Dictator perpetuo (English: "dictator in perpetuity"), also called dictator in perpetuum,[1] was the office held by Julius Caesar just before the end of his life. He was granted the title between 26 January and 15 February during the year 44 BC, shortly before his assassination on 15 March.[2] By abandoning the time restrictions of the regular Roman dictatorship, it elevated Caesar's to a rank more akin to the ancient Roman kings.
- ^ For this title in inscriptions and texts cf. the Fasti Capitolini (Rome): ..../ [C(aius) Iulius C(ai) f(ilius) C(ai) n(epos) Caesar in perpetuum dict(ator)] / [rei gerundae causa]... and the Fasti Amiternini (Amiternum/ Poggio San Vittorino): ...[C(aius) Iulius Ca]esar dict(ator) [in p]erpetuum/ [bellu]m civil(e) Mutine(n)se / cum M(arco) [A]ntonio...; important is also Livy, Perioch. CXVI Archived 2018-12-04 at the Wayback Machine: Caesar... Et cum plurimi maximique honores a senatu decreti essent (inter quos... dictator in perpetuum esset...)... For the date "Julius Caesar: Dates and Events".
- ^ Wilson, Mark (2021). Dictator: The Evolution of the Roman Dictatorship. University of Michigan Press. p. 310. ISBN 978-0-472-12920-1.