Emperor

An Emperor is nominally a monarch and sovereign ruler of an Empire or any other ruler considered/called an emperor. Emperors are generally recognized to be above kings in honour. 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 Russian tsar or czar is used, both of which are derived from Caesar.

There is currently only one Emperor left in the world, the Emperor of Japan.

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.

In China, Emperor was first introduced when Qin Shi Huangdi declared him as the first emperor. In Japan, a ruler in Yamato court was called "Tenno" and usually translated as emperor though Japan is usually not considered an empire except the brief period of time in late Meiji, Taisho and early Showa. In 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.

Countries which have been ruled by Emperors or Empresses:

Ancient Empires

• Persian Empire (559 BC - 330 BC)
• Chinese Empire (221 BC - 1911)
• Empire of Ethiopia (... - 1975)
• Roman Empire (31 BC - 479)
• 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)
• Persian Empire (Iran) (1501 - 1979)
• Mogul Empire (1526 - 1857)
• Ottoman Empire (14th century - 1922)

Newer Empires

• Austro-Hungarian Empire (under the Habsburgs, 1804 - 1918)
• Empire of Brazil (Pedro I, 1822 - 1831 and Pedro 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)

Emperors of short-lived "Empires"

• Emperor Jaques 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)

Self-proclaimed "Emperors"

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

Fictional Empires

• The Galactic Empire under Palpatine (Star Wars)

Unclassified

• 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 laws states his status as a political monarch or otherwise.