Emperor: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

An emperor is nominally a monarch and sovereign ruler of an empire or any other imperial realm. Emperors are generally recognised to be above kings in honour. They may obtain their position hereditarily, or by force, such as a coup d'état.

The English term for emperor is derived from the Latin imperator (literally, "one who prepares against"; loosely, "commander"). In German the title Kaiser is used and in Slavic languages tsar is used, both of which are derived from Caesar.

Imperator was originally a title used by the highest-ranking Roman commanders, roughly comparable to field marshal or commander-in-chief. Caesar was the family name of Gaius Julius Caesar (100 BC-44 BC), who never was an emperor himself but rather the last dictator of the Roman Republic. The name of Caesar lived on by adoption in the first Roman Emperor, Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (better known as Caesar Augustus). This was not a constitutional office but rather a complicated collection of offices, titles, and honours, however the Emperors did not rule by the virute of any republican or senatorial office, rather they derived their power from the title Princeps ("First Citizen").

In Persia from the time of the Cyrus the Great, Persian emperors used the title "Shahanshah" which is translated as emperor. In China the designation "Emperor" was first introduced when Qin Shi Huangdi declared himself the first emperor. In Japan a ruler in Yamato court was called "Tenno" (usually translated as emperor), although Japan is usually not considered an "empire" in the traditional sense of the word except during the brief period of the Meiji, Taisho and early Showa emperors. In the Japanese language, tenno is strictly distinguished from teiou who rules an empire— both are translated as emperor.

Sometimes a retired emperor has actual power instead of the ruling emperor.

Today there is only one remaining emperor— the Emperor of Japan¹.

List of empires

Ancient empires

• Persian Empire (559 BC - 330 BC)
• Empire of Alexander the Great (334 BC - 281 BC)
• Chinese Empire (221 BC - 1911)
• Empire of Ethiopia (... - 1975)
• Roman Empire (31 BC - 480)
• Empire of Vietnam (under the Nguyen dynasty)

Medieval empires

• Holy Roman Empire (962 - 1806)
• Byzantine Empire (395 - 1453)
  • Latin Empire (1204)
  • Empire of Nicea (1261)
• Mongol Empire (1206 - 1634)
• Persian Empire (Iran) (1501 - 1979)
• Mogul Empire (1526 - 1857)
• Ottoman Empire (14th century - 1922)

Newer empires

• Austrian Empire, 1804 - 1867 and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, 1867 - 1918 (both under the Habsburgs)
• Empire of Brazil (Peter I, 1822 - 1831 and Peter II, 1831 - 1889)
• French Empire (Napoleon I, 1804 - 1814 and Napoleon III, 1852 - 1870)
• German Empire (under the Hohenzollerns, 1871 - 1918)
• India (under the British Raj with British Monarch as Emperor of India, 1876 - 1947)
• Russian Empire (under the Romanovs, 1721 - 1917)
• Korean Empire (Gojong, 1897 - 1907 and Sunjong, 1907 - 1919)

Emperors of short-lived 'empires'

• Emperor Jacques I of the Empire of Haiti (1804 - 1806)
• Emperor Augustin of the first Mexican Empire (1822 - 1823)
• Emperor Maximilian of the second Mexican Empire (1864 - 1867)
• Emperor Hongxian of China (1916)
• Emperor Bokassa I of the Central African Empire (1976 - 1979)
• Emperor Faustin I of the Empire of Haiti (1847 - 1859)
• Emperor Sylvain I of the Empire of Haiti (1868 - 1870, not confirmed [1])

Self-proclaimed 'emperors'

• Emperor Norton I of the United States (1859 - 1880)

Fictional Empires

• The Galactic Empire under Palpatine (Star Wars)
• Klingon Empire (Star Trek)
• Romulan Star Empire (Star Trek)
• The dubiously clothed Emperor (a fictional emperor who is a victim of his own overconfidence and denial of fallibility)

1. Although the Emperor of Japan (1945- ) is classified as constitutional Monarch Emperor among political scientists, the constitution of Japan defines him only as a symbol of the nation and no law states his status as a political monarch or otherwise.
2. Although not an Empire in the traditional sense of a large state with a large culturally diverse population, the Ethiopian monarchy (abolished in 1974) referred to its monarchs as Emperors.