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Hi! I wondered why most of Roman emperors were called Cesar?
And where did this name came from?
Hello hello!
Well, all begins in 44 before JC, when the well-known Caius Julius
Caesar, better known under the name of Jules César, died. Cesar wasn't an emperor
and he never have been, but he had the title of imperator, war chief
if you prefer, and all the things Cesar did during his life made a man
who is, still today, a legend. So, when he died, his
adoptive son and heir, the emperor August, add Caesar in front of his name, as a
title, a way to show that he wants to be in the glorious continuity
of his defunct father. In a way, it's a bit like the first name Louis which was given to
the kings in France, and of which I spoke during an episode "Question KIDS", excepts the fact that here, Cesar
is more a title than a name. Although, Jules Cesar's father and grandfather
had also the "first name" Cesar, but it was only a first name,
not a title at this time.
One thing is sure, it's that in the early times, Cesar is very popular to the emperors
and the first eleven roman emperors had this title. You often hear about
the "Twelve Cesar", because Jules César is included, but remind, he's not
an emperor, just an "imperator" and "dictator"... Some of the emperors are directly from
Jules Cesar's family, but some others aren't, so we see well
that the point here is to get some legitimacy when the title is taken by someone.
Subsequently, emperors give the title of "Cesar" to their heirs, it allows to
identify them clearly and to show to everybody that only these persons can pretend
to the supremacy. Basically, until the 5th century, the title is still fairly common and it's possible
to use it in any way you want, if I dare to simplify it this way... Ok I dare!
After this period, some people in some places still take the title, but it's
becoming more and more rare, and in the end, it nearly disappeared. Nearly... Because many
years after, the title of Caesar is transformed and evolves in other languages, giving
birth to new titles which are based on the notoriety and legitimacy of the famous
emperor: "Kaiser" in Germany, and "Tsar" in Russia.