List of Pontifices Maximi

The Pontifex Maximus was chief priest of the Collegium Pontificum ("College of Pontiffs") in ancient Roman religion. The names of Pontifices Maximi for the Roman Republic are listed below as known. The last Pontifex Maximus of the Republican era was Lepidus, the triumvir. Upon his death, Augustus acquired the office, consolidating an additional source of power and authority for the princeps. In the Imperial era, it was customary for the emperor to serve as Pontifex Maximus.

The Pontifex Maximus held his office for life, but the date of death is not known for every man who held the office, and the name of the Pontifex is not recorded for every period. Unless otherwise noted, dates and citations of primary sources are from T.R.S. Broughton's three-volume The Magistrates of the Roman Republic (American Philological Association, 1951, 1986).

On 6 March 12 BC, Augustus became Pontifex Maximus, following the death of Lepidus. Thereafter, it became customary for the emperor to hold the post. Constantine (reigned 306–337) is known as the first emperor to convert to Christianity, but Gratian (375–383) is recorded as the first emperor to decline the office of Pontifex Maximus of the traditional state religion. From some indeterminate later date to the present, the title "Pontifex Maximus" has been held by the Pope.

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