12 Caesars from Julius Caesar through Emperor Domitian

When I see the words 12 Caesars, as in the title of the biographies of Suetonius, I have to remember it means Julius Caesar plus 11. Caesar became an imperial title that turned into 'Czar' in Germany and 'Tsar' in Russia. Suetonius was trained at Rome to be an orator when Domitian (last of the 12) was Roman Emperor. He wrote 8 books of biographies of the first 12 Caesars of Rome, the first of which is Julius Caesar. After Julius Caesar, the Republic gave way to Empire and the 11 other biographies are of Roman emperors. Suetonius chronicles Julius Caesar and the five Julio-Claudians in Books 1-6, Galba, Otho, and Vitellius in the 7th book, and the Flavian emperors in the 8th.

The 12 Caesars refers to a century's worth of leaders of ancient Rome. Here you will learn more about the final leader of the Republic and the first 11 men to come after him -- excluding the period of turmoil among and between the assassins of Julius Caesar and the triumvirate of Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus.