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This article is about Emperor/Empress in the meaning of "monarch", for all other uses, see: Emperor (disambiguation) or Empress (disambiguation)

An emperor is a (male) monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress is the feminine form. As a title, "empress" may indicate the wife of an emperor (empress consort) or a woman who is a ruling monarch (empress regnant). Emperors are generally recognised to be above kings in honour and rank.

Distinction between Emperor and other types of monarch

Both kings and emperors are monarchs. There is no single rule to distinguish the one from the other: several factors, like interpretations of historians, the size and characteristics of the governed realm, and the title(s) chosen by the monarch play a part in distinguishing the one from the other. General characteristics indicating that a monarch is to be considered an emperor rather than a king include:

  • The monarch goes by a title that usually translates as "emperor" in English, and/or is accepted as the equivalent of "emperor" in international diplomatic relations;
  • The monarch rules over other monarchs, without stripping monarchy-related titles from these subjects ("vassals" or non-sovereign monarchs);
  • The monarch rules several formerly sovereign countries, or peoples from different nations or ethnic provenance.
  • The monarch assumes divine or other high-ranked religious characteristics (see: imperial cult, caesaropapism);
  • European (Christian) tradition: The monarch traced his imperial title to Roman precedent or recognition by a Roman (Byzantine) emperor or supreme ecclesiastical official (the Pope or the Oecumenical Patriarch), see also: translatio imperii.

Where the title chosen by the monarch has become a separate concept in the English language, the distinction whether this monarch would have been an "emperor" or a "king" is often no longer made: for instance caliph, sultan or khan as a concept of a type of monarch is usually defined separately, making it redundant to apply the emperor/king distinction to these types of monarchy.

Roman and Christian tradition

Roman and Byzantine Emperors

In the Roman tradition a large variety in the meaning and importance of the Imperial form of monarchy developed: in intention it was always the highest office, but it could as well fall down to a redundant title for nobility that had never been near to the "Empire" they were supposed to be reigning. Also the name of the position split in several branches of Western tradition, see section on the Origin of the Western terminology below.

Importance and meaning of Coronation ceremonies and regalia also varied within the tradition: for instance Holy Roman Emperors could only be crowned emperor by the pope, which meant the coronation ceremony usually took place in Rome, often several years after these emperors had ascended to the throne (as "king") in their home country. The first Latin Emperors of Constantinople on the other hand had to be present in the newly conquered capital of their Empire, because that was the only place where they could be granted to become Emperor.

Early Roman Emperors on the other hand avoided any type of ceremony or regalia different from what was already usual for republican offices in the Roman Republic: the most intrusive change had been changing the color of their robe to purple. Later new symbols of worldly and/or spiritual power, like the orb became an essential part of the Imperial accessories.

Rules for indicating successors also varied: there was a tendency towards male inheritance of the supreme office, but as well election by noblemen, as ruling Empresses (for empires not too strictly under salic law) are known. Ruling monarchs could additionally steer the succession by adoption, as often occurred in the two first centuries of Imperial Rome. Of course, intrigue, murder and military force could also mingle in for appointing successors, the Roman Imperial tradition made no exception to other monarchical traditions in this respect. Probably the epoch best known for this part of the Imperial tradition is Rome's third century

Ancient Rome - origin of Western terminology

see: Roman Emperor

When Republican Rome turned into a monarchy again, 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 after Julius Caesar also Dictator (which was an acknowledged office in Republican Rome, Julius Caesar not being the first to hold it).

In fact Augustus, who can be considered the first Roman Emperor, avoided naming himself anything that could be reminding of "monarchy" or "dictature". Instead, these first Emperors constructed their office as a complicated collection of offices, titles, and honours, that were consolidated around a single person and his closest relatives (while in the republic the "taking of turns", often in shared offices, had been the principle for passing on power). These early Roman emperors didn't need a specific name for their monarchy: they had enough offices and powers accumulated so that in any field of power they were "unsurpassable", and besides: everybody just knew they had supreme power. If needed that supreme power could be demonstrated by a process for high treason, exile, poisoning, or whatever, for those who gave semblance not to understand.

As the first Roman Emperors did not rule by virtue of any particular republican or senatorial office, the name given to the office of "head of state" in this new monarchical form of government became different depending on tradition, none of these traditions consolidated in the early days of the Roman Empire:

  • Princeps (as, for example, in Tacitus' Annals). This tradition did not continue. An echo can be found in Niccolò Machiavelli's The Prince, where "Prince" is used as a generic name for "monarch", and later in the first dynasties of Imperial monarchs of ancient Rome being called principate by historians. This name for the Roman monarch appears to go back to the office of Princeps senatus (which can be translated as "president of the senate"), an office since Augustus held exclusively by the ruling monarch.
  • Caesar (as, for example, in Suetonius' Twelve Caesars). This tradition continued in many languages: in German it became "Kaiser"; in certain Slavic languages it became "Tsar"; in Hungarian it became "Császár", and several more variants. The name derived from Julius Caesar's cognomen "Caesar": this cognomen was adopted by all Roman emperors, exclusively by the ruling monarch after the Julio-Claudian dynasty had died out. In this tradition Julius Caesar is sometimes described as the first Caesar/emperor (following Suetonius).
  • Augustus was the honorific first bestowed on Emperor Augustus: after him all Roman emperors added it to their name. Although it had a high symbolical value, something like "akin to divinity", it was generally not used to indicate the office of Emperor itself. Exceptions include the title of the Augustan History, a half-mockumentary biography of the Emperors of the 2nd and 3rd century. Augustus had (by his last will) granted the feminine form of this honorific (Augusta) to his wife. Since there was no "title" of Empress(-consort) whatsoever, women of the reigning dynasty sought to be granted this honorific, as the highest attainable goal. Few were however granted the title, and certainly not as a rule all wives of reigning Emperors.
  • Imperator (as, for example, in Pliny the Elder's Naturalis Historia). In the Roman Republic Imperator meant "(military) commander". In the late Republic, as in the early years of the new monarchy, Imperator was a title granted to Roman generals by their troops and the Roman Senate after a great victory, roughly comparable to field marshal. For example, in 15 AD Germanicus was proclaimed Imperator during the reign of his adoptive father Tiberius. Soon thereafter "Imperator" became however a title reserved exclusively for the ruling monarch. This led to "Emperor" in English and, among other examples, "Empereur" in French. The Latin feminine form Imperatrix only developed after "Imperator" had gotten the connotation of "Emperor".
  • Αὐτοκράτωρ, βασιλεύς: although the Greeks used equivalents of "Caesar" (Καίσαρ) and "Augustus" (in two forms: Αὔγουστος or translated as Σεβαστός/"Sebastos") these were rather used as part of the name of the Emperor than as an indication of the office. Instead of developing a new name for the new type of monarchy, they used αὐτοκράτωρ ("autokratōr", only partly overlapping with the modern understanding of "autocrat") or βασιλεύς ("basileus", until then the usual name for "sovereign"). "Autokratōr" could be seen as a translation of the Latin "Imperator" (it was certainly used as its replacement in Greek-speaking part of the Roman Empire), but also here there is only partial overlap between the meaning of the original Greek and Latin concepts. For the Greeks "Autokratōr" was not a military title, and was closer to the Latin dictator concept ("the one with unlimited power"), before it came to mean Emperor. Basileus appears not to have been used exclusively in the meaning of Emperor before the 7th century, although it was a standard informal designation of the emperor in the Greek-speaking East.

After the problematic year 69, the Flavian Dynasty reigned for about half a century. 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 was followed by the short-lived Severan Dynasty.

In the 3rd century Barracks Emperors succeeded one another at short intervals. The next period, known as the Dominate, started with the Tetrarchy installed by Diocletian.

Through most of the 4th century, there were separate emperors for the Western and Eastern part of the Empire. Although there were several dynastic relations between the Emperors of both parts, they also often were adversaries. The last Emperor to rule a unified Roman Empire was Theodosius. Less than a century after his death in 395, the last Emperor of the Western half of the Empire was driven out.

The Eastern Emperors after 476

see Byzantine Emperor
Byzantine Emperors (Second Rome)
Under Justinian I, reigning in the 6th century, parts of Italy were for a few decades (re)conquered from the Ostrogoths: that's why this famous mosaic, featuring the Byzantine emperor in the center, can be admired at Ravenna.

Historians generally call the eastern part of the Roman Empire the Byzantine Empire due to its capital Constantinople, whose ancient name was Byzantium (now Istanbul). After the fall of Rome to barbarian forces in 476, the title of "emperor" lived on in rulers of Constantinople (New Rome).

The Byzantine Emperors completed the transition from the idea of the Emperor as a semi-republican official to the Emperor as a traditional monarch when Emperor Heraclius retained the title of Basileus, already a synonym for "Emperor" (but which had earlier designated "King" in Greek) in the first half of the seventh century. A specifically Byzantine development of emperor's position was cesaropapism, position as leader of christians.

In general usage, 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[1]. In fact, none of these (and other) additional epithets and titles had ever been completely discarded.

The Byzantine empire produced also three reigning empresses: Irene, Zoe, and Theodora.

Latin Emperors

In 1204, the Fourth Crusade captured Constantinople, and soon established a Latin Empire of Constantinople under one of the Crusader leaders. The Latin Empire was, however, unable to consolidate control of the whole of the former territories of the Byzantine Empire. Driven out of Constantinople in 1261 some territories in Greece still recognized their authority for some time. Eventually, the Imperial title became redundant and did not even contribute any longer to the prestige of the noblemen in their own country: it remained dormant after 1383.

Byzantine ('Greek') Emperors after the 4th Crusade

In Asia Minor, after being driven out of Constantinople, relations of the last pre-Crusader emperors established the Empire of Nicaea and the Empire of Trebizond. Similarly, the Despotate of Epirus was founded in the Western Balkans (the rulers of the latter took the title of Emperor for a short time following their conquest of Thessalonica in 1224).

Eventually, the Nicaean Emperors were successful in reclaiming the Byzantine imperial title. They managed to force Epirus into submission and retake Constantinople by 1261, but Trebizond remained independent. The restored Byzantine empire finally fell due to Ottoman invasion in 1453. The Trapezuntines held on until 1461.

Frankish revival of the first Roman title

See: Holy Roman Emperor

After the discontinuation of the title of Emperor in Western Europe, it was revived in the Middle Ages. What connected these Emperors to "Rome" was that they were supposed to be crowned by the Pope, usually in Rome. So in this branch of Roman Emperors, Roman had an implied connotation of Roman Catholic, hence the epithet Holy.

Charlemagne and the Carolingian heirs

On 25 December , 800, Charles I, King of the Franks, was crowned Emperor by Pope Leo III in Rome. This was seen as a revival of the Western Roman Empire, and descendants of Charlemagne continued to be crowned in Rome through the 9th century. The increasing divisions within the Frankish lands, however, led to a suspension of the office.

Holy Roman Emperors
Coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor (and later Saint) Henry II. Christ is pictured as performing the actual coronation, the highly symbolical sword ("Reichsschwert") and Holy Lance are handed by the saints Ulrich († 973) and Emmeram († 652) - Henry had actually been crowned Emperor by Pope Benedict VIII in 1014.

In 962, Otto I, King of the Eastern Franks was again crowned Emperor by the Pope. His successors became known as Holy Roman Emperors. The Holy Roman Empire, such as it was, consisted of the German Kingdoms, Italy, and Burgundy.

After the 13th century and the fall of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, the universalistic aspirations of the Emperors became increasingly theoretical, and their control over Italy, still seen as the locus of the proper empire, became increasingly tenuous. Rather than being hereditary, emperors were chosen by the prince-electors, in a process codified by the Golden Bull of 1356.

Coronations in Rome became rarer and rarer, until in 1508, King Maximilian I, after receiving permission from the pope, declared himself Emperor-Elect without having been crowned in Rome. Although Maximilian's grandson and successor, Charles V, was crowned in Bologna in 1529 by the Pope, he was the last, and thereafter the position of Holy Roman Emperor was a wholly German post until the Empire's dissolution in August 6, 1806.

Even in Germany itself, real control was increasingly tenuous, as various local princes increased their power, so that the Habsburg emperors who ruled almost continuously from 1438 until the end of the empire derived their power much more from their hereditary lands in the south-eastern part of the monarchy than from their position as emperor. As religious differences added to the tensions, compromise was needed (Peace of Augsburg, 1555). The Habsburg dynasty attempted to reassert authority over the Empire in the Thirty Years' War, which ended with the Peace of Westphalia (1648) that recognized princes sort of sovereign instead of dependents.

The impotence of the Emperors' position became most nakedly apparent during the brief reign of Charles VII from 1742 to 1745. As Duke of Bavaria, Charles was the only non-Habsburg emperor for the last three hundred fifty years of the empire's existence, and his utter inability even to protect his own hereditary lands from the forces of his enemy, Maria Theresa, the Habsburg heiress, showed how empty the position of Holy Roman Emperor had become.

The conquests of the French revolutionary armies in the 1790s made the Empire itself untenable, so that Emperor Francis II in 1804 took the title of Emperor of Austria (see below), and ultimately, allowed the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire a few years later.

Overview

Byzantium's Orthodox heirs: Bulgaria, Serbia, Russia

Byzantium's close cultural and political interaction with its Balkan neighbors Bulgaria and Serbia, and with Russia (Kievan Rus', then Muscovy) led to the adoption of Byzantine imperial traditions in all of these countries.

Bulgaria

In 913 Simeon I of Bulgaria was crowned emperor (tsar) in a makeshift ceremony officiated by the Patriarch of Constantinople and imperial regent Nicholas I Mystikos outside of the Byzantine capital. This unpopular concession was swiftly revoked by the succeeding Byzantine government, and 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 the title "emperor of the Romans" (basileus tōn Rōmaiōn), was eventually recognized, albeit reluctantly, as "emperor of the Bulgarians" (basileus tōn Boulgarōn) after a meeting with the Byzantine Emperor Romanos I Lakapenos in 924. The concession was confirmed at the conclusion of permanent peace and a dynastic marriage in 927. In the meantime, the Bulgarian imperial title may have been also confirmed by the Pope. The title was recognized anew after Bulgaria recovered its independence following a period of Byzantine Domination (1018–1185). In its final simplified form, it read "emperor and autocrat of all Bulgarians and Greeks" (car i samodăržec na vsički bălgari i gărci in the modern vernacular). The "Greek" component in the Bulgarian imperial title indicates both rulership over Greek-speakers and the derivation of the imperial tradition from the Romans (represented by the "Greek" Byzantines). 14th-century Bulgarian literary compositions clearly denote the Bulgarian capital (Tărnovo) as a successor of Rome and Constantinople, in effect, the "Third Rome". It should be noted that after Bulgaria obtained complete independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1908, its monarch took the traditional title of emperor (tsar) but was recognized internationally only as a king.

Serbia

In 1345 the Serbian King Stefan Uroš IV Dušan proclaimed himself emperor (tsar) and had himself crowned as such at Skopje on Easter 1346 by the newly created Patriarch of Serbia, and by the Patriarch of Bulgaria and the autocephalous Archbishop of Ohrid. His imperial title was recognized by Bulgaria and various other neighbors and trading partners but not by the Byzantine Empire. In its final simplified form, the Serbian imperial title read "emperor of Serbians and Greeks" (car srbljem i grkom in the modern vernacular). It was only employed by Stefan Uroš IV Dušan and his son Stefan Uroš V in Serbia (until his death in 1371), after which it became extinct. A half-brother of Dušan, Simeon Uroš, and then his son Jovan Uroš, claimed the same title, until the latter's abdication in 1373, while ruling as dynasts in Thessaly. The "Greek" component in the Serbian imperial title indicates both rulership over Greek-speakers and the derivation of the imperial tradition from the Romans (represented by the "Greek" Byzantines).

Russia

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 the Byzantine Empire. This idea was represented more emphatically in the composition of the monk Filofej addressed their son Vasili III. After ending Muscovy's dependence on its Mongol overlords in 1480, Ivan III had begun the usage of the titles emperor (tsar) and autocrat (samoderžec' ). His insistence on recognition as such by the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire since 1489 resulted in the granting of this recognition in 1514 by Emperor Maximilian I to Vasili III. His son Ivan IV emphatically crowned himself emperor (tsar) on 16 January, 1547.

On 31 October , 1721 Peter I was crowned emperor with a new style, "imperator", which is a westernizing form equivalent to the traditional Slavic title "tsar". He based his claim partially upon a letter discovered in 1717 written in 1514 from Maximilian I to Vasili III, Sophia's son and Ivan IV's father, in which the Holy Roman Emperor used the term in referring to Vasili. The title has not been used in Russia since the abdication of Emperor Nicholas II on 15 March, 1917. The apparent distinction between the titles of "tsar" and "imperator" in post-1721 usage have led to the mistaken impression that the title of "tsar" is an intermediate rank between those of "emperor" and "king", or else equivalent to the latter.

Imperial Russia produced four reigning empresses, all in the eighteenth century.

Further Western traditions and revivals (and their derivatives)

Heirs of the Holy Roman Empire

Austria
see: Emperor of Austria

On 11 August , 1804 anticipating the eventual collapse of the Holy Roman Empire at the behest of Napoleon I, Francis II of the Holy Roman Empire assumed the additional title of Emperor of Austria (as Francis I thereof). The precaution was a wise one, because two years later on August 6 1806 he was obliged to proclaim the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire.

Emperor Karl of Austria, the last ruling hereditary monarch in that country, "relinquished every participation in the administration of the State" on November 11 1918.

Germany

Following victory after the Franco-Prussian war and the founding of the German Empire, the Prussian king had himself crowned German Emperor as Wilhelm I on January 18 1871, as part of the competition with the Emperor of Austria (whose Habsburg dynasty had de facto been hereditary in the Holy Roman Empire for centuries) for dominance in the German-speaking lands. With defeats in World War I and revolution breaking out, Emperor Wilhelm II abdicated on 9 November 1918 and a republic was established.

Other Emperors residing in Western Europe

Napoleon
One of the most notorious Imperial coronation ceremonies was that of Napoleon, crowning himself Emperor in the presence of Pope Pius VII (who had blessed the regalia), at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
The painting by David commemorating the event is equally famous: the gothic cathedral restyled style Empire, supervised by the mother of the Emperor on the balcony (a fictional addition, while she had not been present at the ceremony), the pope positioned near the altar, Napoleon proceeds to crown his then wife, Joséphine de Beauharnais as Empress.

A record, in line with the dizzling pace of new constitutions in revolutionary France: this dynasty had three empires for only two true reigns (and one nominal).

First French Empire
See also: First French Empire

Napoléon Bonaparte who was already First Consul of the French Republic (Premier Consul de la République française) for life, declared himself Emperor of the French (Empereur des Français) on May 18, 1804. Despite being ruled by an emperor, it continued to be the French Republic (République Française) until 1808, when it was renamed the French Empire (Empire Français).

Napoleon relinquished the title of Emperor of the French on 6 April and again on April 11, 1814, but was allowed to style himself Emperor of Elba, the island of his first exile; see below. Napoleon's infant son, Napoleon II, was recognized by the Council of Peers, as Emperor from the moment of his father's abdication, and theoretically reigned as "Emperor" for fifteen days, June 22 to July 7 of 1815.

Elba

Since 3 May 1814, the Sovereign Principality of Elba (which he had created, as an empty title, on 18 March 1805, naming Felice Bacciocchi, husband of his sister Elisa Bonaparte, nominal prince of Elba; all powers rested with French civil Commissioners and Military Commanders), in the Tyrhenean Sea, was created a miniature non-hereditary Monarchy under the exiled French Emperor Napoléon I, who was allowed, by the very treaty of Fontainebleau with the major Allied powers on 27 April, which accomplished his abdication for himself and his posterity, to further enjoy, for life, the imperial title and other formal trappings of a now nominal emperorship (the islands were not restyled an empire). It included Capraja, Gorgona, and Montecristo islands, and from June 1814, Pianosa Island.

But on 26 February 1815, the ever ambitious Napoléon abandoned Elba for France, beginning the 'Cent jours', reviving his French Empire for a mere 'Hundred Days'; as this broke the terms of his generous 'golden cage parol', the Allies declared an end to Napoleon's sovereignty over Elba on 25 March 1815, and on 31 March 1815 Elba was ceded to the restored grand-duchy of Tuscany by the Congress of Vienna. After this attempted restoration ending in his final defeat, Bonaparte was stripped of every imperial privilige during his second exile, to the much less forgiving Atlantic Isle of St. Helena, to die miserably.

Second French Empire
See also: Second French Empire

Napoleon I's nephew Napoleon III resurrected the title on December 2, 1852 after establishing the Second French Empire in a presidential coup, be it as a constitutional Monarch, failed in his endeavours to return to France its imperial status (including setting up a Habsburg Archduke as vassal emperor in Mexico), and lost the throne it when he was deposed on September 4, 1870 by the Third Republic in the aftermath of the humuliating defeat in the Franco-German war. The imperial title has not been revived in France since then.

Spain

King Sancho III of Navarre declared himself emperor of Spain in 1034. His son, Ferdinand I of Castile also took the title in 1039. Ferdinand's son, Alfonso VI of Castile took the title in 1077. Alfonso VI's grandson, Alfonso VII was the only one who actually had an imperial coronation in 1135. The title was not exactly hereditary but self proclamations by those that had, wholly or partially, united Christian (northern) Spain 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.

English/British Emperors and Empresses
Main article: British Emperor

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.

Several English monarchs would characterise their dominion as "Empire" and/or aspire to a power with high-ranked religious autority (in a caesaropapism type of tradition). In some instances even official documents did make reference to the Imperial Crown. However, this did not lead to the creation of the title of Emperor in England.

In 1801, George III rejected the title of Emperor.

The only Epoch when British monarchs were bestowed the title of Emperor started when the title Empress of India was created for Queen Victoria. When a royal marriage made it obvious to the British in 1877 that their Queen Victoria would be outranked by her own daughter who would someday become German Empress, the British government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, conferred the additional title Empress of India by an Act of Parliament; it was also formally justified as the expression of Britain succeeding as paramount ruler of the subcontinent the former Mughal 'Padishah of Hind', using indirect rule through hundreds of princely states formally under protection, not colonies, but accepting the British Sovereign as their 'feudal' suzerain. That title was relinquished by George VI with effect from August 15 1947, when India was granted independence.

Two decades earlier the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927 had stated that the United Kingdom and the dominions were "equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by common allegiance to the Crown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations". Along with the Statute of Westminster, 1931 this changed the way the British parliamentary monarchy ruled the overseas dominions, moving from a colonial British Empire towards a new structure for the interaction between the Commonwealth Realms and the Crown.

(Post-)colonial emperors modeled on Europe

The Post-columbian Americas
File:Dpedro2-emp.png
Pedro II Emperor of Brazil in regalia at the opening of the General Assembly (oil painting by Pedro Américo).
Brazil

Brazil declared independence from Portugal in 1822, and made Dom Pedro, eldest son of the then-King of Portugal, who was acting as regent, Emperor as Pedro I on 12 October. The empire came to an end with the overthrow of Emperor Pedro II in 1889.

Haiti

Haiti was declared an empire by its ruler, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who made himself Jacques I, in 20 May, 1805. He was assassinated the next year. Haiti again became an empire from 1849 to 1859 under Faustin Soulouque.

Mexico
The execution of Emperor Maximilian (1867) - painting by Édouard Manet.

In Mexico, there were two short-lived attempts to create an Empire. Agustín de Iturbide, the general who helped secure Mexican independence from Spanish rule, was proclaimed Emperor Agustín I in 12 July, 1822, but was overthrown the next year.

In 1863, the invading French under Napoleon III (see above), in alliance with Mexican conservatives, proclaimed an empire and invited Archduke Maximilian, younger brother of the Austrian Emperor, to become emperor as Maximilian I. The childless Maximilian also adopted Agustín's grandson as his heir to bolster his claim. After the withdrawal of French protection in 1867, Maximilian was captured and executed by liberal forces.

Central African Empire

In 1976, President Jean-Bédel Bokassa of the Central African Republic, proclaimed the country to be the Central African Empire, and made himself Emperor as Bokassa I. The expenses of his coronation ceremony actually bankrupted the country. He was overthrown three years later and the republic was restored.

History on other imperial traditions

Pre-Columbian American traditions

Aztec Emperors

The only pre-Columbian North American rulers to be commonly called emperors were the Hueyi Tlatoani of the Aztec Empire (1375–1521). Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés slew Emperor Cuauhtémoc and installed puppet emperors who became vassals for Spain. Mexican Emperor Maximilian built his palace over the ruins of the Aztec one at Chapultepec.

Inca Emperors

The only pre-Columbian South American rulers to be commonly called emperors were the Sapa Inca of the Inca Empire (1438–1533). Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro, conquered the Inca for the royal crown of Spain, killed Emperor Atahualpa, and installed puppets as well.

Pre-colonial Africa:

Ethiopia

see: Emperor of Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, the Solomonid dynasty used, beginning in 1270, the title of "Nəgusä Nägäst" which also translates to Emperor and is literally "King of Kings". The use of the king of kings style might however already have started a millennium earlier in this region. Another title used by this dynasty was "Itegue Zetopia".

"Itegue" translates as Empress, and was also used by the only female reigning Empress, Zauditu, along with the official title Negiste Negest (Queen of Kings).

In 1936, the Italian king Victor Emmanuel III took the title of Emperor of Ethiopia when that country was under Italian occupation and made part of a colonial entity . After the defeat of the Italians by the British (1941), Haile Selassie was restored to the throne but Victor Emmanuel did not relinquish his claim to the title until 1943.

The Rastafari claimed Selassie as God incarnate before and even more so after the Second World War (see Rastafari) which he did not endorse, though he was sympathetic. He was deposed in 1974, the imperial title ending the next year when his son, who had succeeded him, was deposed and exiled.

Far East

Chinese subcontinent

Qin tradition
see: Emperor of China
Warriors from the Terracotta Army guarding the tomb of Qin Shi Huang, China's first Emperor

In 221 BC, Ying Zheng, who was king of Qin at the time, proclaimed himself shi huangdi, which translates as "first emperor". Huangdi is composed of huang ("august one") and di ("sage-king"), and referred to legendary/mythological sage-emperors living several millennia earlier, of which three were huang and five were di (the sānhuáng wǔdì (三皇五帝), sometimes spelled ti, see: The Three August Ones and the Five Emperors). Thus Zheng became Qin Shi Huang, abolishing the system where the huang/di titles were reserved to dead and/or mythological rulers.

The imperial title continued in China until the Qing dynasty was overthrown in 1912. The title was briefly revived from January 1, 1916 to March 22, 1916 by President Yuan Shikai and again in early July, 1917 when General Zhang Xun attempted to restore last Qing emperor Puyi to the throne. Puyi retained the title and attributes of Emperor, as a personal status, until 1924.

In general, an emperor would have one empress (Huanghou, 皇后) at one time, although posthumous entitlement to empress for a concubine was not uncommon. The earliest known usage of empress was in the Han Dynasty. The emperor would generally select the empress from his harem. In subsequent dynasties, when the distinction between wife and concubine became more accentuated, the crown prince would have chosen an empress-designate before his reign. Imperial China produced only one reigning empress, Wu Zetian, and she used the same Chinese title as an emperor (Huangdi, 皇帝).

Manchuria

The Khitan Empire was founded in this region on 907. They were overthrown by the Jurchen Jin Empire (1115–1234) which was in turn conquered by Mongol armies. In 1616, Ming China's Jurchen vassal, Nurhaci, rebelled and crowned himself emperor of the renamed Manchus. His successors, the Qing dynasty, conquered China in 1644 and reigned until revolution toppled them in 1912. After the Japanese occupied Manchuria in 1931, they proclaimed it to be the Empire of Manchukuo, and Puyi, the last Qing emperor of China, became puppet emperor. This puppet state came to an end with the Japanese defeat in 1945.

Mongol Emperors of the Yuan dynasty

The title Khagan (khan of khans or grand khan) was held by Genghis Khan, founder of the Mongol Empire in 1206. When the empire, the largest the world had ever seen, was partitioned, the Yuan dynasty Great khans in the richest realm, China (where they also took the native title huangdi) were nominal rulers of the whole Mongol empire, but in fact the Khans of several major hordes would remain independent. After being overthrown in China by the Ming dynasty, the Yuan fled back to Mongolia and were subsequently known to historians as the Northern Yuan. They kept their title of Grand Khan until the Manchu emperor Hong Taiji (yet another Chinese dynasty) forced them to surrender it in 1634.

Only the Yuan Emperors of China between 1279 and 1368 are normally referred to as Emperors in English.

Japan

See Emperor of Japan
File:Emperor Hirohito-1926.jpg
Emperor Hirohito (裕仁), or the Shōwa Emperor (昭和天皇), the last Japanese Emperor having ruled with extended monarchical powers, combined with claims of divinity (photographed 1926).

In Japan, the ruler in Yamato court was called "Tennō" (天皇) (heavenly emperor), which in Western languages is equivalent to Emperor of Japan. Like in early Western tradition, the highest position of secular power was combined with the highest religious office (comparable with the Roman Emperor also being pontifex maximus) and claims of godhood (see Arahitogami). In several eras, the high-priestly role of the Monarch has even been paramount, with a no more than formal secular role.

Japanese monarchs placed themselves from 607 on equal footing with Chinese emperors in titulary, but rarely was the Chinese-style "Son of Heaven" term used. In the Japanese language, the word tennō is restricted to Japan's own monarch; kōtei or koutei (皇帝) is used for foreign emperors. Historically, retired emperors have kept power over a child-emperor as de facto Regent. Fairly long, a Shōgun (formally the imperial generalissimo, but made hereditary) or Regent wielded actual political power. In fact, through much of Japanese history, the emperor has been little more than a 'constitutional' Head of state.

After World War II, all claims of divinity were dropped (see Ningen-sengen). Parliamentary government has wielded the power, reducing the office of emperor again to a mere ceremonial function[2]. By the end of the 20th century, Japan was the only country with an emperor on the throne.

In the early 21st century, Japan succession law prevents a female from ascending to the throne. However, with the birth of a daughter as the first child of the current Crown Prince, Naruhito, Japan is considering abandoning that rule. Historically, Japan has had eight reigning empresses who used the genderless title Tennō, rather than the female consort title kōgō (皇后) or chūgū (中宮). There is ongoing discussion of the Japanese Imperial succession controversy.

Although current Japanese law prohibits female succession, all Japanese emperors trace their lineage to Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess of the Shintō religion.

Korea

Some early legendary dynasties of Korea used the title tanje (tan meaning "birch", je meaning "emperor"). The Balhae (669–926), which ruled parts of northern Korea and Manchuria, used hwangje (Chinese huangdi, see above).

Rulers of the Goryeo kingdom (from Gwangjong onward) took the title of emperor as a means of enhancing the prestige of the monarchy. The title was stripped in the 13th century, however, after the surrender to the Mongols, when the Korean rulers were demoted to Kings and, as such, vassals of Kublai Khan's China-based Mongol Yuan Dynasty (1276 - 1368). The full style of the ruler (27 March 1393 - 7 January 1895, during the Ming and (Manchu) Qing dynasties in China) was: Seongju Sangteon Cheonha {untranslatable}, Joseon Guk-wang, "King of the Choseon State".

Following the Chinese defeat by Japan in 1895, Korea declared its total independence from China (see Treaty of Shimonoseki) and King Gojong took the title of Daehan Hwangje, translated as 'Emperor of the Great Han'. Yeonho=Nyonho (era names, a very strong indication of sovereignty vis-à-vis imperial China), were adopted on 1 January 1896. The full style of the ruler (7 January 1895 - 12 October 1897) was : Taegunju P'yeha {untranslatable}, Joseon Guk-wang "King of the Choseon State";

In the Great Han Empire, since 12 October 1897, the full imperial style was Daehan Hwangje ("Emperor of Great Han").

On 17 November 1905, the empire was declared a Japanese protectorate (effective 21 December 1905) until it came to an end with the Japanese annexation on 29 August 1910, which lasted until 12 September 1945.

Vietnam

Although the Vietnamese rulers acknowledged the supremacy of China, and were known to the Chinese emperors as simply King of Annam, domestically they took on a full Chinese-style imperial regalia in 1806, and are usually referred to as emperors in English. Axis-occupied Vietnam was declared an empire by the Japanese in March 1945. The line of emperors came to an end with Bao Dai, who was deposed after the war, although he later served as head of state of South Vietnam from 1949 to 1955.

Persian and Islamic traditions

As the Arabic title Caliph is primordially that of the religious leader of (in principle, at least within one creed, universal) Islam, it is generally not rendered as emperor. However, given the true paramountcy of their (semi-hereditary) position, politically as well, and the might of their vast empire, the early Caliphs were no less imperial then most non-European Monarchs included on his page, but soon fell under the de facto domination of Viziers and generals.

Iran

In Persia (or Iran), from the time of the Cyrus the Great, Persian rulers used the title "King of Kings", Shahanshah in modern Iranian, since the Persians founded one of the earliest and largest empires of the Ancient world, extending from India to Greece and Libya. Alexander the Great probably crowned himself shahanshah after conquering Persia, and so its Greek rendering basileus toon basiloon started the hellenstic tradition.

The last Shahanshah abdicated in 1979, when Iran became an Islamic republic. In other languags, including English, the Shahanshah title was usually translated as King of Kings or, for short, "King" for ancient rulers of the Achaemenid, Arsacid, and Sassanid dynasties, and often shortened to "Shah" for rulers since the Safavid dynasty in the 16th century. Only since the Napoleonic era (after settling equality between the Ottoman Sultan and the Catholic Emperors), the translation Emperor become common

Ottoman Emperors

Ottoman rulers held the title Padishah, equivalent to the Persian Shahanshah. The Ottomans frequently adopted styles from conquered people, presenting themselves as successors in law, such as Hakan (after the Mongolion Great Khan), and lofty styles such as Sultan of Sultans. After conquering the last vestige of the Byzantine Empire in 1453, Mehmed II also took the title of Roman emperor.

Although in English the Ottoman rulers are generally known as (Great) Sultan, their full style included a long lists of titles carried by the Ottoman sultans until the monarchy was abolished in 1922.

Indian subcontinent

Pre-Mughal

The Sanskrit word for emperor is Samrāṭ (word stem: samrāj). This word has been used as an epithet of various Vedic deities, like Varuna, and has been attested in the Holy Rig Veda, possibly the oldest compiled book among the Indo-Europeans.

Typically, in the later Vedic age, a Hindu king ((Maha)rajah) was only called Samrāṭ after performing the Vedic Rājasūya sacrifice, enabling him by religious tradition to claim superiority over the other kings and princes. Another word for emperor is sārvabhaumā. The title of Samrāṭ has been used by many rulers of the Indian subcontinent as claimed by the Hindu mythologies. In proper history, most historians call Chandragupta Maurya the first samrāṭ (emperor) of the Indian subcontinent, because of the huge empire he ruled. The most famous Hindu emperor was his grandson Ashoka the Great. Other dynasties that are considered imperial by the historians are the Kushanas, the Guptas and the Vardhanas. The followers of Hindutva regard Prithviraj Chauhan (12th century AD) as the last Hindu emperor of India.

Mughal & Sur dynasties of Hind (Hindustan)

After India was invaded by the Mongol Khans and Turkic Muslims, the rulers of their major states on the subcontinent were titled Sultan, which may not be translated as emperor (except for the Ottoman 'Great Sultan', but he is actually styled, amongst other titles, Sultan of Sultans, proving there is a rank above Sultan, while an emperor has no superior). In this manner, the only empress-regnant ever to have actually sat on the throne of Delhi was Razia Sultan. Some other Indian (Hindu) monarchs held the rare title Maharajadhiraja ('Great King of Kings') but because it was awarded to their political vassals by the Mughals and the British, it is usually not considered imperial.

The Mughal Emperors (1526–1857, shortly interrupted by the Suri dynasty, 1540-1555), originally yet another Muslim dynasty in (actually often in alternative capitals near) Delhi, finally united nearly all the subcontinent (soon to start falling apart again) and called it Hind, i.e. greater Hindustan, referring to their mainly Hindu subjects and vassals. They adopted the Muslim title Badshah (a corruption of padishah, an imperial style used by the Persian and Ottoman emperors; they followed Muslim Persian examples in many things, as reflected by the adoption, of many Persian words, modified of not, sometimes even in hybrid mixes with Hindi).

The throne of India (rendering Hind) became vacant after Bahadur Shah Zafar was unseated by the British, whence a title of Emperor/Empress in chief of India could later be assumed by the British Monarch, then Queen Victoria, as successor to the (now colonial) position of Paramount ruler.

For the episode from 1877 to 1947 when British Emperors ruled colonial India as the pearl in the crown of the British Empire, see above. Note that if Razia Sultan's short reign is excluded, Queen Victoria was the only reigning empress of India, though she never actually sat on the throne of Delhi.

Other
  • When Tipu Sultan, the ruler of Mysore (usurped by his father), in an alliance with France, built from Mysore a Muslim empire in southern India which he called Khudadad, he assumed the title Padshah bahadur, meaning a novel imperial rank above the Mughal Padshah of Hind(ustan) whose suzerainty he shed. In 1799 he was defeated by British troops who restored the Mughal's (or rather: British) vassals in Mysore and other conquered states. See also: Kingdom of Mysore.
  • In the valley of Swat (in modern Pakistan), Miangul Golshahzada Abdul Wadud, in fact a petty ruler, pompously titled himself badshah in 1918. In 1926, he was granted recognition of authority over Swat by the British in return for taking the lesser title of wali.

Afghanistan

Ahmed Shah Duranni founded the Durrani Empire in 1747 with the title Padshah. The Sadozai were overthrown in 1823 but there was a brief restoration by Shoja Shah in 1839. The title went dormant after his assassination in 1842 until 1926 when Amanullah Khan resurrected it and was finally laid to rest with the abdication of Mohammed Zahir Shah in 1973 following a coup.

Afghan padshah is normally translated into English as King.

Lists of emperors

Emperors of traditional empires

Ancient empires

Middle Ages

Western and Byzantine traditions
Other

Newer empires

Emperors of short-lived 'empires'

Self-proclaimed and micronation 'emperors'

see Self-proclaimed monarchy and micronation

These characters are historical fiction in terms of political and reality, but their claims concern real territory in their lifetime, not in fictional time and space

Fictional emperors

see Category of fictional emperors and empresses

Notes

  1. ^ George Ostrogorsky, "Avtokrator i samodržac", Glas Srpske kraljevske akadamije CLXIV, Drugi razdred 84 (1935), 95-187
  2. ^ Although the Emperor of Japan is classified as constitutional Monarch among political scientists, the current constitution of Japan defines him only as a symbol of the nation and no law states his status as a political monarch (head of state) or otherwise.

Trivia

The last year when there was more than one emperor on the throne was 1979 with three: Japan, Iran, and the Central African Empire. The latter two were overthrown that same year.

See also

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