:''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. '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'').
Distinction from other monarchs
Both kings and emperors are
monarchs. Within the European context, "emperor" is considered the highest of monarchical titles, ironic in that it began as a military honorific in a staunchly anti-monarchical republic. Emperors were once given
precedence over kings in international diplomatic relations. Currently, precedence is decided by the length a
head of state is continuously in office. Some emperors claimed inheritance (''
translatio imperii'') of the political and religious authority of the
Roman Emperors such as an important role in the
state church; see
Imperial cult and
Caesaropapism. This inheritance has been claimed by, among others, the rulers of the
Holy Roman Empire, the
Byzantine Empire, and the
Russian Empire; however, all types of monarchies have played religious roles; see
divine right of kings and
divine king. Territorial size was of no importance, the title was a conscious attempt by monarchs to link themselves to the institutions and traditions of the Romans as part of state ideology. In contrast, many republics have named a legislative chamber after the
Roman Senate in remembrance of an era when assemblies still dominated.
Outside the European context, "emperor" is a translation given to holders of titles who are accorded the same precedence as European emperors in diplomatic terms. In reciprocity, these rulers may accredit equal titles in their native languages to their European peers. Due to centuries of international convention, this has become the dominant rule to identifying an emperor in the modern era.
Also, historians have liberally used "emperor" and "empire" anachronistically and out of its Roman and European context to describe any large state and its ruler in the past and present. "Empire" became identified with vast territorial holdings rather than the title of its ruler by the time of
Voltaire who described the
Holy Roman Empire as not an empire for its small size compared the Britain and France's overseas colonies.
Roman 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 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
The Origin: Roman Emperors
:''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).
Augustus, who can be considered the first
Roman Emperor, avoided naming himself anything that could be reminiscent of "monarchy" or "dictatorship". 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: it was clear who had supreme power. The supreme power could poison, exile, or try for treason any who did not obey.
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:
★ '
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). This is one of the most enduring titles, Caesar and its transliterations appeared in every year from the time of
Caesar Augustus to Tsar
Simeon II of Bulgaria's removal from the throne in
1946.
★ '
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".
★ : although the Greeks used equivalents of "Caesar" (ΚαίσαÏ) and "Augustus" (in two forms: or translated as /"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 ("autokratÅr", only partly overlapping with the modern understanding of "
autocrat") or ("
basileus", until then the usual name for "
sovereign"). "AutokratÅr" ''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 "AutokratÅr" 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 , 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.
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 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''
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 tÅn RÅmaiÅn'') in the 9th century, to "emperor and autocrat of the Romans" (''basileus kai autokratÅr tÅn RÅmaiÅn'') 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. It produced three reigning empresses, two of which reigned outside of the city in the remnants of their empire.
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 produced three reigning empresses before they too were defeated by the Ottomans in
1461.
Byzantium's Orthodox heirs
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 tÅn RÅmaiÅn''), was eventually recognized, albeit reluctantly, as "emperor of the Bulgarians" (''basileus tÅn BoulgarÅn'') 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 again 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 vsiÄki 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 to becoming a republic in
1946, its monarch took the traditional title of "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 Greeks 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.
Holy Roman Emperors
:''See:
Holy Roman Emperor''
After the discontinuation of the title of Emperor in
Western Europe in 476, 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''.
On
25 December,
800,
Charles I,
King of the Franks, was crowned Emperor by
Pope Leo III in
Rome. This was seen both as a reaction to the supposed vacancy of the Eastern Empire, due to the presence of a woman,
Irene on the throne in Constantinople, and as a revival of the
Western Roman Empire, and descendants of Charlemagne continued to be crowned in Rome until the late 9th century. After the death of
Charles the Fat in 888, the Popes intermittently bestowed the imperial title upon whomever was momentarily the most powerful lord in northern Italy, and after
Berengar of Friuli was deposed in
922, the title lay vacant for decades.
In
962,
Otto I, King of the
Eastern Franks was crowned Emperor by the Pope. The
Holy Roman Empire, such as it was, consisted of the
German Kingdoms,
Italy, and
Burgundy (including most of the
Low Countries), but it continued to have theoretical claims of universal suzerainty over the Latin west.
After the 13th century and the fall of the
Hohenstaufen dynasty which led to a 62 year
interregnum, 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
1530 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.
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, Holy Roman Emperor 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' or
Kaiser 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.
When the Empire was formed, there was much debate about how to precisely phrase the title of the monarch. One of the contributions to this debate was Kaiser von Deutschland ("Emperor of Germany"), another one being Kaiser der Deutschen ("Emperor of the Germans"). Finally, Deutscher Kaiser ("German Emperor"), the version expressing the least degree of superiority to the rulers of the other principalities, was agreed upon.
With defeats in
World War I and
revolution breaking out,
Emperor Wilhelm II abdicated on
9 November 1918 and a
republic was established.
Emperors in Western Europe
France
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 the Holy Roman Emperors or the Russian tsars due to 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).
First French Empire
:''See also:
First French Empire''
Napoleon 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.
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 was created a miniature non-hereditary Monarchy under the exiled French Emperor Napoleon I. Napoleon I was allowed, by the treaty of Fontainebleau with (
27 April), to enjoy, for life, the imperial title. The islands were ''not'' restyled an empire.
On
26 February 1815, Napoleon abandoned Elba for France, reviving the French Empire for
Hundred Days; as this broke the terms of his parole, 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 his final defeat, Bonaparte was stripped of every imperial privilege during his second exile to Atlantic Isle of
St. Helena.
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. He reigned as a constitutional Monarch. His endeavours to return to France its imperial status included setting up a
Habsburg Archduke as vassal emperor in
Mexico, but failed. He lost the throne when he was deposed on
September 4,
1870 by the
Third Republic in the aftermath of the defeat in the
Franco-Prussian War.
Iberian Peninsula
The origins of the title ''
Imperator totius Hispaniae'' (
Latin for ''Emperor of All the
Spains''
[2]) 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
Pérez Dynasty were called emperors in 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 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 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.
After the fall of the Byzantine Empire, the legitimate heir to the throne,
Andreas Palaiologos, willed away his claim to
Ferdinand and Isabella in
1503. This claim seems to have been forgotten or abandoned quietly for the last 300 years.
Britain
Main articles: 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. After the
Roman departure from Britain, the Imperator
Cunedda forged the
Kingdom of Gwynedd in northern
Wales however all his successors were titled kings and princes.
England
There was no set 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.
Henry VIII began claiming his crown was an
Imperial Crown during the
Reformation; however, this did not lead to the creation of the ''title'' of Emperor in England.
United Kingdom
In
1801,
George III rejected the title of Emperor when offered. The only period when British monarchs were given the title of ''Emperor'' in a dynastic succession 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 the last ''Kaisar-i-Hind''
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
Post-Columbian Americas
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.
The execution of Emperor Maximilian (1867) - painting by
Édouard Manet.
Mexico
In
Mexico, there were two short-lived attempts to create an Empire.
AgustÃn de Iturbide, the general who helped secure Mexican independence from Spanish rule, was proclaimed Emperor AgustÃn 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
Franz Josef I, to become emperor as
Maximilian I. The childless Maximilian and his consort
Empress Carlota of Mexico, born a Belgian princess, also adopted AgustÃn'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.
Chinese tradition
The East Asian tradition is different from the Roman tradition, having arisen separately. What links them together is the use of the Chinese logographs 皇 (''huáng'') and å¸ (''dì'') which together or individually are imperial. Due to the cultural influence of China, China's neighbors adopted these titles or had their native titles conform in ''
hanzi''.
China
:''see:
Emperor of China''
Qin Shi Huang
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''. Thus Zheng became
Qin Shi Huang, abolishing the system where the ''huang''/''di'' titles were reserved to dead and/or mythological rulers. Although not as popular, the title 王 ''wang'' (king or prince) was still used by many monarchs and dynasties in China up to the
Taipings in the 19th century. 王 is pronounced ''vuong'' in Vietnamese, ''ou'' in Japanese, and ''wang'' in Korean.
The imperial title continued in
China until the
Qing dynasty was overthrown in
1912. The title was briefly revived from
December 12,
1915 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 a foreign emperor, as a personal status, until
1924. After the Japanese occupied
Manchuria in
1931, they proclaimed it to be the Empire of
Manchukuo, and Puyi became emperor of Manchukuo. This Empire ceased to be when it was occupied by
Soviet troops in
1945.
In general, an emperor would have one empress (''Huanghou'', 皇åŽ) 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å¸).
Japan
:''See
Emperor of Japan''
Emperor Hirohito (裕ä»), or the
ShÅwa Emperor (æ˜å’Œå¤©çš‡), 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 "''TennÅ''" (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 ''tennÅ'' is restricted to Japan's own monarch; ''kÅtei'' (皇å¸) is used for foreign emperors. Historically,
retired emperors have kept power over a child-emperor as de facto Regent. Fairly long, a
shÅgun (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 figurehead.
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.
[3] 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. Princess Kiko gave birth to a son on 6 September 2006, although it still uncertain if the young prince or Aiko will ascend the throne; however many believe the new prince of Japan will. Historically, Japan has had eight reigning empresses who used the genderless title ''TennÅ'', rather than the female consort title ''kÅgÅ'' (皇åŽ) or ''chÅ«gÅ«'' (ä¸å®®). There is ongoing discussion of the
Japanese Imperial succession controversy.
Although current Japanese law prohibits female succession, all Japanese emperors claim to trace their lineage to ''
Amaterasu'', the Sun Goddess of the
ShintÅ religion.
Korea
Some early
dynasties of
Korea, often considered to be legendary, used the title ''tanje'' (ë‹¨ì œ, 檀å¸: ''tan'' meaning "
birch", ''je'' meaning "emperor").
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'' (연호, 年號,
era names, a very strong indication of sovereignty vis-Ã -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'' ("His Majesty the Great Monarch"), ''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 Korean Empire").
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
15 August 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 have inconsistently used the title ''hoang de'' for a millennium though many were raised to that status posthumously so as not to antagonize relations with China.
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 tradition
The titles below originate from the Persian titles ''
shahanshah'' (king of kings) and ''
padishah'' (great king). Mutual accreditation between the following monarchs and European emperors began in the 1600s. It began when the Ottoman rulers claim to being Caesars of Rome (Kayser-i-Rûm) were snubbed by the Holy Roman Empire, the Russian Empire, and Spain (whose kings had inherited the title in
pretence from
Andreas Palaiologos), see
translatio imperii. They colluded with envious French kings to mutually recognize each other as emperors, beginning a convention.
Iran
In
Persia, from the time of
Darius the Great, Persian rulers used the title "
King of Kings" ('
Shahanshah' in modern Iranian) since they had dominion over peoples from India to Greece.
Alexander the Great probably crowned himself ''shahanshah'' after conquering Persia , bringing the phrase ''basileus toon basiloon'' to Greek.
The last
shahanshah was ousted in
1979 following the Iranian revolution. ''Shahanshah'' is usually translated as ''king of kings'' or simply ''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.
Ottoman Empire
Ottoman rulers held the title
padishah, equivalent to the Persian shahanshah. The Ottomans frequently adopted styles from conquered peoples, presenting themselves as successors in law, such as
Hakan, as well as loftier styles like ''sultan of sultans''. After conquering the last vestige of the
Byzantine Empire in
1453,
Mehmed II also took the title of Roman emperor (''Kayser-i-Rûm''). The monarchy fell in
1922.
Indian subcontinent
The Sanskrit word for emperor is SamrÄá¹ (word stem: samrÄj). 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 (Maharajah) was only called SamrÄá¹ after performing the Vedic RÄjasÅ«ya sacrifice, enabling him by religious tradition to claim superiority over the other kings and princes. Another word for emperor is sÄrvabhaumÄ. The title of SamrÄá¹ 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 samrÄá¹ (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,
Guptas,
Vijayanagara,
Hoysala and the
Cholas .
After India was invaded by the Mongol Khans and Turkic Muslims, the rulers of their major states on the subcontinent were titled SultÄn, In this manner, the only empress-regnant ever to have actually sat on the throne of Delhi was Razia Sultan. 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.
Other traditions
Ethiopia
:''see:
Emperor of Ethiopia''
In
Ethiopia, the
Solomonic dynasty used, beginning in
1270, the title of "" which is literally "King of Kings". The use of the ''king of kings'' style began a millennium earlier in this region, however, with the title being used by the Kings of
Aksum, beginning with
Sembrouthes in the 3rd century. 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).
1936, the Italian king
Victor Emmanuel III claimed the title of
Emperor of Ethiopia after Ethiopia was occupied by Italy during the
Second Italo-Abyssinian War. After the defeat of the Italians by the
British in
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 movement) 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.
Mongolia
The title
Khagan (
khan of khans or grand khan) was held by
Genghis Khan, founder of the
Mongol Empire in
1206. When the empire fragmented, the emperors of the
Yuan dynasty in China (who also took the Chinese title ''huangdi'') continued to be nominal Great Khans of the whole Mongol empire. Only the Khagans from Genghis Khan to the fall of the Yuan dynasty in China in
1368 are normally referred to as Emperors in English.
Pre-Columbian traditions
The Aztec and Inca traditions are unrelated to one another. Both were conquered under the reign of King
Charles I of Spain who was simultaneously emperor-elect of the
Holy Roman Empire during the fall of the Aztecs and fully emperor during the fall of the Incas. Incidentally by being king of Spain, he was also Roman (Byzantine) emperor in pretence through
Andreas Palaiologos. The translations of their titles were provided by the Spanish.
Aztec Empire
The only
pre-Columbian North American rulers to be commonly called emperors were the
Hueyi Tlatoani of the
Aztec Empire (
1375–
1521). It was an
elected monarchy chosen by the elite. Spanish
conquistador Hernán Cortés slew Emperor
Cuauhtémoc and installed puppet rulers who became vassals for
Spain. Mexican
Emperor Maximilian built his palace,
Chapultepec Castle, over the ruins of an Aztec one.
Inca Empire
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 Spain, killed Emperor
Atahualpa, and installed puppets as well. Atahualpa may actually be considered a usurper as he had achieved power by
killing his half-brother and he did not perform the required coronation with the imperial crown ''mascaipacha'' by the ''Huillaq Uma'' (high priest).
Notes
1. George Ostrogorsky, "Avtokrator i samodržac", ''Glas Srpske kraljevske akadamije'' CLXIV, Drugi razdred 84 (1935), 95-187
2. Notice that, before the emergence of the modern country of Spain (beginning with the union of Castile and Aragon in 1492), the Latin word ''Hispania'', in any of the Iberian Romance languages, either in singular or plural forms (in English: Spain or Spains), was used to refer to the whole of the Iberian Peninsula, and not exclusively, as in modern usage, to the country of Spain, thus excluding Portugal.
3. 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.
External links
★
Ian Mladjov's site at University of Michigan:
★
★
Monarchs (chronology and geneaology)
★
★
Monarchs (more genealogy)
See also
★
Auctoritas
★
Royal and noble ranks
★
Lists of emperors
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