The first known individual to bear thecognomen of "Caesar" wasSextus Julius Caesar, who is likewise believed to be the common ancestor of all subsequentJulii Caesares.[2][3] Sextus's great-grandson was the dictatorGaius Julius Caesar, who seized control of theRoman Republic following hiswar against theSenate. He appointed himself asdictator perpetuo ("dictator in perpetuity"), a title he held for only about a month before he wasassassinated in 44 BC. Julius Caesar's death did not lead to the restoration of the Republic, and instead led to the rise of theSecond Triumvirate, which was made up of three generals, including Julius' adopted sonGaius Octavius.
FollowingRoman 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 honorificAugustus by the Senate, adopting the name of "Imperator Caesar Augustus". He had previously dropped all his names except for "Caesar", which he treated as anomen, and had adopted the victory titleimperator ("commander") as a newpraenomen.[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 theJulio-Claudian dynasty, being the maternal great-nephew of Augustus onhis mother's side, the nephew of Tiberius, and the uncle ofCaligula (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 ownnomen, "Claudius". His stepson thus became "Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus".
The first emperor to assume both the position and name without any real claim wasGalba, who took the throne under the name "Servius Galba Caesar Augustus" following the death ofNero 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 byOtho, who became "Marcus Otho Caesar Augustus". Otho was then defeated byVitellius, who became "Aulus Vitellius Germanicus Augustus", adopting thevictory title "Germanicus" instead. Nevertheless, "Caesar" had become such an integral part of the imperial dignity that its place was immediately restored byVespasian, who ended the civil war and established theFlavian 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 thecognomen (Vespasian,Titus,Domitian,Trajan,Hadrian); a few placed it right after it (Galba,Otho,Nerva). The imperial formula was finally standardised during the reign ofAntoninus 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 theircognomen.[7] Caesars occasionally were given the honorificprinceps iuventutis ("First among the Youth") and, starting with the 3rd century,nobilissimus ("Most Noble").[1]
The popularity of using the titlecaesar to designate heirs-apparent increased throughout the third century. Many of the soldier-emperors during theCrisis of the Third Century attempted to strengthen their legitimacy by naming their sons as heirs with the title ofcaesar, namelyMaximinus Thrax,Philip the Arab,Decius,Trebonianus Gallus,Gallienus andCarus. With the exception ofVerus Maximus andValerian II all of them were later either promoted to the rank ofaugustus within their father's lifetime (likePhilip II) or succeeded asaugusti after their father's death (Hostilian andNumerian). The same title would also be used in theGallic Empire, which operated autonomously from the rest of the Roman Empire from 260 to 274, with the final Gallic emperorTetricus I appointing his heirTetricus II ascaesar 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 allcaesares would be killed before, or alongside, their fathers, or, at best, outlive them for a matter of months, as in the case ofHostilian. The solecaesar to successfully obtain the rank ofaugustus and rule for some time in his own right wasGordian III, and even he was heavily controlled by his court.
In 293,Diocletian established theTetrarchy, a system of rule by two senior emperors and two junior colleagues. The two coequal senior emperors were styled identically to previous Emperors, asaugustus (in plural,augusti). The two junior colleagues were styled identically to previous Emperors-designate, asnobilissimus caesar. Likewise, the junior colleagues retained the titlecaesar upon becoming full emperors. Thecaesares of this period are sometimes referred as "emperors", with the Tetrarchy being a "rule of four emperors", despite being clearly subordinate of theaugusti and thus not actually sovereigns.[8]
The Tetrarchy collapsed as soon as Diocletian stepped down in 305, resulting in alengthy civil war. Constantine reunited the Empire in 324, after defeating the Eastern emperorLicinius. The tetrarchic division of power was abandoned, although the divisions of thepraetorian prefectures were maintained. The titlecaesar continued to be used, but now merely as a ceremorial honorific for young heirs. Constantine had fourcaesares at the time of his death: his sonsConstantius II,Constantine II,Constans and his nephewDalmatius, with his eldest sonCrispus 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 ascaesares his cousinsConstantius Gallus andJulian 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 toaugustus, starting withGratian in 367.[9]
The title would be revived in 408 whenConstantine III gave it to his sonConstans II,[10] and then in 424 whenTheodosius II gave it to his nephewValentinian III before successfully installing him upon the western throne asaugustus in 425.[9] Thereafter it would receive limited use in the Eastern Empire; for example, it was given toLeo II in 472 several months beforehis grandfather's death. In the Western Empire,Palladius, the son of emperorPetronius Maximus, became the last person bearing the titlecaesar in 455.
Caesar orKaisar (Καῖσαρ) remained a senior court title in the Eastern orByzantine Empire. Originally, as in the classicalRoman Empire, it was used for the heir apparent, and was first among the "awarded" dignities. From the reign ofTheodosius 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 ofTheophilos (ruled 829–842),Bardas who was the uncle and chief minister ofMichael III (r. 842–867), andNikephoros 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 theBulgarian khanTervel byJustinian II (r. 685–695, 705–711) who had helped him regain his throne in 705.[12] The title was awarded to the brother of EmpressMaria of Alania,George II of Georgia in 1081.[13]
The office enjoyed extensive privileges, great prestige and power. WhenAlexios I Komnenos created the title ofsebastokrator,kaisar became third in importance, and fourth afterManuel I Komnenos created the title ofdespot, which it remained until the end of the Empire. The feminine form waskaisarissa. 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]
In the late Byzantine hierarchy, as recorded in the mid-14th centuryBook of Offices ofpseudo-Kodinos, the rank continued to come after thesebastokratōr. Pseudo-Kodinos further records that thecaesar was equal in precedence to thepanhypersebastos, another creation of Alexios I, but that EmperorMichael VIII Palaiologos (r. 1259–1282) had raised his nephewMichael Tarchaneiotes to the rank ofprotovestiarios and decreed that to come after thecaesar; while underAndronikos II Palaiologos (r. 1282–1328) themegas domestikos was raised to the same eminence, when it was awarded to the future emperorJohn VI Kantakouzenos (r. 1347–1354).[16] According to pseudo-Kodinos, thecaesar's insignia under the Palaiologoi was askiadion hat in red and gold, decorated with gold-wire embroideries, with a veil bearing the wearer's name andpendants identical to those of thedespotēs and thesebastokratōr. 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 thesebastokratōr, but without the embroidered eagles of the latter. Pseudo-Kodinos writes that the particular forms of another form of hat, the domedskaranikon, and of the mantle, thetamparion, for thecaesar were not known.[17]
After the Fall of Constantinople, having conquered the Byzantine Empire, Mehmed took the titleKayser-i Rûm, claiming succession to the Roman imperium.[20] His claim was that, by possession of the city, he was emperor, a new dynastby conquest, as had been done previously by the likes ofHeraclius andLeo III.[21] Contemporary scholarGeorge 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 theSack of Constantinople committed by the Western Catholics and theological controversies between the two Churches, had been enthroned theEcumenical Patriarch of Constantinople-New Rome with all the ceremonial elements andethnarch (ormilletbashi) 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, SultanOrhan had married a Byzantine princess, and Mehmed may have claimed descent fromJohn Tzelepes Komnenos.[24] Ottoman sultans were not the only rulers to claim such a title, as there was theHoly Roman Empire in Western Europe, whose emperor,Frederick III, traced his titular lineage fromCharlemagne who obtained the title of Roman Emperor when he was crowned byPope 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 ofRome. When war broke out and peace negotiations were done, the Austrians (Holy Roman Empire) agreed to give up the use of theCaesar title according toTreaty 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 definedMoscow as theThird Rome, were similarly sanctioned by the Ottomans, who ordered theCrimean Khanate to raid Russia on numerous occasions.[25] The Ottomans stopped claiming political superiority over the Holy Roman Empire with theTreaty of Zsitvatorok in 1606, and over theRussian Empire with theTreaty of Küçük Kaynarca in 1774, by diplomatically recognising the monarchs of these two countries as equals to the Ottoman Sultan for the first time.
Mehmed II (r. 1451–1481) assumed titlekayser-i Rûm following the conquest of Constantinople in 1452
Bayezid II (r. 1481–1512) is addressed askayser in contemporary sources[79]
Suleiman I (r. 1520–1566) called himself "Caesar of Rome" in the inscription ofBender, Moldova, dating fromc. 1538/39.[80] In one of his poems, he also called himself "Roman caesar".[81]
^Self-proclaimedaugustus, but only recognized ascaesar by his fellow tetrarchs.
^Constantine was recognized asaugustus 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 ofcaesar (which he continued to unacknowledge) in November 308, at theConference of Carnuntum.
^Halil, Inançik (2017).Kırım Hanlığı Tarihi Üzerine Araştırmalar 1441–1700: Seçme Eserleri – XI. Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür Yayınları.ISBN978-6052952511.
Ferjančić, Božidar (1970). "Севастократори и кесари у Српском царству" [Sebastocrators and Caesares in the Serbian Empire].Зборник Филозофског факултета. Belgrade:255–269.
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