Emperor

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the monarchical office. For other uses, see Emperor (disambiguation).
"Empress" redirects here. For other uses, see Empress (disambiguation).

Royal, noble and

chivalric ranks

Emperor

King

Archduke

Grand Prince
Grand Duke

Prince / Infante

Duke

Sovereign Prince / Frst

Marquess / Marquis /
Margrave / Landgrave /
Count palatine

Count / Earl
 Viscount / Vidame

Baron

Baronet
Hereditary Knight

Knight

Esquire

Gentleman

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An emperor (through Old French empereor from Latin imperator[1]) is a monarch, usually
the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent,
may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother (empress dowager), or a woman who
rules in her own right (empress regnant). Emperors are generally recognized to be of a
higher honour and rank than 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 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 kings and emperors are monarchs, but emperor and empress are considered the higher
monarchical titles. In as much as there is a strict definition of emperor, it is that an emperor has no
relations implying the superiority of any other ruler, and typically rules over more than one nation.
Thus a king might be obliged to pay tribute to another ruler,[citation needed] or be restrained in his actions in
some unequal fashion, but an emperor should in theory be completely free of such restraints.
Monarchs heading empires, however, have not always used the title in all contexts the British
sovereign did not assume 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 Western 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 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 of the Habsburg Monarchy, i.e. Austria, Bohemia, and various
territories outside of the empire) had become nearly non-existent. However, in 1804 Napoleon
Bonaparte was crowned Emperor of the French, and was shortly followed by Francis II, Holy Roman
Emperor, who to declared himself Emperor of Austria in the same year; however, the position of
Holy Roman Emperor continued until Francis II abdicated that position in 1806.
In Eastern Europe the rulers of the Russian Empire also used translatio imperii to wield imperial
authority as successors to the Eastern Roman Empire. Their title of Emperor was officially
recognised by the Holy Roman Emperor in 1514, although not officially used by the Russian
monarchs until 1547. In practice the Russian Emperors are often known by their Russian-language
title Tsar, which may also used to refer to rulers equivalent to a king.
Historians have liberally used emperor and empire anachronistically and out of its Roman and
European context to describe any large state from the past or the present. Such pre-Roman titles as
"Great King" or "King of Kings", used by the Kings of Persia and others, are often considered as the
equivalent. Sometimes this reference has even extended to non-monarchically ruled states and their
spheres of influence such as the "Athenian Empire" of the late 5th century BC, the "Angevin Empire"
of the Plantagenets, and the Soviet and American "empires" of the Cold Warera. 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, emperors were once given precedence over kings in international
diplomatic relations; currently, however, precedence amongst heads of state who are Sovereigns
whether they be Kings, Queens, Emperors, Princes, and to a lesser degree Presidents is
determined by the duration of 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 the dominant rule to identifying an emperor in the
modern era.