List of Pontifices maximi - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

This annotated list of Pontifices maximi

Pontifex Maximus

The Pontifex Maximus was the high priest of the College of Pontiffs in ancient Rome. This was the most important position in the ancient Roman religion, open only to patricians until 254 BC, when a plebeian first occupied this post...

, the high priest of the collegium of the Pontifices, the most important position in Roman religion, is based on readings from Livy

Livy

Titus Livius — known as Livy in English — was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people. Ab Urbe Condita Libri, "Chapters from the Foundation of the City," covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome well before the traditional foundation in 753 BC...

and other classical historians, but also from lists available elsewhere. Suggested identifications are made where possible, but are tentative.

Incomplete list of Pontifices maximi

753 BC to 712 BC - Duties and power of office held by the Kings of Rome (Rex Sacrorum)
712 BC - Numa Marcius
Numa Marcius
Numa Marcius, son of Marcus, was the first Pontifex Maximus of Ancient Rome.He was appointed by the King Numa Pompilius who assigned to him the entire system of religious rites, which system was written out for him and sealed and included the manner and timing of sacrifices, the supervision of...

(Rex Sacrorum)
...
509 BC - Papirius
Papirius (pontifex)
Papirius was a Roman pontifex to whom is ascribed a collection of laws constituting the Roman code under the kings - Ius Papirianum or Ius Civile Papirianum.-References:...

(1st Pontifex Maximus)
...
449 BC
449 BC
Year 449 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Third year of the decemviri and the Year of the Consulship of Potitus and Barbatus...

- Quintus Furius
431 BC
431 BC
Year 431 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Cincinnatus and Mento...

- Aulus Cornelius Cossus
420 BC
420 BC
Year 420 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Tribunate of Cincinnatus, Vulso, Medullinus and Atratinus...

- Spurius Minucius
390 BC
390 BC
Year 390 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Tribunate of Ambustus, Longus, Ambustus, Fidenas, Ambustus and Cornelius...

- M. Fabius Vibulanus
390 BC
390 BC
Year 390 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Tribunate of Ambustus, Longus, Ambustus, Fidenas, Ambustus and Cornelius...

- Marcus Fabius Ambustus
Marcus Fabius Ambustus (pontifex maximus 390 BC)
Marcus Fabius Ambustus was a statesman of ancient Rome who served as Pontifex Maximus in the year that Rome was taken by the Gauls, 390 BC. His three sons--Caeso, Numerius, and Quintus--were sent as ambassadors to the Gauls, when the latter were besieging Clusium, and participated in an attack...
...
332 BC
332 BC
Year 332 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Calvinus and Arvina...

- Publius Cornelius Calussa

304 BC
304 BC
Year 304 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sophus and Severrio...

- Publius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus (d. circa 280 BC
280 BC
Year 280 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Laevinus and Coruncanius...

), possibly Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus
Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus
Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus was one of the two elected Roman consuls in 298 BC. He led the Roman army to victory against the Etruscans near Volterra...

, consul in 298
298
Year 298 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Faustus and Gallus...

BC and censor in 280 BC
280 BC
Year 280 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Laevinus and Coruncanius...

.

280 BC
280 BC
Year 280 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Laevinus and Coruncanius...

-254 BC
254 BC
Year 254 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Asina and Calatinus...

...

254 BC
254 BC
Year 254 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Asina and Calatinus...

- Tiberius Coruncanius
Tiberius Coruncanius
Tiberius Coruncanius was Roman consul, and military commander in 280 BC – 279 BC, who was known for his military contests with Pyrrhus...

(d. 241 BC
241 BC
Year 241 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Atticus and Cerco...

), consul in 280 BC
280 BC
Year 280 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Laevinus and Coruncanius...

.
- He was the first plebeian to hold this office, and was the first Roman jurist and legal teacher

243 BC
243 BC
Year 243 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Fundulus and Galus...

- Lucius Caecilius Metellus
Lucius Caecilius Metellus (died 221 BC)
Lucius Caecilius Metellus was the son of Lucius Caecilius Metellus Denter. He was Consul in 251 BC and 247 BC, Pontifex Maximus in 243 BC and Dictator in 224 BC....

(d. 221 BC
221 BC
Year 221 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Asina and Rufus/Lepidus...

), probably the consul of 251 BC
251 BC
Year 251 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Metellus and Pacilus...

and 247 BC
247 BC
Year 247 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Metellus and Buteo...
- Interestingly, he was removed from office or resigned circa 237 BC
  237 BC
  Year 237 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caudinus and Flaccus...
  
  before his death in 221 BC; later Pontifices usually held the position until death.

237 BC
237 BC
Year 237 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caudinus and Flaccus...

- Lucius Cornelius Lentulus Caudinus, consul in 237 BC
237 BC
Year 237 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caudinus and Flaccus...

(d. ca 213 BC
213 BC
Year 213 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Maximus and Gracchus...

)

213 BC
213 BC
Year 213 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Maximus and Gracchus...

- Marcus Cornelius Cethegus
Marcus Cornelius Cethegus
Marcus Cornelius Cethegus was a Roman Republican consul and censor during the Second Punic War, best known as a political ally of his kinsman Scipio Africanus.-Political career:...

, pontifex on the death of Lucius Cornelius Lentulus Caudinus (consul 275 BC).

212 BC
212 BC
Year 212 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Flaccus and Pulcher...

- Publius Licinius Crassus Dives
Publius Licinius Crassus Dives (consul 205 BC)
Publius Licinius Crassus Dives Pontifex Maximus was consul in 205 BC with Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus ; he was also Pontifex Maximus since 213 or 212 BC , and held several other important positions. Licinius Crassus is mentioned several times in Livy's Histories...

(d. 183 BC
183 BC
Year 183 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marcellus and Labeo...

),
- In his unusual political career (per Livy), this handsome amiable and wealthy man was first elected Pontifex Maximus while not yet a curule aedile, and then as Pontifex Maximus, chosen Censor circa 211 BC
  211 BC
  Year 211 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Maximus and Maximus...
  
  and then becoming Master of the Horse
  Master of the Horse
  The Master of the Horse was a position of varying importance in several European nations.-Magister Equitum :...
  
  , then praetor
  Praetor
  Praetor was a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army, usually in the field, or the named commander before mustering the army; and an elected magistratus assigned varied duties...
  
  in 208 BC
  208 BC
  Year 208 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marcellus and Crispinus...
  
  and consul
  Consul
  Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
  
  in 205 BC
  205 BC
  Year 205 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Africanus and Dives...
  
  , i.e., doing everything the wrong way around. He also refused to leave Italy for Sicily, citing religious law and the mos maiorum.

183 BC
183 BC
Year 183 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marcellus and Labeo...

- Gaius Servilius Geminus (d. 180 BC
180 BC
Year 180 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Luscus and Piso/Flaccus...

), possibly Gaius Servilius C.f. Geminus who was consul in 203 BC
203 BC
Year 203 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caepio and Geminus...

with his Servilius cousin (both patricians, and both from the same gens in a late breach of the lex Licinia Sextia!)

180 BC
180 BC
Year 180 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Luscus and Piso/Flaccus...

- Marcus Aemilius Lepidus
Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (187 BC)
Marcus Aemilius Lepidus was a Roman consul, Pontifex Maximus and censor.As a praetor he was governor of Sicily in 191 BC. He was elected consul in 187 BC. He and his colleague, Gaius Flaminius, subdued the Ligurians. From 180 BC onwards he was pontifex maximus and from 179 BC was princeps senatus....

(d. 152 BC
152 BC
Year 152 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marcellus and Flaccus...

), consul in 187 BC
187 BC
Year 187 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Lepidus and Flaminius...

and 175 BC
175 BC
Year 175 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Scaevola and Lepidus...

, elected censor in 179 BC
179 BC
Year 179 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Flaccus and Fulvianus...
- also Princeps Senatus
  Princeps senatus
  The princeps senatus was the first member by precedence of the Roman Senate. Although officially out of the cursus honorum and owning no imperium, this office brought enormous prestige to the senator holding it.-Overview:...
  
  in 179 BC
  179 BC
  Year 179 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Flaccus and Fulvianus...
  
  , thus in control of the top priestly role and the first man in the Roman Senate for nearly 28 years until his death.

152 BC
152 BC
Year 152 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marcellus and Flaccus...

-150 BC
150 BC
Year 150 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Flamininus and Balbus...

- Vacant; the position was not immediately filled after the death of Lepidus

150 BC
150 BC
Year 150 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Flamininus and Balbus...

- Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Corculum
Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Corculum
Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Corculum was a Roman statesman and member of the gens Cornelia.Corculum was the son of Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica , and was thus a first cousin once removed of the Roman general Scipio Africanus...

(d. 141 BC
141 BC
Year 141 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caepio and Pompeius...

), consul in 162 BC
162 BC
Year 162 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Corculum/Lentulus and Figulus/Ahenobarbus...

and 155 BC
155 BC
Year 155 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Corculum and Marcellus...

, censor 159 BC
159 BC
Year 159 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Dolabella and Nobilior...
- also Princeps Senatus
  Princeps senatus
  The princeps senatus was the first member by precedence of the Roman Senate. Although officially out of the cursus honorum and owning no imperium, this office brought enormous prestige to the senator holding it.-Overview:...
  
  for some years.

141 BC
141 BC
Year 141 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caepio and Pompeius...

- Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio
Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio
Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio , the son of Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Corculum and his wife Cornelia Africana Major, was a member of the gens Cornelia and a politician of the ancient Roman Republic. He was consul in 138 BC.He was also a member of the gens Cornelia, a family of...

(d. 132 BC
132 BC
Year 132 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Laenas and Rupilius...

Pergamum, Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...

), consul in 138 BC
138 BC
Year 138 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Serapio and Callaicus...
- (son of the above); another man to become Pontifex before he was consul,
- the first Pontifex to leave Italy (being sent off by the Senate to escape Gracchan plots against his life). He died in Asia Minor, presumably poisoned, being the first Pontifex to die outside Italy.

132 BC
132 BC
Year 132 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Laenas and Rupilius...

- Publius Licinius Crassus Dives Mucianus
Publius Licinius Crassus Dives Mucianus
Publius Licinius Crassus Dives Mucianus was the son by blood of Publius Mucius Scaevola, the consul of 175 BC, and brother of Publius Mucius Scaevola...

(killed in battle 131 BC
131 BC
Year 131 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Mucianus and Flaccus...

, Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...

), consul in 131 BC
131 BC
Year 131 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Mucianus and Flaccus...
- Like Scipio Nasica Serapio, he was Pontifex before being consul; like Serapio, he left Italy, being the first Pontifex to do so willingly, contrary to the mos maiorum.
- He was apparently the first Pontifex to die in battle (deliberately to avoid capture).

130 BC
130 BC
Year 130 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Lentulus/Pulcher and Perperna . The denomination 130 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in...

- Publius Mucius Scaevola
Publius Mucius Scaevola
Publius Mucius Scaevola was a prominent Roman politician and jurist. He was tribune in 141 BC, praetor in 136 BC, and consul in 133 BC....

, consul in 133 BC
133 BC
Year 133 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Scaevola and Frugi...
- (elder brother of the above), chosen to replace his brother; died 115 BC
  115 BC
  Year 115 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Scaurus and Metellus...
  
  most probably, but died 113 BC
  113 BC
  Year 113 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caprarius and Carbo...
  
  per other sources.
- He is the last Pontifex Maximus to have published the Annales Maximi
  Annales maximi
  The Annales maximi were annals kept by the Pontifex maximus in the Roman Republic. The chief priest of the Capitoline would record key public events and the names of each of the magistrates...
  
  , the list of events of the year.

115 BC
115 BC
Year 115 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Scaurus and Metellus...

- Lucius Caecilius Metellus Dalmaticus
Lucius Caecilius Metellus Dalmaticus
Lucius Caecilius Metellus Dalmaticus was a son of Lucius Caecilius Metellus Calvus. He was a Consul in 119 BC, a Censor in 115 BC and then Pontifex Maximus. He had eliminated from the Senate 32 of its members and fought Saturninus, thus contributing to the return to Rome, in 99 BC, of his brother...

, consul 119 BC
119 BC
Year 119 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Dalmaticus and Cotta...

and censor 115 BC
115 BC
Year 115 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Scaurus and Metellus...

.

103 BC
103 BC
Year 103 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marius and Orestes...

- Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (d. 88 BC
88 BC
Year 88 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sulla and Rufus...

), later elected consul 96 BC
96 BC
Year 96 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Ahenobarbus and Longinus...

and censor in 92 BC
92 BC
Year 92 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Pulcher and Perperna...

89 BC
89 BC
Year 89 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Strabo and Cato...

- Quintus Mucius Scaevola
Quintus Mucius Scaevola Pontifex
Quintus Mucius Scaevola Pontifex , the son of Publius Mucius Scaevola was a politician of the Roman Republic and an important early authority on Roman law. He is credited with founding the study of law as a systematic discipline...

(murdered 82 BC
82 BC
Year 82 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marius and Carbo...

in the Temple of Vesta
Temple of Vesta
The Temple of Vesta is an ancient edifice in Rome, Italy, located in the Roman Forum near the Regia and the House of the Vestal Virgins. The temple's most recognizable feature is its circular footprint. Since the worship of Vesta began in private homes, the architecture seems to be a reminder of...

, during the last stages of the Social War), consul 95 BC
95 BC
Year 95 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Crassus and Scaevola...
- (son of a previous Pontiff);
- he was the first Pontiff to be openly murdered, that too in a temple sacred to Rome, and his body then being thrown into the Tiber
  Tiber
  The Tiber is the third-longest river in Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Umbria and Lazio to the Tyrrhenian Sea. It drains a basin estimated at...

81 BC
81 BC
Year 81 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Decula and Dolabella...

- Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius
Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius
Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius was a pro-Sullan politician and general. He was named Pius because of his 99 BC petition to return his father from exile and was true to his cognomen for the constance and inflexibility with which he always fought for his father's rehabilitation and return to...

(d. ca 63 BC
63 BC
Year 63 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Cicero and Hibrida...

), consul in 80 BC
80 BC
Year 80 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sulla and Metellus...

,
- first cousin once removed of an earlier Pontiff
- chosen Pontifex Maximus before becoming consul, as Sulla's friend and ally.

63 BC
63 BC
Year 63 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Cicero and Hibrida...

- Gaius Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....

, consul 59 BC
59 BC
Year 59 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caesar and Bibulus...

and later Dictator
Dictator
A dictator is a ruler who assumes sole and absolute power but without hereditary ascension such as an absolute monarch. When other states call the head of state of a particular state a dictator, that state is called a dictatorship...

;
- he defeated two former Optimate consuls Quintus Lutatius Catulus
  Quintus Lutatius Catulus (Capitolinus)
  Quintus Lutatius Catulus , sometimes called "Capitolinus", was a politician in the late Roman Republic. His father was the like-named Quintus Lutatius Catulus , also a politician.-Biography:...
  
  (c. 120-61 B.C.) who had been consul in 78 BC
  78 BC
  Year 78 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Lepidus and Catulus...
  
  and censor in 65 BC
  65 BC
  Year 65 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Cotta and Torquatus...
  
  , and Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus
  Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus (consul 79 BCE)
  Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus , son of Gaius Servilius Vatia and wife Caecilia Metella, daughter of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus, was a Praetor in 84 BC and a Roman Consul, appointed by the dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla for 79 BC...
  
  (d. 44 BC
  44 BC
  Year 44 BC was either a common year starting on Sunday or Monday or a leap year starting on Friday or Saturday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Sunday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...
  
  ), who had been consul in 79 BC
  79 BC
  Year 79 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Isauricus and Pulcher...
  
  and Caesar's sometime commander.
- later Dictator
  Dictator
  A dictator is a ruler who assumes sole and absolute power but without hereditary ascension such as an absolute monarch. When other states call the head of state of a particular state a dictator, that state is called a dictatorship...
  
  of Rome, who put together religious, political, and military power in his own hands. His very different career can be compared with that of Publius Licinius Crassus Dives (consul 205 BC)
  Publius Licinius Crassus Dives (consul 205 BC)
  Publius Licinius Crassus Dives Pontifex Maximus was consul in 205 BC with Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus ; he was also Pontifex Maximus since 213 or 212 BC , and held several other important positions. Licinius Crassus is mentioned several times in Livy's Histories...
  
  who also defeated two older and more prominent conservative men in an election, and who also assumed the position of Pontifex Maximus before becoming consul.

44 BC
44 BC
Year 44 BC was either a common year starting on Sunday or Monday or a leap year starting on Friday or Saturday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Sunday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...

- Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, triumvir
Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (triumvir)
Marcus Aemilius Lepidus , was a Roman patrician who rose to become a member of the Second Triumvirate and Pontifex Maximus. His father, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, had been involved in a rebellion against the Roman Republic.Lepidus was among Julius Caesar's greatest supporters...

(d. 13 BC
13 BC
Year 13 BC was either a common year starting on Friday, Saturday or Sunday or a leap year starting on Friday or Saturday of the Julian calendar and a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...

), consul in 46 BC
46 BC
Year 46 BC was the last year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caesar and Lepidus . The denomination 46 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe...

(as Caesar's nominee) during his Dictatorship, and in 42 BC
42 BC
Year 42 BC was either a common year starting on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Tuesday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...

as a triumvir.
- Lepidus rapidly lost political power to the other triumvirs, and was removed from the triumvirate in 36 BC
  36 BC
  Year 36 BC was either a common year starting on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday or a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Wednesday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...
  
  which became a contest between Augustus
  Augustus
  Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
  
  and Mark Antony
  Mark Antony
  Marcus Antonius , known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general. As a military commander and administrator, he was an important supporter and loyal friend of his mother's cousin Julius Caesar...
  
  . He was however allowed to retain the position of Pontifex Maximus until his death.

6 March 12 BC - Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...

, (adoptive son of Caesar, above).

Like his adoptive father, Augustus consolidated political, military, and religious power in his own hands; unlike his adoptive father, he also assumed the title of Princeps Senatus
Princeps senatus
The princeps senatus was the first member by precedence of the Roman Senate. Although officially out of the cursus honorum and owning no imperium, this office brought enormous prestige to the senator holding it.-Overview:...

. The careers of both Caesars can be compared with that of Marcus Aemilius Lepidus
Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (187 BC)
Marcus Aemilius Lepidus was a Roman consul, Pontifex Maximus and censor.As a praetor he was governor of Sicily in 191 BC. He was elected consul in 187 BC. He and his colleague, Gaius Flaminius, subdued the Ligurians. From 180 BC onwards he was pontifex maximus and from 179 BC was princeps senatus....

in the Middle Republic.

12 BC
12 BC
Year 12 BC was either a common year starting on Saturday, Sunday or Monday or a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Friday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...

to 376
376
Year 376 was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Valens and Augustus...

- Held by the Emperors
Concise list of Roman Emperors
This article provides a complete but concise list of those individuals who claimed the title of 'Emperor' between the inception of the imperial period and the end of the Western Roman Empire in c.480 AD; a nominal end point used to delineate the 'Roman' Empire from the "Hellenized Roman Empire",...

. Gratian
Gratian
Gratian was Roman Emperor from 375 to 383.The eldest son of Valentinian I, during his youth Gratian accompanied his father on several campaigns along the Rhine and Danube frontiers. Upon the death of Valentinian in 375, Gratian's brother Valentinian II was declared emperor by his father's soldiers...

was the 1st emperor of the Western Roman Empire refuse to hold the office of Pontifex Maximus.

From some indeterminate later date to present, the title "Pontifex Maximus" is applied to the Popes.

External links

article Pontifex in Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities

List from republican times

Annotated Pontifex Maximus list

List of roman consuls (Fasti consulares) 300 BC - AD 60 at http://www.tyndale.cam.ac.uk/Egypt/ptolemies/chron/chronology.htm - in the list of consuls the column on the right (Pontifex Maximus) lists those that are known in this period.

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