Editing Julius Caesar (section)

====The name Gaius Julius Caesar====
{{main|Gaius Julius Caesar (name)}}
Using the [[Latin alphabet]] of the period, which lacked the letters ''J'' and ''U'', Caesar's name would be rendered GAIVS IVLIVS CAESAR; the form CAIVS is also attested, using the older Roman representation of ''G'' by ''C''. The standard abbreviation was C.&nbsp;IVLIVS CÆSAR, reflecting the older spelling. (The letterform ''Æ'' is a [[ligature (typography)|ligature]] of the letters ''A'' and ''E'', and is often used in Latin [[inscription]]s to save space.){{citation needed|date=November 2023}}

In Classical Latin, it was [[Latin spelling and pronunciation|pronounced]] {{IPA|la-x-classic|ˈɡaːi.ʊs ˈjuːliʊs ˈkae̯sar|}}. In the days of the late Roman Republic, many historical writings were done in Greek, a language most educated Romans studied. Young wealthy Roman boys were often taught by Greek slaves and sometimes sent to Athens for advanced training, as was Caesar's principal assassin, [[Marcus Junius Brutus|Brutus]]. In [[Ancient Greek|Greek]], during Caesar's time, his family name was written {{lang|grc|Καίσαρ}} (''Kaísar''), reflecting its contemporary pronunciation. Thus, his name is pronounced in a similar way to the pronunciation of the German ''[[Kaiser]]'' {{IPA|de|ˈkaɪzɐ|}} or Dutch ''[[Emperor|keizer]]'' {{IPA|nl|ˈkɛizər|}}.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}

In [[Vulgar Latin]], the original [[diphthong]] {{IPA|[ae̯]}} first began to be pronounced as a simple long vowel {{IPAblink|ɛː}}. Then, the [[Stop consonant|plosive]] {{IPAslink|k}} before [[front vowel]]s began, due to [[Palatalization (sound change)|palatalization]], to be pronounced as an [[affricate]], hence renderings like {{IPA|it|ˈtʃɛːzar|}} in [[Italian language|Italian]] and {{IPA|de|ˈtseːzaʁ|}} in [[German language|German]] [[Latin regional pronunciation|regional pronunciations of Latin]], as well as the title of [[Tsar]]. With the evolution of the [[Romance languages]], the affricate {{IPAblink|ts}} became a [[Fricative consonant|fricative]] {{IPAblink|s}} (thus, {{IPA|[ˈseːsar]}} and the like) in many regional pronunciations, including the French one, from which the modern English pronunciation is derived.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}

Caesar's [[cognomen]] itself became a [[Caesar (title)|title]]; it was promulgated by the [[Bible]], which contains the famous verse "[[Render unto Caesar]] the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's". The title became, from the late first millennium, ''[[Kaiser]]'' in [[German language|German]] and (through [[Old Church Slavic]] ''cěsarĭ'') [[Tsar]] or Czar in the [[Slavic languages]]. The last Tsar in nominal power was [[Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha|Simeon II of Bulgaria]], whose reign ended in 1946, but is still alive in 2023. This means that for approximately two thousand years, there was at least one head of state bearing his name. As a term for the highest ruler, the word Caesar constitutes one of the earliest, best attested and most widespread Latin loanwords in the Germanic languages, being found in the [[Text corpus|text corpora]] of [[Old High German]] (''keisar''), [[Old Saxon]] (''kēsur''), [[Old English]] (''cāsere''), [[Old Norse]] (''keisari''), [[Old Dutch]] (''keisere'') and (through [[Koine Greek|Greek]]) [[Gothic language|Gothic]] (''kaisar'').<ref>M. Philippa, F. Debrabandere, A. Quak, T. Schoonheim en N. van der Sijs (2003–2009) Etymologisch Woordenboek van het Nederlands, Amsterdam</ref>