Pontifex maximus

the chief high priest of the College of Pontiffs in ancient Rome, open only to patricians until 254 BCE, when a plebeian first occupied this post; gradually became politicized until, beginning with Augustus, it was subsumed into the Imperial office

10 dated entries naming Pontifex maximus, drawn from 10 separate years between 712 BCE and 384 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

Also written as Pontifex Maximus in the source articles; Wikipedia redirects those to the same subject, so their entries are on this page.

JSON Wikipedia article Wikidata Q212943

8th century BC

712 BCE712 BC—Numa Pompilius creates the office of Pontifex Maximus.source

3rd century BC

290 BCELucius Caecilius Metellus, Roman consul and Pontifex Maximus (approximate date) (died 221 BC)source

2nd century BC

152 BCEMarcus Aemilius Lepidus, Roman statesman, consul, Pontifex Maximus and censor; as a praetor, he has been governor of Sicily in 191 BC.source

1st century BC

63 BCEJulius Caesar is elected Pontifex Maximus and praetor for 62 BC.source
12 BCEEmperor Augustus is given the title Pontifex Maximus.source

2nd century

161March 7 – Emperor Antoninus Pius dies, and is succeeded by Marcus Aurelius, who shares imperial power with Lucius Verus, although Marcus retains the title Pontifex Maximus.source

3rd century

253Aemilianus rules the Roman Empire for three months; he promises to fight in Thrace and goes to war against Persia. The Senate gives him the rank of Pontifex Maximus.source

4th century

379Gratian renounces the title Pontifex Maximus.source
381Emperor Gratian moves the capital to Mediolanum (modern-day Milan). Because of his Christian beliefs, he eliminates Pontifex Maximus as Imperial title. Gratian also refuses the robe of office, insulting the pagan aristocrats of Rome.source
384December 17 – Pope Siricius succeeds Damasus I as the 38th pope. He takes the title Pontifex Maximus, after it is relinquished by the late emperor Gratian.source