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"Roman Emperor" is the title historians use to refer to the ruler of the Roman Empire. It was not actually used, and there was never actually any single office corresponding to it. Rather, the title "Roman Emperor" is a convenient shorthand for a complicated collection of offices and powers. In general, the Emperors cannot truly be described as the "de jure" rulers (nominally the Emperor was merely primus inter pares) and many were not "de facto" rulers, either (Emperors were frequently themselves figureheads for powerful bureaucrats, functionaries, women, and generals).Discussion of Roman Emperors involves a high degree of historian's editorial discretion, for the Romans themselves did not share the modern understanding of the monarchical concepts of " empire" and " emperor" (note that the Empire had all the political institutions and traditions of the Roman Republic, including the Senate and assemblies). This article discusses the nature of the imperial dignity, and its dynastic development throughout the history of the Empire. For a discussion of the Emperor's claimed godhead, see " imperial cult". For a listing of emperors, see " List of Roman Emperors".
Note that the Emperor was quasi- head of state; as princeps senatus (lit., "first man of the senate"), the Emperor received foreign embassages to Rome, which in modern terms would tend to identify him as chief of state. However, the principate senatus was not a magistracy and did not own imperium; in terms of the modern Westminster system, this is approximately comparable to diplomatic agents being accredited to the Leader of the House (the consulFor modern diplomatic consuls see Consulate general. Consul (abbrev. was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. Under the Republic, the minimum age of election to consul for patricians was 40 years of as functioned as a sort of hybrid between the Speaker of the House and the Prime Minister). At some points in the Empire's history, the Emperor was only nominal quasi-head of state; powerful praetorian prefects and masters of the soldiersMagister militum ("Master of the Soldiers") was a rank used in the later Roman Empire dating from the reign of Constantine. Used alone, it refers to the senior military officer of the Empire, and was held by Stilicho, Ricimer, Odoacer and others. It was a (and even at one point Imperial mothers and grandmothers) occasionally acted as what might be called " shadow emperorsThe phrase power behind the throne refers to a person or group that informally exercises the "real" power of an office. In politics, it most commonly refers to a spouse, aide, or advisor of a political leader (often called a " figurehead") who serves as d" (also called "emperors who weren't").
Also note that contrary to popular belief, Gaius Iulius CaesarAlternative meanings: Julius Caesar (disambiguation). Gaius Julius Caesar ( Latin: C·IVLIVS·C·F·C·N·CAESAR) ( July 13, 100 BC March 15, 44 BC) was a Roman military and political leader whose conquest of Gallia Comata extended the Roman world all the way t ("Julius Caesar") was not a Roman Emperor. He held the Republican offices of consulFor modern diplomatic consuls see Consulate general. Consul (abbrev. was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. Under the Republic, the minimum age of election to consul for patricians was 40 years of a (four times) and dictatorDictator was a political office of the Roman Republic. A legal innovation of the Roman Republic, the dictator ( Latin for "one who dictates (orders)") — also known as the magister populi ("master of the peoples") — was an extraordinary magistrate magistra (five times), and was appointed perpetual dictator (dictator perpetuus) in 45 BCCenturies: 2nd century BC 1st century BC 1st century Decades: 90s BC 80s BC 70s BC 60s BC 50s BC 40s BC 30s BC 20s BC 10s BC 0s BC 0s Years: 50 BC 49 BC 48 BC 47 BC 46 BC 45 BC 44 BC 43 BC 42 BC 41 BC 40 BC Events January 1 Julian calendar goes into effec. While he is the last dictator of the Republic, he died several years before the final collapse of the traditional Republican system, to be replaced by the Principate.
