2): 559–575. doi:10.1515/BYZS.2003.559. S2CID 191460505.
  68. ^ PLRE, II, p. 720.
  69. ^ PLRE, II, 211.
  70. ^ Victor of Tunnuna (c. 570), Chronica s.a. 525.
  71. ^ PLRE, III, pp. 1321–1326.
  72. ^ PLRE, III, p. 529.
  73. ^ PLRE, III, pp. 855–860.
  74. ^ PLRE, III, p. 1293.
  75. ^ Grierson, Philip (1996). Catalogue of the Byzantine Coins, Vol. 2. Dumbarton Oaks. pp. 216 & 390. ISBN 978-0884020240.
  76. ^ a b Gonis, Nikolaos (2008). "SB VI 8986 and Heraclius' Sons". Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik. 166: 199–202. JSTOR 20476531.
  77. ^ Zuckerman, Constantin (2010): "On the title and the office of the Byzantine basileus." Travaux et Mémoires du Centre de recherche d'Histoire et Civilisation de Byzance 16: pp. 869–874.
  78. ^ J. R. Martindale (2001), "Nikephoros 5". Prosopography of the Byzantine Empire.
  79. ^ Casale, Sinem Arcak (2023). Ottoman-Safavid Cultural Exchange, 1500–1639. University of Chicago Press. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-226-82042-2.
  80. ^ Dimitri Korobeinikov (2021). "Conquest of a Fortress as a Source of Legitimacy". Medieval Worlds Comparative & Interdisciplinary Studies (PDF). Vol. 14. Austrian Academy of Sciences Press. pp. 180, 185.
  81. ^ "Kayser قيصر Araplar'ın Roma ve Bizans imparatorları için kullandıkları unvan.". TDV Encyclopedia of Islam (44+2 vols.) (in Turkish). Istanbul: Turkiye Diyanet Foundation, Centre for Islamic Studies. 1988–2016.
  82. ^ Kumar, Krishan (2017). Visions of Empire: How Five Imperial Regimes Shaped the World. Princeton: Princeton University Press. p. 89. ISBN 978-0691192802.

Bibliography

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Further reading

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