emperor

emperor
/em"peuhr euhr/, n.
1. the male sovereign or supreme ruler of an empire: the emperors of Rome.
2. Chiefly Brit. a size of drawing or writing paper, 48 × 72 in. (122 × 183 cm).
[1175-1225; ME empero(u)r < AF; OF empereor < L imperator orig., one who gives orders, ruler, equiv. to impera(re) to order, command (im- IM-1 + -perare, comb. form of parare to provide, PREPARE) + -tor -TOR]

* * *

I
Title of the sovereigns of the ancient Roman empire and, by derivation, various later European rulers, also applied to certain non-European monarchs.

Caesar Augustus was the first Roman emperor. Byzantine emperors ruled at Constantinople until 1453. Charlemagne became the first of the Western emperors (later Holy Roman emperors) in 800. After Otto I became emperor in 962, only German kings held the title. In other parts of Europe, monarchs who ruled multiple kingdoms (e.g., Alfonso VI, who ruled Léon and Castile) sometimes took the title emperor. Napoleon's assumption of the title, as a putative successor of Charlemagne, was a direct threat to the Habsburg dynasty. Queen Victoria of Britain took the title empress of India. Non-European peoples whose rulers have been called emperor include the Chinese, Japanese, Mughals, Incas, and Aztecs.
II
(as used in expressions)
Heisei emperor
Showa emperor
Hung wu emperor
K'ang hsi emperor
Ch'ien lung emperor
Yung lo emperor
the Empress Dowager
Three Emperors' League

* * *

title

      title designating the sovereigns of the ancient Roman Empire and, by derivation, various later European rulers; it is also applied loosely to certain non-European monarchs.

      In republican Rome (c. 509–27 BC), imperator denoted a victorious general, so named by his troops or by the Senate. Under the empire (after 27 BC), it was regularly adopted by the ruler as a forename and gradually came to apply to his office.

      In medieval times, Charlemagne, king of the Franks (Frank) and of the Lombards, was crowned emperor by Pope Leo III in Rome on Christmas Day, 800. Thenceforward until the fall of Constantinople in 1453 there were two emperors in the Christian world, the Byzantine and the Western. The term “Holy Roman emperor” is now generally used, for convenience, to designate the Western sovereigns, though the title was at first simply “emperor” (imperator; the German form kaiser being derived from the Roman caesar), then “august emperor,” then, from 971, “Roman emperor.” The addition of “Holy” to the designation of the emperor, in historical writing, follows from its having been added to that of the empire (sacrum imperium, 1157).

      The dissolution of Frankish Europe into separate kingdoms led eventually to the imperial title's passing in 962 to the East Frankish or German king Otto I, who was also king of Italy (the kingdom of Burgundy was further acquired by Conrad II in 1032). Thenceforward to 1806, though not all German kings were emperors (crowned by the pope), there were no emperors who were not German kings, so that election to the German kingship came to be de facto necessary for attainment of the imperial title—with the final result that from 1508 to 1806 the style “emperor elected” or, more briefly, “emperor” was given to the German king in anticipation of his coronation by the pope (only one such coronation, that of Charles V in 1530, actually took place in the period).

      Outside the Frankish and German sphere of influence the title emperor was sometimes assumed by princes supreme over more than one kingdom: thus Sancho III the (Sancho III Garcés) Great of Navarre styled himself “emperor of Spain” on his annexation of Léon (1034); Alfonso VI of Léon and Castile called himself “emperor of the Two Religions,” to show his supremacy over Christians and Muslims alike; and Alfonso VII took the title “emperor of all Spain” (1135). The Russian tsar Peter I the Great assumed the title imperator on Oct. 22, 1721. From that point on male rulers were conventionally called tsar, whereas female rulers were always called empress; both males and females held both titles, i.e., tsar (or tsaritsa) and imperator (or imperatritsa).

      After the French Revolution had destroyed the kingdom of France, Napoleon Bonaparte (Napoleon I) in 1804, having been anointed by Pope Pius VII, crowned himself emperor of the French as Napoleon I. His claim to be the successor not of Louis XIV but of Charlemagne, together with his organization of the Confederation of the Rhine in Germany, was a threat to the Holy Roman Empire of the Habsburg dynasty. Seeing this, Francis II, to retain an imperial title, took that of “hereditary emperor of Austria” before he dissolved the old empire in 1806. His successors retained it until 1918.

       Napoleon III was emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870–71 (the French Second Empire). Between 1871 and 1918 the kings of Prussia—William I, Frederick III, and William II— were German emperors, or kaisers. Victoria of Great Britain took the title empress of India in 1876, but her great-grandson George VI renounced the imperial title when India became independent.

      In the Western Hemisphere Jean-Jacques Dessalines was emperor of Haiti from 1804 to 1806; princes of the house of Bragança were emperors of Brazil from 1822 to 1889; Agustín de Iturbide and the Austrian archduke Maximilian were emperors of Mexico from 1822 to 1823 and from 1864 to 1867, respectively. The title emperor also is generally and loosely used as the English designation for the sovereigns of Ethiopia and of Japan, for the Mogul rulers of India, for the former sovereigns of China, for the Inca rulers of Peru, and for the Aztec rulers of Mexico.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Emperor — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Emperor Ihsahn, vocalista de Emperor, en el Wacken Open Air de 2006. Información personal …   Wikipedia Español

  • Emperor — Основная информация …   Википедия

  • Emperor Go-En'yū — (後円融天皇 Go En yū tennō ) (January 11, 1359 ndash; June 6, 1393) was the fifth of the Ashikaga Pretenders during the period of two courts. According to pre Meiji scholars, his reign spanned the years from 1371 through 1382. [Titsingh, Isaac. (1834) …   Wikipedia

  • Emperor — Pays d’origine  Norvege !Norvège Genre musical Black metal Black metal symphonique Années d activité …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Emperor — Em per*or, n. [OF. empereor, empereour, F. empereur, L. imperator, fr. imperare to command; in in + parare to prepare, order. See {Parade}, and cf. {Imperative}, {Empress}.] The sovereign or supreme monarch of an empire; a title of dignity… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Emperor Wu — (zh:武帝) can refer to:*Emperor Wu of Han (156 BC–87 BC), one of the most influential and important emperors of the Han dynasty *Emperor Wu of Wei (155–220), a posthumous name of Cao Cao *Emperor Wu of Jin (236 290) *Emperor Wu of Liang (464 549) …   Wikipedia

  • Emperor Ku — Kù (simplified Chinese: 喾; traditional Chinese: 嚳), or Dì Kù (simplified Chinese: 帝 …   Wikipedia

  • Emperor An — ( zh. 安帝) is the posthumous name of several Chinese emperors. It can refer to: * Emperor An of Han (r. 106 125) * Emperor An of Jin (r. 396 403, 404 418) …   Wikipedia

  • Emperor He — ( zh. 和帝) is the Posthumous name of several Chinese emperors. It can refer to: * Emperor He of Han (reign: 88 – 105) * Emperor He of Southern Qi (reign: 501 502) …   Wikipedia

  • emperor — early 13c., from O.Fr. empereor (accusative; nom. emperere; Mod.Fr. empereur), from L. imperiatorem (nom. imperiator) commander, emperor, from pp. stem of imperare to command (see EMPIRE (Cf. empire)). Originally a title conferred by vote of the… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Emperor — Allgemeine Informationen Genre(s) Black Metal Gründung 1991 Auflösung 2001 Neugründung 2005 Website …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”