Editing Julius Caesar (section)

=== Dictatorships and honours ===
Prior to Caesar's assumption of the title {{lang|la|dictator perpetuo}} in February 44&nbsp;BC, he had been appointed dictator some four times since his first dictatorship in 49&nbsp;BC. After occupying Rome, he engineered this first appointment, largely to hold elections; after 11 days he resigned. The other dictatorships lasted for longer periods, up to a year, and by April 46 BC he was given a new dictatorship annually.{{sfn|Wilson|2021|p=309}} The task he was assigned revived that of Sulla's dictatorship: {{Lang|la|rei publicae constituendae}}.{{sfnm|Badian|2012|Broughton|1986|2pp=107–8}} These appointments, however, were not the source of legal power themselves; in the eyes of the literary sources, they were instead honours and titles which reflected Caesar's dominant position in the state, secured not by extraordinary magistracy or legal powers, but by personal status as victor over other Romans.{{sfn|Wilson|2021|pp=311–13. "In the view of the ancient historians and biographers self-tasked with assessing Caesar's rule, his dictatorships, and indeed his consulships... were incidental to the authority he possessed on account of being himself"}} 

Through the period after Pharsalus, the Senate showered Caesar with honours,<ref>See {{harvnb|Wilson|2021|p=313 n. 46}}. {{harvnb|Meier|1995|pp=474–75|ps=&nbsp;notes that senators may have wanted to curry favour or otherwise, by giving him excessive honours, show the public Caesar's tyrannical ambitions}}.</ref> including the title {{lang|la|praefectus moribus}} ({{lit|prefect of morals}}) which historically was associated with the [[Roman censor|censorial]] power to revise the Senate rolls. He was also granted power over war and peace,{{sfn|Wilson|2021|p=314}} usurping a power traditionally held by the [[comitia centuriata]].<ref>{{harvnb|Lintott|1999|p=21}}; eg {{Cite wikisource |author=Livy |author-link=Livy |title=From the Founding of the City |translator-last=Roberts |translator-first=Canon |year=1905 |wslink=From the Founding of the City |orig-date=1st century AD |wslanguage=en |ref={{harvid|Livy}} |at=31.5–7 }}</ref> These powers attached to Caesar personally.{{sfn|Wilson|2021|pp=314–15}} Similarly extraordinary were a number of symbolic honours which saw Caesar's portrait placed on coins in Rome – the first for a living Roman<ref>[[Titus Quinctius Flamininus]] was the first Roman to appear on coinage, specifically on a ''stater'' minted after the [[Second Macedonian War]]. Caesar was the first portrait of a living Roman on coins meant to circulate in Rome. {{Cite book |last=Sellars |first=Ian J |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m_Y-CgAAQBAJ |title=The monetary system of the Romans |date=2013 |page=33 |quote=Though technically not the first living Roman to appear on coinage... Caesar was the first to appear on the coins of Rome. }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=West |first=R |chapter=The chronological development of Roman provincial coin iconography |title=Coinage and identity in the Roman provinces |year=2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-926526-7 |editor-last=Howgego |editor-first=Christopher |display-editors=etal |page=44 |quote=As far as the Roman republican coinage is concerned, a major change occurred when Caesar became the first living Roman to have his portrait depicted on Roman coins. }}</ref> – with special rights to wear royal dress, sit atop a golden chair in the Senate, and have his statues erected in public temples. The month Quintilis, in which he was born, was renamed {{lang|la|Julius}} (now July).{{sfn|Meier|1995|pp=473–74}} These were symbols of divine monarchy and, later, objects of resentment.

The decisions on the normal operation of the state – justice, legislation, administration, and public works – were concentrated into Caesar's person without regard for or even notice given to the traditional institutions of the republic.{{sfn|Meier|1995|p=448. "He acted as he saw fit. Others had no right even to be informed of his intentions... Rome still had a Senate and magistrates, but they were not free in their decision-making... in all matters the decisive authority lay with Caesar alone"}} Caesar's domination over public affairs and his competitive instinct to preclude all others alienated the political class and led eventually to the conspiracy against his life.{{sfnm|Badian|2012|Meier|1995|2pp=447–48}}