The office of the high priest of Rome “Pontifex Maximus” offered great opportunities. One of the functions was taking care of the calendar, which involved, for example, setting the next month. This explains why in 46 BCE the calendar December was in September. Influencing the calendar was to even shorten or extend the duration of the term of office of other officials.
The person who put an end to this was himself Gaius Julius Caesar – at least theoretically. It was he who ordered the reform of the calendar and the old so-called Roman changed to Julian. He could do this only by holding the office of the high priest of Rome. His term of office, however, did not last a year, since from 63 BCE to death. It is more than certain that he manipulated the calendar himself and knowing the possibilities offered by the title Pontifex Maximus decided to “relieve” other officials from bothering with the calendar issue. Of course, quarterly deregulation was also important.
