Editing Caesar (title) (section)

==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]] |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 [[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 {{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>

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".