List of Roman Dictators

The following is a list of dictators in ancient Rome as reported by ancient sources. Contemporary historians doubt whether some of these dictatorships actually occurred. In antiquity, the meaning of dictator was not pejorative but referred to one who ruled by dictat for a set period; rarely (as in case of Gaius Julius Caesar) it was a title for life.

All dates and names are given as they appear in Magistrates of the Roman Republic by T.R.S. Broughton.

Where a cause is not attested in ancient sources and is reconstructed by modern scholars, it is preceded by an asterisk (e.g., *Rei gerundae causa). Dicatators rei gerundae causa were appointed "for getting things done," clavi figendi causa "for driving a nail" into the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, comitiorum habendorum causa "for holding elections," and lodorum faciendorum causa "for holding the Roman games." Other causes are unique to the case at hand, with the possible exception of seditionis sedandae et rgc, "for quieting sedition and getting things done."