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The emperors of the Romans[1] receive this name from Julius Caesar,[2] the one who was not born [sc. in the conventional way]. For when his mother [Aurelia] died in the ninth month, they cut her open, took him out, and named him thus; for in the Roman tongue dissection is called "Caesar".[3]
"Among the Romans of old the people ruled, then the few, and finally the Roman state turned into monarchy, from the time when the first Caesar became sole ruler and emperor. The state continued free from faction until Marcus Antoninus was ruling the Romans;[4] but when his son Commodus, who was not at all sound of mind by nature and became subject to love of pleasure, and was not at all good in war and too fond of staying alive, was slain treacherously by certain men,[5] rebellions became very frequent."[6]

*kai=sar: ou(/tws o)noma/zontai oi( *(rwmai/wn basilei=s a)po\ *)iouli/ou *kai/saros, tou= mh\ gennhqe/ntos. th=s ga\r mhtro\s au)tou= qanou/shs e)n tw=| q# mhni/, tau/thn a)natemo/ntes e)ce/balon au)to\n kai\ ou(/tws e)ka/lesan: kata\ ga\r th\n *(rwmai/wn glw=ssan *kai=sar a)natomh\ le/getai. o(/ti e)pi\ *(rwmai/wn tw=n pa/lai o( dh=mos h)=rxen, au)=qis oi( o)li/goi, kai\ ta\ teleutai=a e)s monarxi/an kate/sth *(rwmai/ois ta\ pra/gmata, e)ce/ti *kai/saros tou= prw/tou monarxh/santos kai\ basileu/santos. kai\ a)stasi/asta diete/lei ta\ koina\ a)/xri e)s *ma/rkon *)antwni=non *(rwmai/wn a)/rxonta: e)pei\ de\ o( tou/tou pai=s o( *ko/modos th\n fu/sin ou) pa/nu frenh/rhs kai\ filhdoni/as h(/ttwn geno/menos kai\ ou) ma/la ti a)gaqo\s ta\ pole/mia kai\ filo/yuxos, dolofonhqei\s u(po/ tinwn katelu/qh, e)panasta/seis te sunexe/statai e)ge/nonto.

[1] Index of emperors at web address 1.
[2] See gamma 10, kappa 1196.
[3] cf. Etymologicum Magnum 498.27-30 for the material of this first paragraph of the entry. The Suda's own source for it is indeterminable.
[4] a.k.a. Marcus Aurelius, 161-180: see mu 214.
[5] In 192 CE; see kappa 2007, phi 700.
[6] This second paragraph of the entry is presented as a quotation (o(/ti ktl), but again its source is unknown.

David Whitehead (added notes; cosmetics) on 28 March 2001@06:25:46.
David Whitehead (more keywords) on 5 December 2005@06:03:41.
Catharine Roth (added cross-references) on 6 December 2005@00:53:50.
Catharine Roth (tweaked link, added cross-reference) on 5 August 2012@18:21:46.
David Whitehead on 12 February 2013@07:34:51.
David Whitehead (more notes; cosmetics) on 30 April 2016@07:10:12.

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