Philosophers
92-409: An empress is a female imperial monarch, or the wife of an imperial monarch; written with a capital, Empress is used as the title of an empress, placed before her name – often just the given name. Empress or The Empress may also refer to: Empress The word emperor (from Latin : imperator , via Old French : empereor ) can mean the male ruler of an empire . Empress ,
184-781: A connotation of dictatorial powers and style, fitting since "autocrat" was an official title of the Russian Emperor (informally referred to as 'the tsar'). Similarly, Speaker of the House Thomas Brackett Reed was called "Czar Reed" for his dictatorial control of the House of Representatives in the 1880s and 1890s. In the United States and in the United Kingdom, the title "czar" is a colloquial term for certain high-level civil servants, such as
276-430: A contemporary source. King Sancho III of Navarre conquered Leon in 1034 and began using it. His son, Ferdinand I of Castile also took the title in 1039. Ferdinand's son, Alfonso VI of León and Castile took the title in 1077. It then passed to his son-in-law, Alfonso I of Aragon in 1109. His stepson and Alfonso VI's grandson, Alfonso VII was the only one who actually had an imperial coronation in 1135. The title
368-478: A dynastic succession started when the title Empress of India was created for Queen Victoria . The government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli , conferred the additional title upon her by an Act of Parliament, reputedly to assuage the monarch's irritation at being, as a mere Queen, notionally inferior to the emperors of Russia, Germany, and Austria. That included her own daughter ( Princess Victoria , who
460-537: A higher title than King, and yet they call David Czar , and our kings, Kirrols , probably from Carolus Quintus , whose history they have among them". The title tsar remained in common usage, and also officially as part of various titles signifying rule over various states absorbed by the Russian monarchy (such as the former Tatar khanates and the Georgian Orthodox kingdom). In the 18th century, tsar
552-691: A makeshift imperial coronation performed by the Patriarch of Constantinople in 913. After an attempt by the Byzantine Empire to revoke this major diplomatic concession and a decade of intensive warfare, the imperial title of the Bulgarian ruler was recognized by the Byzantine government in 924 and again at the formal conclusion of peace in 927. Since in Byzantine political theory there was place for only two emperors, Eastern and Western (as in
644-536: Is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs . The term is derived from the Latin word caesar , which was intended to mean emperor in the European medieval sense of the term—a ruler with the same rank as a Roman emperor , holding it by the approval of another emperor or a supreme ecclesiastical official—but was usually considered by Western Europeans to be equivalent to "king". Tsar and its variants were
736-619: Is known as the Dominate (284 AD – 527 AD), during which Emperor Diocletian tried to put the empire on a more formal footing. Diocletian sought to address the challenges of the Empire's now vast geography and the instability caused by the informality of succession by the creation of co-emperors and junior emperors. At one point, there were as many as five sharers of the imperium (see: Tetrarchy ). In 325 AD Constantine I defeated his rivals and restored single emperor rule, but following his death
828-499: Is that an emperor has no relations implying the superiority of any other ruler and typically rules over more than one nation. Therefore, a king might be obliged to pay tribute to another ruler, or be restrained in his actions in some unequal fashion, but an emperor should in theory be completely free of such restraints. However, monarchs heading empires have not always used the title in all contexts—the British sovereign did not assume
920-503: The Byzantine Empire after Byzantium , the original name of the town that Constantine I would elevate to the Imperial capital as New Rome in AD 330. (The city is more commonly called Constantinople and is today named Istanbul ). Although the empire was again subdivided and a co-emperor sent to Italy at the end of the fourth century, the office became unitary again only 95 years later at
1012-684: The Despotate of Epirus . In 1248, Epirus recognized the Nicaean emperors, who subsequently recaptured Constantinople in 1261. The Trapezuntine emperor formally submitted in Constantinople in 1281, but frequently flouted convention by styling themselves emperor back in Trebizond thereafter. Byzantium 's close cultural and political interaction with its Balkan neighbors Bulgaria and Serbia , and with Russia (Kievan Rus', then Muscovy) led to
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#17327866217481104-591: The Eastern Roman Empire or (after the Battle of Yarmouk in 636 AD) the Later Roman or Byzantine Empire . The subdivisions and co-emperor system were formally abolished by Emperor Zeno in 480 AD following the death of Julius Nepos last Western Emperor and the ascension of Odoacer as the de facto King of Italy in 476 AD. Historians generally refer to the continuing Roman Empire in the east as
1196-608: The Eastern Roman Empire . Their status was officially recognized by the Holy Roman Emperor in 1514, although not officially used by the Russian monarchs until 1547. However, the Russian emperors are better known by their Russian-language title of Tsar even after Peter the Great adopted the title of Emperor of All Russia in 1721. Historians have liberally used "emperor" and "empire" anachronistically and out of its Roman and European context to describe any large state from
1288-674: The German Empire with the proclamation of the Prussian king Wilhelm I as German Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles , to the humiliation of the French, who ceased to resist only days later. After his death he was succeeded by his son Frederick III who was only emperor for 99 days. In the same year his son Wilhelm II became the third emperor within a year. He was
1380-657: The Kabardinian lands and Armenian territories ; hereditary Ruler and Lord of the Cherkess and Mountain Princes and others; Lord of Turkestan , Heir of Norway , Duke of Schleswig-Holstein , Stormarn , Dithmarschen , Oldenburg ". Like many lofty titles, such as mogul , tsar or czar has been used in English as a metaphor for positions of high authority since 1866 (referring to U.S. President Andrew Johnson ), with
1472-584: The Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen (Hungary) were given self-government in 1867, the non-Hungarian portions were called the Empire of Austria. They were officially known as the "Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council ( Reichsrat )". The title of Emperor of Austria and the associated Empire were both abolished at the end World War I in 1918, when German Austria became a republic and
1564-582: The Latin Empire of Constantinople , installing Baldwin IX , Count of Flanders , as Emperor. However, Byzantine resistance to the new empire meant that it was in constant struggle to establish itself. Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos succeeded in recapturing Constantinople in 1261. The Principality of Achaea , a vassal state the empire had created in Morea (Greece) intermittently continued to recognize
1656-734: The Ottoman Empire in 1908, its monarch, who was previously styled Knyaz , Prince , took the traditional title of Tsar , this time translated as King . Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha is the former Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria. The kings of the Ancien Régime and the July Monarchy used the title Empereur de France in diplomatic correspondence and treaties with the Ottoman emperor from at least 1673 onwards. The Ottomans insisted on this elevated style while refusing to recognize
1748-525: The Patriarch of Constantinople and Imperial regent Nicholas Mystikos outside the Byzantine capital. In its final expanded form, under the Second Bulgarian Empire the title read "Emperor and Autocrat of all Bulgarians and Greeks" (Цар и самодържец на всички българи и гърци, Car i samodăržec na vsički bălgari i gărci in the modern vernacular). The Roman component in the Bulgarian imperial title indicated both rule over Greek speakers and
1840-714: The Second Mexican Empire (headed by his choice of Maximilian I of Mexico , a member of the House of Habsburg ), to regain France's hold in the Americas and to achieve greatness for the 'Latin' race. Napoleon III was deposed on 4 September 1870, after France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War . The Third Republic followed and after the death of his son Napoleon (IV), in 1879 during the Zulu War,
1932-596: The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland , is according to English law an Empire ruled by a King endowed with the imperial dignity. However, this has not led to the creation of the title of Emperor in England, nor in Great Britain , nor in the United Kingdom. In 1801, George III rejected the title of Emperor when offered. The only period when British monarchs held the title of Emperor in
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#17327866217482024-522: The " drug czar " for the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (not to be confused with a drug baron ), "terrorism czar" for a presidential advisor on terrorism policy, "cybersecurity czar" for the highest-ranking Department of Homeland Security official on computer security and information security policy, and " war czar " to oversee the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan . More specifically,
2116-662: The 19th century, the emperor exercised little power beyond the German-speaking states. Although technically an elective title, by the late 16th century, the imperial title had in practice come to be inherited by the Habsburg Archdukes of Austria and, following the Thirty Years' War , their control over the states (outside the Habsburg monarchy , i.e. Austria , Bohemia and various territories outside
2208-704: The Bonapartist movement split, and the Third Republic was to last until 1940. The role of head of the House of Bonaparte is claimed by Jean-Christophe Napoléon and Charles Napoléon . The origin of the title Imperator totius Hispaniae ( Latin for Emperor of All Spain ) is murky. It was associated with the Leonese monarchy perhaps as far back as Alfonso the Great ( r. 866–910). The last two kings of its Astur-Leonese dynasty were called emperors in
2300-543: The Bulgarian as in the Greek vernacular, the meaning of the title had shifted (although Paisius ' Slavonic-Bulgarian History (1760–1762) had still distinguished between the two concepts). The title of tsar (Serbian car ) was used officially by two monarchs, the previous monarchial title being that of king ( kralj ). In 1345, Stefan Dušan began to style himself "Emperor of Serbs and Greeks" (the Greek renderings read " basileus and autokrator of Serbs and Romans"), and
2392-422: The Bulgarian ruler Kaloyan and Pope Innocent III , Kaloyan—whose self-assumed Latin title was "Imperator Bulgarorum et Blachorum"—claims that the imperial crowns of Simeon I , his son Peter I , and Samuel were somehow derived from the papacy . The pope, however, only speaks of reges (kings) of Bulgaria in his replies, and eventually grants only that lesser title to Kaloyan, who nevertheless proceeds to thank
2484-593: The Byzantine Empire. This idea was represented more emphatically in the composition the monk Filofej addressed to their son Vasili III . In 1480, after ending Muscovy's dependence on its overlords of the Great Horde , Ivan III began the usage of the titles Tsar and Autocrat ( samoderzhets ). His insistence on recognition as such by the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire since 1489 resulted in
2576-510: The Byzantine imperial title evolved from simply "emperor" ( basileus ) to "emperor of the Romans" ( basileus tōn Rōmaiōn ) in the 9th century, to "emperor and autocrat of the Romans" ( basileus kai autokratōr tōn Rōmaiōn ) in the 10th. In fact, none of these (and other) additional epithets and titles had ever been completely discarded. One important distinction between the post Constantine I (reigned AD 306–337) emperors and their pagan predecessors
2668-575: The French ( Empereur des Français ) on 18 May 1804, thus creating the French Empire ( Empire Français ). Napoleon relinquished the title of Emperor of the French on 6 April and again on 11 April 1814. Napoleon's infant son, Napoleon II , was recognized by the Council of Peers, as Emperor from the moment of his father's abdication, and therefore reigned (as opposed to ruled) as Emperor for fifteen days, 22 June to 7 July 1815. Since 3 May 1814,
2760-747: The Holy Roman emperors or the Russian tsars because of their rival claims of the Roman crown . In short, it was an indirect insult by the Ottomans to the HRE and the Russians. The French kings also used it for Morocco (1682) and Persia (1715). Napoleon Bonaparte , who was already First Consul of the French Republic ( Premier Consul de la République française ) for life, declared himself Emperor of
2852-600: The Late Roman Empire ), the Bulgarian ruler was crowned basileus as "a spiritual son" of the Byzantine basileus . It has been hypothesized that Simeon's title was also recognized by a papal mission to Bulgaria in or shortly after 925, as a concession in exchange for a settlement in the Bulgarian- Croatian conflict or a possible attempt to return Bulgaria to union with Rome. Thus, in the later diplomatic correspondence conducted in 1199–1204 between
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2944-518: The Latin title for the Roman emperors, caesar . The Greek equivalent of the Latin word imperator was the title autokrator . The term basileus was another term for the same position, but it was used differently depending on whether it was in a contemporary political context or in a historical or Biblical context. In 705 Emperor Justinian II named Tervel of Bulgaria "caesar" ( Greek : καῖσαρ ),
3036-623: The Russian emperor assumed the title "tsar of Poland". Among the indigenous peoples of Siberia and the Muslims of the Volga region , Central Asia and the Caucasus , the autocracy of the Russian Empire often became identified with the image of the "White Tsar" ( Russian : Белый царь ). By 1894, when Nicholas II ascended the throne, the full title of the Russian rulers was "By
3128-658: The Senate") and became changed into Augustus' chief honorific, princeps civitatis ("first citizen") from which the modern English word and title prince is descended. The first period of the Roman Empire , from 27 BC to AD 284, is called the principate for this reason. However, it was the informal descriptive of Imperator ("commander") that became the title increasingly favored by his successors. Previously bestowed on high officials and military commanders who had imperium , Augustus reserved it exclusively to himself as
3220-744: The Sovereign Principality of Elba was created as a miniature non-hereditary monarchy under the exiled French Emperor Napoleon I. According to the Treaty of Fontainebleau (1814) , Napoleon I was allowed to enjoy the imperial title for life. The islands were not restyled an empire. On 26 February 1815, Napoleon abandoned Elba for France, reviving the French Empire for a Hundred Days ; the Allies declared an end to Napoleon's sovereignty over Elba on 25 March 1815, and on 31 March 1815 Elba
3312-592: The act of accession to the head of state . Other honorifics used by the Roman emperors have also come to be synonyms for Emperor: After the turbulent Year of the Four Emperors in 69, the Flavian dynasty reigned for three decades. The succeeding Nervan-Antonian dynasty , ruling for most of the 2nd century, stabilised the empire. This epoch became known as the era of the Five Good Emperors , and
3404-480: The adoption of Byzantine imperial traditions in all of these countries. The Emperor of the Romans' title was a reflection of the translatio imperii ( transfer of rule ) principle that regarded the Holy Roman emperors as the inheritors of the title of Emperor of the Western Roman Empire , despite the continued existence of the Roman Empire in the east, hence the problem of two emperors . From
3496-567: The authority of the crusader emperors for another half century. Pretenders to the title continued among the European nobility until circa 1383. With Constantinople occupied, claimants to the imperial succession styled themselves as emperor in the chief centers of resistance: The Laskarid dynasty in the Empire of Nicaea , the Komnenid dynasty in the Empire of Trebizond and the Doukid dynasty in
3588-406: The complex of Habsburg lands as a whole) had been part of the Archduchy of Austria since the 15th century, and most of the other territories of the Empire had their own institutions and territorial history. There were some attempts at centralization, especially during the reign of Maria Theresa and her son Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor . These efforts were finalized in the early 19th century. When
3680-439: The derivation of the imperial tradition from the Romans, however this component was never recognised by the Byzantine court. Byzantine recognition of Simeon's imperial title was revoked by the succeeding Byzantine government. The decade 914–924 was spent in destructive warfare between Byzantium and Bulgaria over this and other matters of conflict. The Bulgarian monarch, who had further irritated his Byzantine counterpart by claiming
3772-485: The dominant rule to identifying an emperor in the modern era. When Republican Rome turned into a de facto monarchy in the second half of the 1st century BC, at first there was no name for the title of the new type of monarch. Ancient Romans abhorred the name Rex ("king") , and it was critical to the political order to maintain the forms and pretenses of republican rule. Julius Caesar had been Dictator , an acknowledged and traditional office in Republican Rome. Caesar
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3864-443: The emperor as a semi-republican official to the emperor as an absolute monarch . Of particular note was the translation of the Latin Imperator into the Greek Basileus , after Emperor Heraclius changed the official language of the empire from Latin to Greek in AD 620. Basileus, a title which had long been used for Alexander the Great was already in common usage as the Greek word for the Roman emperor, but its definition and sense
3956-436: The empire was divided among his sons. For a time the concept was of one empire ruled by multiple emperors with varying territory under their control, however following the death of Theodosius I the rule was divided between his two sons and increasingly became separate entities. The areas administered from Rome are referred to by historians the Western Roman Empire and those under the immediate authority of Constantinople called
4048-471: The empire) had become nearly non-existent. However, Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned Emperor of the French in 1804 and was shortly followed by Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor , who declared himself Emperor of Austria in the same year. The position of Holy Roman Emperor nonetheless continued until Francis II abdicated that position in 1806. In Eastern Europe , the monarchs of Russia also used translatio imperii to wield imperial authority as successors to
4140-448: The end of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 (except in the years 1742 to 1745) only members of the House of Habsburg were Holy Roman emperors. Karl von Habsburg is currently the head of the House of Habsburg. The first Austrian Emperor was the last Holy Roman Emperor, Franz II . In the face of aggressions by Napoleon , Francis feared for the future of the Holy Roman Empire . He wished to maintain his and his family's Imperial status in
4232-544: The event that the Holy Roman Empire should be dissolved, as it indeed was in 1806 when an Austrian-led army suffered a humiliating defeat at the Battle of Austerlitz . After which, the victorious Napoleon proceeded to dismantle the old Reich by severing a good portion from the empire and turning it into a separate Confederation of the Rhine . With the size of his imperial realm significantly reduced, Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor became Francis I, Emperor of Austria . The new imperial title may have sounded less prestigious than
4324-405: The fall of the Byzantine Empire, the legitimate heir to the throne, Andreas Palaiologos , willed away his claim to Ferdinand and Isabella in 1503. After the independence and proclamation of the Empire of Brazil from the Kingdom of Portugal by Prince Pedro , who became Emperor, in 1822, his father, King John VI of Portugal briefly held the honorific style of Titular Emperor of Brazil and
4416-485: The female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort ), mother/grandmother ( empress dowager / grand empress dowager ), or a woman who rules in her own right and name ( empress regnant or suo jure ). Emperors are generally recognized to be of the highest monarchic honour and rank , surpassing kings . In Europe , the title of Emperor has been used since the Middle Ages , considered in those times equal or almost equal in dignity to that of Pope due to
4508-401: The first foreigner to receive this title, but his descendants continued to use Bulgar title " Kanasubigi ". The sainted Boris I is sometimes retrospectively referred to as tsar, because at his time Bulgaria was converted to Christianity . However, the title "tsar" (and its Byzantine Greek equivalent basileus ) was actually adopted and used for the first time by his son Simeon I , following
4600-708: The grace of God Almighty, the Emperor and Supreme Autocrat of all the Russias, Tsar of Moscow, Kiev, Vladimir , Novgorod , Kazan , Astrakhan , Poland , Siberia , Tauric Chersonese, and Georgia , Lord of Pskov , Grand Duke of Smolensk , Lithuania , Volhynia , Podolia and Finland , Prince of Estonia , Livonia , Courland and Semigalia , Samogitia , Białystok , Karelia , Tver , Yugra , Perm , Vyatka , Bulgaria , and other territories; Lord and Grand Duke of Nizhny Novgorod , Chernigov ; Ruler of Ryazan , Polotsk , Rostov , Yaroslavl , Beloozero , Udoria , Obdoria , Kondia , Vitebsk , Mstislav , and all northern territories ; Ruler of Iveria , Kartalinia , and
4692-691: The granting of this recognition in 1514 by Emperor Maximilian I to Vasili III. His son Ivan IV emphatically crowned himself Tsar of Russia on 16 January 1547. The word "Tsar" derives from Latin Caesar , but this title was used in Russia as equivalent to "King"; the error occurred when medieval Russian clerics referred to the biblical Jewish kings with the same title that was used to designate Roman and Byzantine rulers — "Caesar". Tsar Works Tsar ( / z ɑːr , ( t ) s ɑːr / ; also spelled czar , tzar , or csar ; Bulgarian : цар , romanized : tsar ; Russian : царь , romanized : tsar' ; Serbian : цар , car )
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#17327866217484784-411: The last German emperor. After the empire's defeat in World War I the empire, called the German Reich , had a president as head of state instead of an emperor. The use of the word Reich was abandoned following World War II . In 1472, the niece of the last Byzantine emperor, Sophia Palaiologina , married Ivan III , grand prince of Moscow, who began championing the idea of Russia being the successor to
4876-639: The late 5th century BC, the Angevin Empire of the Plantagenets and the Soviet and American "empires" of the Cold War era. However, such "empires" did not need to be headed by an "emperor". "Empire" became identified instead with vast territorial holdings rather than the title of its ruler by the mid-18th century. For purposes of protocol, the size and scope of a kingdom or empire may determine precedence in international diplomatic relations, but currently, precedence among heads of state who are sovereigns—whether they be kings, queens, emperors, empresses, princes, princesses and presidents may be determined by
4968-406: The latter's position as visible head of the Church and spiritual leader of the Catholic part of Western Europe . The emperor of Japan is the only currently reigning monarch whose title is translated into English as "Emperor". Both emperors and kings are monarchs or sovereigns, both emperor and empress are considered monarchical titles. In as much as there is a strict definition of emperor, it
5060-480: The meantime, the Bulgarian imperial title may have been also tacitly confirmed by the pope , as claimed in later Bulgarian diplomatic correspondence. The Bulgarian imperial title "tsar" was adopted by all Bulgarian monarchs up to the fall of Bulgaria under Ottoman rule. Despite the attempt of Pope Innocent III to limit the Bulgarian monarch to the title of King ( Rex ), Kaloyan of Bulgaria considered himself an Emperor ( Imperator ) and his successor Boril of Bulgaria
5152-401: The official titles in the First Bulgarian Empire (681–1018), Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396), the Kingdom of Bulgaria (1908–1946), the Serbian Empire (1346–1371), and the Tsardom of Russia (1547–1721). The first ruler to adopt the title tsar was Simeon I of Bulgaria . Simeon II , the last tsar of Bulgaria , is the last person to hold this title. The title tsar is derived from
5244-439: The old one, but Francis' dynasty continued to rule from Austria and a Habsburg monarch was still an emperor ( Kaiser ), and not just merely a king ( König ), in name. According to the historian Friedrich Heer, the Austrian Habsburg emperor remained an "auctoritas" of a special kind. He was "the grandson of the Caesars", he remained the patron of the Holy Church . The title lasted just a little over one century until 1918, but it
5336-476: The other kingdoms and lands represented in the Imperial Council established their independence or adhesion to other states. The Kaisers of the Austrian Empire (1804–1918) were Franz I (1804–1835), Ferdinand I (1835–1848), Franz Joseph I (1848–1916) and Karl I (1916–1918). The current head of the House of Habsburg is Karl von Habsburg . In 913, Simeon I of Bulgaria was crowned Emperor ( Tsar , originally more fully Tsesar, cěsar' ) of his own people by
5428-418: The past or the present. Some titles are considered equivalent to "emperor" or are translated as "emperor". Examples of that are Roman emperors' titles, King of Kings , Khalifa , Huangdi , Cakravartin , Great Khan , Aztec monarchs' title, Inca monarchs' title, etc. Sometimes this reference has even extended to non-monarchically ruled states and their spheres of influence, such as the Athenian Empire of
5520-453: The period of Kievan Rus' never styled themselves as tsars. The first Russian ruler to openly break with the khan of the Golden Horde , Mikhail of Tver ( r. 1285–1318 ), assumed the title basileus ton Ros , as well as tsar . Following his assertion of independence from the khan in 1476, Ivan III , the grand prince of Moscow ( r. 1462–1505 ), adopted the title of sovereign of all Russia , and he later also started to use
5612-443: The pope for the "imperial title" conferred upon him. After Bulgaria's liberation from the Ottomans in 1878, its new monarchs were at first autonomous prince ( knyaz ). With the declaration of full independence, Ferdinand I of Bulgaria adopted the traditional title "tsar" in 1908 and it was used until the abolition of the monarchy in 1946. However, these titles were not generally perceived as equivalents of "emperor" any longer. In
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#17327866217485704-399: The request of the Roman Senate and following the death of Julius Nepos , last Western Emperor. This change was a recognition of the reality that little remained of Imperial authority in the areas that had been the Western Empire, with even Rome and Italy itself now ruled by the essentially autonomous Odoacer . These Later Roman "Byzantine" emperors completed the transition from the idea of
5796-487: The rival German states to achieve his aim of a conservative, Prussian-dominated Germany. Three wars led to military successes and helped to convince German people to do this: the Second war of Schleswig against Denmark in 1864, the Austro-Prussian War against Austria in 1866, and the Franco-Prussian War against the Second French Empire in 1870–71. During the Siege of Paris in 1871, the North German Confederation , supported by its allies from southern Germany , formed
5888-467: The rule of Henry VIII the Statute in Restraint of Appeals declared that 'this realm of England is an Empire...governed by one Supreme Head and King having the dignity and royal estate of the imperial Crown of the same'. This was in the context of the divorce of Catherine of Aragon and the English Reformation , to emphasize that England had never accepted the quasi-imperial claims of the papacy. Hence England and, by extension its modern successor state,
5980-413: The size and scope or time that each one has been continuously in office . Outside the European context, "emperor" was the translation given to holders of titles who were accorded the same precedence as European emperors in diplomatic terms. In reciprocity, these rulers might accredit equal titles in their native languages to their European peers. Through centuries of international convention, this has become
6072-504: The succession and claimed the same titles as a dynast in Thessaly. After his death around 1370, he was succeeded in his claims by his son John Uroš , who retired to a monastery in about 1373. The title tsar was used once by church officials of Kievan Rus' in the naming of Yaroslav the Wise , the grand prince of Kiev ( r. 1019–1054 ). This may have related to Yaroslav's war against Byzantium and to his efforts to distance himself from Constantinople . However, other princes during
6164-410: The time of Otto the Great onward, much of the former Carolingian kingdom of Eastern Francia became the Holy Roman Empire . The prince-electors elected one of their peers as King of the Romans and King of Italy before being crowned by the Pope . The emperor could also pursue the election of his heir (usually a son) as King, who would then succeed him after his death. This junior king then bore
6256-590: The title " Emperor of India " by the British monarch , but this was not executed by King George VI until a royal proclamation on 22 June 1948. Despite this, George VI continued as king of India until 1950 and as king of Pakistan until his death in 1952. The last Empress of India was George VI's wife, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother . Under the guise of idealism giving way to realism, German nationalism rapidly shifted from its liberal and democratic character in 1848 to Prussian prime minister Otto von Bismarck 's authoritarian Realpolitik . Bismarck wanted to unify
6348-440: The title "Emperor of the Romans" ( basileus tōn Rōmaiōn ), was eventually recognized, as "Emperor of the Bulgarians" ( basileus tōn Boulgarōn ) by the Byzantine Emperor Romanos I Lakapenos in 924. Byzantine recognition of the imperial dignity of the Bulgarian monarch and the patriarchal dignity of the Bulgarian patriarch was again confirmed at the conclusion of permanent peace and a Bulgarian-Byzantine dynastic marriage in 927. In
6440-537: The title Empress of the British Empire even during the incorporation of India , though she was declared Empress of India . In Western Europe , the title of Emperor was used exclusively by the Holy Roman Emperor , whose imperial authority was derived from the concept of translatio imperii , i.e., they claimed succession to the authority of the Roman emperors , thus linking themselves to Roman institutions and traditions as part of state ideology. Although initially ruling much of Central Europe and northern Italy, by
6532-467: The title of "tsar" is more honorable for Muscovites than "kaiser" or "king" exactly because it was God and not some earthly potentate who ordained to apply it to David, Solomon, and other kings of Israel. Samuel Collins , a court physician to Tsar Alexis in 1659–66, styled the latter "Great Emperor", commenting that "as for the word Czar , it has so near relation to Cesar ... that it may well be granted to signifie Emperor. The Russians would have it to be
6624-430: The title of King of the Romans. Although technically already ruling, after the election he would be crowned as emperor by the pope. The last emperor to be crowned by the pope was Charles V ; all emperors after him were technically emperors-elect , but were universally referred to as emperor . The Holy Roman emperor was considered the first among those in power. He was also the first defender of Christianity. From 1452 to
6716-645: The title of tsar regularly in diplomatic relations with the West. From about 1480, he is designated as imperator in his Latin correspondence, as keyser in his correspondence with the Swedish regent, and as kejser in his correspondence with the Danish king, Teutonic Knights , and the Hanseatic League . Ivan's son Vasily III continued using these titles. Sigismund von Herberstein (1486–1566) observed that
6808-479: The title. Napoleon I's nephew, Napoleon III , resurrected the title of emperor on 2 December 1852, after establishing the Second French Empire in a presidential coup , subsequently approved by a plebiscite. His reign was marked by large scale public works, the development of social policy, and the extension of France's influence throughout the world. During his reign, he also set about creating
6900-504: The titles of kaiser and imperator were attempts to render the Russian term tsar into German and Latin, respectively. The title-inflation related to Russia's growing ambitions to become an Orthodox " third Rome ", after the fall of Constantinople in 1453. The monarch in Moscow was recognized as an emperor by Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I in 1514. However, the first Russian ruler to be formally crowned as tsar of all Russia
6992-596: The treatment of His Imperial and Royal Majesty under the 1825 Treaty of Rio de Janeiro , by which Portugal recognized the independence of Brazil. The style of Titular Emperor was a life title, and became extinct upon the holder's demise. John VI held the imperial title for a few months only, from the ratification of the Treaty in November 1825 until his death in March 1826. During those months, however, as John's imperial title
7084-405: The ultimate holder of all imperium . ( Imperium is Latin for the authority to command, one of a various types of authority delineated in Roman political thought.) Beginning with Augustus, Imperator appeared in the title of all Roman monarchs through the extinction of the Empire in 1453. After the reign of Augustus' immediate successor Tiberius , being proclaimed imperator was transformed into
7176-714: The west with the rise of Roman Catholicism . The Byzantine Empire also produced three women who effectively governed the state: the Empress Irene and the Empresses Zoe and Theodora . In 1204 Constantinople fell to the Venetians and the Franks in the Fourth Crusade . Following the tragedy of the horrific sacking of the city, the conquerors declared a new "Empire of Romania", known to historians as
7268-522: Was Ivan IV ("the Terrible"), in 1547. Some foreign ambassadors—namely, Herberstein (in 1516 and 1525), Daniel Printz a Buchau (in 1576 and 1578) and Just Juel (in 1709)—indicated that the word "tsar" should not be translated as "emperor", because it is applied by Russians to David , Solomon and other Biblical kings, who are simple reges . On the other hand, Jacques Margeret , a bodyguard of False Demetrius I ( r. 1605–1606 ), argues that
7360-482: Was cesaropapism , the assertion that the emperor (or other head of state) is also the head of the Church. Although this principle was held by all emperors after Constantine, it met with increasing resistance and ultimately rejection by bishops in the west after the effective end of Imperial power there. This concept became a key element of the meaning of "emperor" in the Byzantine and Orthodox east, but went out of favor in
7452-561: Was "King" in Greek, essentially equivalent with the Latin Rex . Byzantine period emperors also used the Greek word "autokrator", meaning "one who rules himself", or "monarch", which was traditionally used by Greek writers to translate the Latin dictator . Essentially, the Greek language did not incorporate the nuances of the Ancient Roman concepts that distinguished imperium from other forms of political power. In general usage,
7544-536: Was ceded to the restored Grand Duchy of Tuscany by the Congress of Vienna. After his final defeat, Napoleon was treated as a general by the British authorities during his second exile to Atlantic Isle of St. Helena . His title was a matter of dispute with the governor of St Helena, who insisted on addressing him as "General Bonaparte", despite the "historical reality that he had been an emperor" and therefore retained
7636-461: Was crowned as such in Skopje on Easter (April 16) 1346 by the newly elevated Serbian patriarch, alongside the Bulgarian patriarch and archbishop of Ohrid. On the same occasion, he had his wife Helena of Bulgaria crowned as empress and his son associated in power as king. When Dušan died in 1355, his son Stefan Uroš V became the next emperor. The new emperor's uncle Simeon Uroš (Siniša) contested
7728-646: Was followed by the short-lived Severan dynasty . During the Crisis of the 3rd century , barracks emperors succeeded one another at short intervals. Three short lived secessionist attempts had their own emperors: the Gallic Empire , the Britannic Empire , and the Palmyrene Empire though the latter used rex more regularly. The Principate (27 BC – 284 AD) period was succeeded by what
7820-521: Was increasingly viewed as inferior to "emperor" or as highlighting the oriental side of the rank. Upon annexing Crimea in 1783, Catherine the Great adopted the hellenicized title "tsaritsa of Tauric Chersonesos ", rather than "tsaritsa of the Crimea". By 1815, when Russia annexed a large part of Poland, the title had clearly come to be interpreted in Russia as the equivalent of Polish król ("king"), and
7912-592: Was never clear what territory constituted the " Empire of Austria ". When Francis took the title in 1804, the Habsburg lands as a whole were dubbed the Kaisertum Österreich . Kaisertum might literally be translated as "emperordom" (on analogy with "kingdom") or "emperor-ship"; the term denotes specifically "the territory ruled by an emperor", and is thus somewhat more general than Reich , which in 1804 carried connotations of universal rule. Austria proper (as opposed to
8004-490: Was no consistent title for the king of England before 1066, and monarchs chose to style themselves as they pleased. Imperial titles were used inconsistently, beginning with Athelstan in 930 and ended with the Norman conquest of England . Empress Matilda (1102–1167) is the only English monarch commonly referred to as "emperor" or "empress", but she acquired her title through her marriage to Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor . During
8096-692: Was not exactly hereditary but self-proclaimed by those who had, wholly or partially, united the Christian northern part of the Iberian Peninsula , often at the expense of killing rival siblings. The popes and Holy Roman emperors protested at the usage of the imperial title as a usurpation of leadership in western Christendom. After Alfonso VII's death in 1157, the title was abandoned, and the kings who used it are not commonly mentioned as having been "emperors", in Spanish or other historiography. After
8188-477: Was not the first to hold it, but following his assassination the term was abhorred in Rome. Augustus , considered the first Roman emperor , established his hegemony by collecting on himself offices, titles, and honours of Republican Rome that had traditionally been distributed to different people, concentrating what had been distributed power in one man. One of these offices was princeps senatus , ("first man of
8280-732: Was purely honorific while his son, Pedro I, remained the sole monarch of the Brazilian Empire. Duarte Pio is the current head of the House of Braganza . In the late 3rd century, by the end of the epoch of the barracks emperors in Rome, there were two Britannic emperors , reigning for about a decade. After the end of Roman rule in Britain , the Imperator Cunedda forged the Kingdom of Gwynedd in northern Wales, but all his successors were titled kings and princes. There
8372-531: Was specifically accused of improperly using the imperial title by his neighbor, the Latin Emperor Henry of Flanders . Nevertheless, the Bulgarian imperial title was recognized by its neighbors and trading partners, including Byzantium, Hungary, Serbia, Venice, Genoa, Dubrovnik. 14th-century Bulgarian literary compositions saw the Bulgarian capital ( Tarnovo ) as a successor of Rome and Constantinople . After Bulgaria obtained full independence from
8464-402: Was the wife of the reigning German Emperor ). Hence, "Queen Victoria felt handicapped in the battle of protocol by not being an Empress herself". The Indian Imperial designation was also formally justified as the expression of Britain succeeding the former Mughal Emperor as suzerain over hundreds of princely states . The Indian Independence Act 1947 provided for the abolition of the use of
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