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The Acta Caesaris (Acts of Caesar) are the published and unpublished legal acts that were passed or planned by Julius Caesar in his position as Roman dictator. Notably, the Acta Caesaris included:
- Certain acts passed and already enforced, such as the conferment of numerous offices to members of the populares and the optimates. For example, Mark Anthony was appointed co-consul of Caesar. By an agreement between the liberatores and Mark Anthony, all of Caesar's appointments were preserved.
- A number of acts passed but yet to be enforced, such as the distribution of provinces for the following years. Decimus Brutus, for example, was awarded the province of Cisalpine Gaul. That was contested by Mark Anthony and led to the War of Mutina in 43 BC.
- The completion of Caesar's reforms and unpublished acts. For example, the Second Triumvirate legally merged Cisalpine Gaul into Italy in 42 BC as planned by Julius Caesar (and in part already realized with the extension of Roman citizenship to that region in 49 BC). Octavian presented himself to the masses as the continuator of Caesar's programs.
For some years after the assassination of Caesar, the legal value of the acta caesaris was contested. Many argued that if Caesar had been a tyrant, all of his acts were to be abolished.
References
- Manuwald, Gesine (2007-01-01). Cicero, "Philippics" 3-9. Walter de Gruyter. p. 1004. ISBN 978-3-11-092047-5.
- Williams, J. H. C. (2001). Beyond the Rubicon. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-815300-9.