Our months of July and August are named for the ancient Roman ruler Julius Caesar (100 BC-44 BC) and his successor, Augustus Caesar (63BC-14 AD).

Before the time of the Caesars, Rome was a republic, and had been for centuries. The senate controlled most of the laws and liberties. Within a few centuries, most of them had become corrupted and did not want to give up their power (sound familiar?). Julius Caesar, a famous general at the time of the waning of this republic, enjoyed great military success. Being overtly and extremely ambitious, Julius invoked a civil war on the Roman Empire, then took over as a totalitarian ruler when he was victorious. He reigned for just three years, then was assassinated by (guess who) the members of the senate, on March 15, 44 BC.

When his great-nephew and promised heir, Octavian, succeeded him, the new ruler took the name of Augustus Caesar. He ruled Rome for the longest of any of the Caesars, for a total of seventy years. While he won the admiration of most of his subjects, like his uncle Julius, Augustus could be cruel and harsh. When a unit of troops proved insolent, he ordered that they draw lots and every tenth man was executed. When a conquered rival asked to be properly buried after his ensuing execution, Augustus casually answered that the carrion would decide. He also levied heavy taxes upon his conquered subjects – which is even mentioned in the Bible. Yet, compared to the insane Caligula and the narcissistic and brutal Nero, these original Caesars seem benevolent. That is why we still have two months named after them.

Julius Caesar was actually born in July. At that time, it was named Quintilius, meaning the fifth month.

In ancient times, the first two months of the year, January and February, were basically ignored and nameless because little could be accomplished during those wintry months. March was named after the Roman god, Mars. It was considered the first month of the year. It was followed by April – taken from the Latin word that means “to open” – due to the sign of spring and newly awakened life from earth. May and June were also named for Roman gods. The rest of the months of the year were just called by their numbers: Quintilius, Sextilius, Septilius, Octilius, Novilius, and Decilius.

With his newly growing empire, Julius Caesar, who was a highly intelligent man, created the Julian calendar, which is similar to the one we still use today. He added the two months of January and February to the calendar, and added one day every four years (creating leap year) to synchronize the calendar with the earth’s annual rotation around the sun.

After the murder of Julius Caesar, Augustus decided to rename Quintilius in honor of his slain predecessor. He also changed the month of Sextilius to August – his own eponym – although he was born in October and not August (which is why he was named Octavian in the first place). In the month of August, he won a decisive battle before becoming emperor, which gave him great renown in Rome. He felt that month should be named for him because of that great military victory.

When Nero came to power decades afterward, he too wanted to name a month for himself. April almost became Neronius. Nero also wanted to rename Rome and call it Neronius. He died before either became official.

It is interesting to note, too, that the name Kaiser in Germany and Tsar in Russia, both titles of emperor, are derived from the word Caesar.

So, when in Rome....just kidding. Pass the word!

--Historical facts about the Caesars are found in the book The Twelve Caesars by Gaius Tranquilus Suetonius.