C.D. 41.51.7-8 alla luce dei fasti Privernates. Nota sui magistri equitum di Cesare dittatore perpetuo

The passage examined (C.D. 43.5.6-8) on the magistri equitum designed by Caesar as dictator perpetuus would be fully compatible with the new information provided by the Fasti Privernates, if we correct ἄλλον τέ τινα καὶ τὸν Ὀκτάουιον in ἄλλο<υς> τέ τινα<ς> καὶ τὸν Ὀκτάουιον, according to a linguistic use widely documented in Dio’s work. In § 7, therefore, Dio would be speaking not of two annual magistri equitum for a period of three or four years, but generically of an unspecified number of magistri, among which also the perpetual magister equitum Lepidus must be included, besides Octavius and other unnamed annual magistri. Dio, however, according to his use, judges it irrelevant to list them by their names, and only says that among them there was also the future Augustus. Probably he wants to say it because he knows that Octavius’ designation was never formalized, and therefore was not recorded in the Fasti.