His most notable accomplishment was the reform
of the calendar. Until 46 B.C. the Roman calendar was governed by the moon.
The control of the calendar was placed in the hands of the pontifex maximus
who was usually a politician. If he wanted to favor his friends in power
he added an extra month, or he would leave it out if his enemies were in
power. By 46 B.C. the Roman calendar was in a state of confusion. While
in Egypt , Caesar observed a much better calendar system and adapted it
for Rome. He let 46 B.C. continue for 445 days, adding two months at the
end, in order to catch up to the sun. It is sometimes referred to as "the
Year of Confusion" because it was the longest year in civilized history.
In 45 B.C. the total length of the year was 365 days, and the phases of the moon were ignored. The year was given 12 months of 30 to 31 days except for February which ended with only 28 days. A leap year was also established to prevent the calendar from falling a day behind every four years. This calendar is called the Julian Calendar in honor of Julius Caesar, and the month known to us as July was changed from " Quintilis" to "Julius" in honor of Caesar. The calendar we use today is the Julian calendar slightly corrected by Pope Gregory XIII.