 A distinctly religious office under the early Roman Republic, it gradually became politicized until, beginning with Augustus, it was subsumed into the Imperial office.Its last use with reference to the emperors is in inscriptions of Gratian (reigned 375–383) who, however, then decided to omit the words "pontifex maximus" from his title.Although in fact the most powerful office of Roman priesthood, the "pontifex maximus" was officially ranked fifth in the ranking of the highest Roman priests ("ordo sacerdotum"), behind the "rex sacrorum" and the "flamines maiores" ("Flamen Dialis", "Flamen Martialis", "Flamen Quirinalis").