CAESAR
CAESAR a title of the Roman emperors, was originally a family
name of the Julia gens; it was assumed by Octavianus as the adopted son of
the great dictator, C. Julius Caesar, and was by him handed down to his
adopted son Tiberius. It continued to be used by Caligula, Claudius, and
Nero, as members either by adoption or female descent of Caesar's family;
but though the family became extinct with Nero, succeeding emperors still
retained the name as part of their titles, and it was the practice to prefix
it to their own names, as, for instance,
Imperator Caesar
Domitianus Augustus. When Hadrian adopted Aelius Verus, he
allowed the latter to take the title of Caesar (Spart.
Ael.
Ver. 1; Aur. Vict.
Caes. 13.12); and from this time,
though the title of
Augustus continued to be
confined to the reigning emperor, that of
Caesar was also granted the second person in the state and the
heir presumptive to the throne. (Eckhel, vol. viii. p. 367, &c.)
[
AUGUSTUS]
[
W.S]
