Editing Emperor (section)

==Europe==
{{more citations needed|section|date=July 2020}}
[[Byzantine Empire|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.

===Holy Roman Empire===
{{Main|Holy Roman Emperor}}
[[File:Portrait of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, seated (1500–1558), formerly attributed to Titian (Alte Pinakothek, Munich).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Portrait of Charles V (Titian, Munich)|Portrait of Charles V]], Holy Roman Emperor in the 1550s, after [[Titian]]]]
The ''Emperor'' of the Romans' title was a reflection of the ''[[translatio imperii]]'' (''transfer of rule'') principle that regarded the Holy Roman emperors as the inheritors of the title of Emperor of the [[Western Roman Empire]], despite the continued existence of the [[Byzantine Empire|Roman Empire]] in the east, hence the [[problem of two emperors]].

From the time of [[Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor|Otto the Great]] onward, much of the former [[Carolingian]] kingdom of [[Eastern Francia]] became the [[Holy Roman Empire]]. The [[prince-elector]]s elected one of their peers as [[King of the Romans]] and [[Kingdom of Italy (Holy Roman Empire)|King of Italy]] before being crowned by the [[Pope]]. The emperor could also pursue the election of his heir (usually a son) as King, who would then succeed him after his death. This junior king then bore the title of King of the Romans. Although technically already ruling, after the election he would be crowned as emperor by the pope. The last emperor to be crowned by the pope was [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]]; all emperors after him were technically ''emperors-elect'', but were universally referred to as ''emperor''.

The Holy Roman emperor was considered the first among those in power. He was also the first defender of Christianity. From 1452 to the end of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 (except in the years 1742 to 1745) only members of the [[House of Habsburg]] were Holy Roman emperors. [[Karl von Habsburg]] is currently the head of the House of Habsburg.<ref>Heer, Friedrich. Holy Roman Empire (2002); Lonnie Johnson "Central Europe: Enemies, Neighbors, Friends" (2011), p. 81.</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.heraldica.org/topics/national/hre.htm| title = The Holy Roman Empire}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/heiliges-roemisches-reich-im-ueberblick-geschichte-der-staatlichen-emanzipation-1.827525-0#seite-2| title = Heiliges Römisches Reich : Geschichte der staatlichen Emanzipation| date = 27 August 2006}}</ref>

===Austrian Empire===
{{Main|Emperor of Austria}}
[[File:Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Franz Joseph I of Austria]]]]
The first Austrian Emperor was the last Holy Roman Emperor, [[Francis I of Austria|Franz II]]. In the face of aggressions by [[Napoleon]], Francis feared for the future of the [[Holy Roman Empire]]. He wished to maintain his and his family's Imperial status in the event that the Holy Roman Empire should be dissolved, as it indeed was in 1806 when an Austrian-led army suffered a humiliating defeat at the [[Battle of Austerlitz]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=liamfoley63|date=2020-08-06|title=August 6, 1806. Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire.|url=https://europeanroyalhistory.wordpress.com/2020/08/06/august-6-1806-dissolution-of-the-holy-roman-empire/|access-date=2020-11-27|website=European Royal History|language=en}}</ref> After which, the victorious Napoleon proceeded to dismantle the old ''Reich'' by severing a good portion from the empire and turning it into a separate [[Confederation of the Rhine]]. With the size of his imperial realm significantly reduced, Francis II, ''Holy Roman Emperor'' became Francis I, ''Emperor of Austria''. The new imperial title may have sounded less prestigious than the old one, but Francis' [[dynasty]] continued to rule from Austria and a Habsburg monarch was still an emperor (''Kaiser''), and not just merely a king (''König''), in name. According to the historian Friedrich Heer, the Austrian Habsburg emperor remained an "auctoritas" of a special kind. He was "the grandson of the Caesars", he remained the patron of the [[Catholic Church|Holy Church]].<ref>Friedrich Heer "Der Kampf um die österreichische Identität" (1981), p. 259.</ref>

The title lasted just a little over one century until 1918, but it was never clear what territory constituted the "[[Austrian Empire|Empire of Austria]]". When Francis took the title in 1804, the Habsburg lands as a whole were dubbed the ''Kaisertum Österreich''. ''Kaisertum'' might literally be translated as "emperordom" (on analogy with "kingdom") or "emperor-ship"; the term denotes specifically "the territory ruled by an emperor", and is thus somewhat more general than [[Reich]], which in 1804 carried connotations of universal rule. Austria proper (as opposed to the complex of Habsburg lands as a whole) had been part of the [[Archduchy of Austria]] since the 15th century, and most of the other territories of the Empire had their own institutions and territorial history. There were some attempts at centralization, especially during the reign of [[Maria Theresa]] and her son [[Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor]]. These efforts were finalized in the early 19th century. When the [[Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen]] (Hungary) were given self-government in 1867, the non-Hungarian portions were called the Empire of Austria. They were officially known as the "Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the [[Imperial Council (Austria)|Imperial Council]] (''Reichsrat'')". The title of Emperor of Austria and the associated Empire were both abolished at the end [[World War I]] in 1918, when [[German Austria]] became a [[republic]] and the other kingdoms and lands represented in the Imperial Council established their independence or adhesion to other states.

The ''Kaisers'' of the Austrian Empire (1804–1918) were [[Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor|Franz I]] (1804–1835), [[Ferdinand I of Austria|Ferdinand I]] (1835–1848), [[Franz Joseph I of Austria|Franz Joseph I]] (1848–1916) and [[Charles I of Austria|Karl I]] (1916–1918). The current head of the House of Habsburg is [[Karl von Habsburg]].<ref>Lonnie Johnson "Central Europe: Enemies, Neighbors, Friends" (2011), p. 118.</ref><ref>Anatol Murad "Franz Joseph I of Austria and his Empire." (1968) p. 1.</ref>

===Bulgaria===
{{main|First Bulgarian Empire|Second Bulgarian Empire}}
In 913, [[Simeon I of Bulgaria]] was crowned Emperor ([[Tsar]], originally more fully Tsesar, ''cěsar''') of his own people by the [[Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople|Patriarch of Constantinople]] and Imperial regent [[Nicholas Mystikos]] outside the Byzantine capital.<ref>Mladjov 2015: 171–177.</ref> In its final expanded form, under the [[Second Bulgarian Empire]] the title read "Emperor and Autocrat of all Bulgarians and Greeks" (Цар и самодържец на всички българи и гърци, ''Car i samodăržec na vsički bălgari i gărci'' in the modern vernacular).<ref>Charters of Ivan Alexander and Ivan Shishman, in Petkov 2008: 500, 506–507.</ref> The Roman component in the Bulgarian imperial title indicated both rule over Greek speakers and the derivation of the imperial tradition from the Romans, however this component was never recognised by the Byzantine court.

Byzantine recognition of Simeon's imperial title was revoked by the succeeding Byzantine government. 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 tōn Rōmaiōn''), was eventually recognized, as "Emperor of the Bulgarians" (''basileus tōn Boulgarōn'') by the Byzantine Emperor [[Romanus I|Romanos I Lakapenos]] in 924.<ref>Mladjov 2015: 177–178.</ref> Byzantine recognition of the imperial dignity of the Bulgarian monarch and the patriarchal dignity of the [[Patriarch of All Bulgaria|Bulgarian patriarch]] was again confirmed at the conclusion of permanent peace and a Bulgarian-Byzantine dynastic marriage in 927. In the meantime, the Bulgarian imperial title may have been also tacitly confirmed by the [[pope]], as claimed in later Bulgarian diplomatic correspondence.<ref>Mladjov 1999.</ref> The Bulgarian imperial title "tsar" was adopted by all Bulgarian monarchs up to the fall of Bulgaria under Ottoman rule. Despite the attempt of Pope [[Innocent III]] to limit the Bulgarian monarch to the title of King (''Rex''), [[Kaloyan of Bulgaria]] considered himself an Emperor (''Imperator'') and his successor [[Boril of Bulgaria]] was specifically accused of improperly using the imperial title by his neighbor, the [[Latin Emperor]] [[Henry of Flanders]].<ref>Prinzing 1973: 420–421.</ref> Nevertheless, the Bulgarian imperial title was recognized by its neighbors and trading partners, including Byzantium, Hungary, Serbia, Venice, Genoa, Dubrovnik. 14th-century Bulgarian literary compositions saw the Bulgarian capital ([[Veliko Tarnovo|Tarnovo]]) as a successor of Rome and [[Constantinople]].<ref>Kaimakamova 2006.</ref>

After Bulgaria obtained full independence from the [[Ottoman Empire]] in 1908, its monarch, who was previously styled ''Knyaz'', [[Prince]], took the traditional title of ''Tsar'', this time translated as [[King]]. [[Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha]] is the former Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://bnt.bg/news/bulgaria%E2%80%99s-former-king-and-pm-simeon-ii-celebrates-his-80th-birthday-149283news.html| title = Bulgaria's Former King and PM Simeon II Celebrates his 80th Birthday}}</ref>

===France===
{{main|Emperor of the French}}
The kings of the ''[[Ancien Régime]]'' and the [[July Monarchy]] used the title ''Empereur de France'' in diplomatic correspondence and treaties with the [[Ottoman Empire|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 because of their rival claims of the [[translatio imperii|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====
{{main|First French Empire}}
[[File:Jacques-Louis David - The Coronation of Napoleon (1805-1807).jpg|thumb|One of the most famous Imperial coronation ceremonies was that of Napoleon, crowning himself Emperor in the presence of [[Pope Pius VII]] (who had blessed the [[regalia]]), at the [[Notre Dame de Paris|Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris]].<br>The painting by [[Jacques-Louis David|David]] commemorating the event is equally famous: the gothic cathedral restyled ''[[Empire (style)|style Empire]]'', supervised by the [[Letizia Ramolino|mother of the Emperor]] on the balcony (a fictional addition, while she had not been present at the ceremony), the pope positioned near the altar, Napoleon proceeds to crown his then wife, [[Joséphine de Beauharnais]] as Empress.]]
[[Napoleon|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 18 May 1804, thus creating the [[First French Empire|French Empire]] (''Empire Français'').<ref>{{Cite web|title=Napoleon and War in 1804–05|url=http://www.fsmitha.com/h3/h34-np4b.html|access-date=2020-11-27|website=www.fsmitha.com}}</ref>

Napoleon relinquished the title of Emperor of the French on 6 April and again on 11 April 1814. Napoleon's infant son, [[Napoleon II of France|Napoleon II]], was recognized by the Council of Peers, as Emperor from the moment of his father's abdication, and therefore reigned (as opposed to ruled) as Emperor for fifteen days, 22 June to 7 July 1815.

====Elba====
Since 3 May 1814, the Sovereign Principality of [[Elba]] was created as a miniature non-hereditary monarchy under the exiled French Emperor Napoleon I. According to the [[Treaty of Fontainebleau (1814)]], Napoleon I was allowed to enjoy the imperial title for life. The islands were ''not'' restyled an empire.

On 26 February 1815, Napoleon abandoned Elba for France, reviving the French Empire for a [[Hundred Days]]; 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, Napoleon was treated as a general by the British authorities during his second exile to Atlantic Isle of [[St. Helena]]. His title was a matter of dispute with the governor of St Helena, who insisted on addressing him as "General Bonaparte", despite the "historical reality that he had been an emperor" and therefore retained the title.<ref>''Napoleon'', Vincent Cronin, p419, HarperCollins, 1994.</ref><ref>''Napoleon'', Frank McLynn, p644, Pimlico 1998.</ref><ref>''Le Mémorial de Sainte Hélène'', Emmanuel De Las Cases, Tome III, page101, published by Jean De Bonnot, Libraire à l'enseigne du canon, 1969.</ref>

====Second French Empire====
{{main|Second French Empire}}
Napoleon I's nephew, [[Napoleon III of France|Napoleon III]], resurrected the title of emperor on 2 December 1852, after establishing the [[Second French Empire]] in a presidential [[coup]], subsequently approved by a plebiscite.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Second French Empire (1852–1870)|url=https://about-history.com/the-second-french-empire-1852-1870/|access-date=2020-11-27|website=About History|language=en-US}}</ref> His reign was marked by large scale public works, the development of social policy, and the extension of France's influence throughout the world. During his reign, he also set about creating the [[Second Mexican Empire]] (headed by his choice of [[Maximilian I of Mexico]], a member of the [[House of Habsburg]]), to regain France's hold in the Americas and to achieve greatness for the 'Latin' race.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S1O6HwzwQs4C&pg=PA88 |title=Race and nation in modern Latin America |first1=Nancy P. |last1=Appelbaum |first2=Anne S. |last2=Macpherson |first3=Karin Alejandra |last3=Rosemblatt |publisher=UNC Press Books |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-8078-5441-9 |page=88}}</ref> Napoleon III was deposed on 4 September 1870, after France's defeat in the [[Franco-Prussian War]]. The [[French Third Republic|Third Republic]] followed and after the death of his son Napoleon (IV), in 1879 during the Zulu War, the Bonapartist movement split, and the Third Republic was to last until 1940.

The role of head of the House of Bonaparte is claimed by [[Jean-Christophe, Prince Napoléon|Jean-Christophe Napoléon]] and [[Charles, Prince Napoléon|Charles Napoléon]].

===Iberian Peninsula===
====Spain====
{{Main|Imperator totius Hispaniae}}
The origin of the title ''[[Imperator totius Hispaniae]]'' ([[Latin language|Latin]] for ''Emperor of All [[Hispania|Spain]]''{{NoteTag|Before the emergence of the modern country of Spain (beginning with the union of [[Crown of Castile|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.}}) is murky. It was associated with the [[List of Leonese monarchs|Leonese monarchy]] perhaps as far back as [[Alfonso the Great]] (''r.'' 866–910). The last two kings of its [[Astur-Leonese dynasty]] were called emperors in a contemporary source.{{Citation needed|date=November 2020}}

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 León and 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 of Castile|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, and the kings who used it are not commonly mentioned as having been "emperors", in Spanish or other historiography.

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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nicol |first=Donald MacGillivray |url=https://archive.org/details/immortalemperorl0000nico/mode/2up |title=The immortal emperor : the life and legend of Constantine Palaiologos, last emperor of the Romans |date=1992 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-41456-2}}</ref>

====Portugal====
[[File:Jean-Baptiste Debret - Retrato de Dom João VI (MNBA).jpg|thumb|upright|[[John VI of Portugal|John VI]], [[List of Portuguese monarchs|King of Portugal and the Algarves]], [[Emperor of Brazil]]]]
After the independence and proclamation of the [[Empire of Brazil]] from the [[United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves|Kingdom of Portugal]] by [[Pedro I of Brazil|Prince Pedro]], who became Emperor, in 1822, his father, King [[John VI of Portugal]] briefly held the honorific style of Titular [[Emperor of Brazil]] and the treatment of ''His Imperial and Royal Majesty'' under the 1825 [[Treaty of Rio de Janeiro (1825)|Treaty of Rio de Janeiro]], by which Portugal recognized the independence of Brazil. The style of Titular Emperor was a life title, and became extinct upon the holder's demise. John VI held the imperial title for a few months only, from the ratification of the Treaty in November 1825 until his death in March 1826. During those months, however, as John's imperial title was purely honorific while his son, Pedro I, remained the sole monarch of the Brazilian Empire. [[Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza|Duarte Pio]] is the current head of the [[House of Braganza]].

===Great Britain===
{{Main|British Emperor}}
In the late 3rd century, by the end of the epoch of the ''barracks emperors'' in Rome, there were two [[Carausian Revolt|Britannic emperors]], reigning for about a decade. After the [[end of Roman rule in Britain]], the Imperator [[Cunedda]] forged the [[Kingdom of Gwynedd]] in northern Wales, but all his successors were titled kings and princes.

====England====
There was no consistent 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]]. [[Empress Matilda]] (1102–1167) is the only English monarch commonly referred to as "emperor" or "empress", but she acquired her title through her marriage to [[Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor]].

During the rule of [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]] the [[Statute in Restraint of Appeals]] declared that 'this realm of England is an Empire...governed by one Supreme Head and King having the dignity and royal estate of the [[imperial Crown]] of the same'. This was in the context of the divorce of [[Catherine of Aragon]] and the [[English Reformation]], to emphasize that England had never accepted the quasi-imperial claims of the papacy. Hence England and, by extension its modern successor state, the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland]], is according to English law an Empire ruled by a King endowed with the imperial dignity. However, this has not led to the creation of the ''title'' of Emperor in England, nor in [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]], nor in the United Kingdom.

====United Kingdom====
[[File:George V of the united Kingdom.jpg|thumb|upright|[[George V]], [[King of the United Kingdom]] and the [[British Dominions]], [[Emperor of India]]]]
In 1801, [[George III of the United Kingdom|George III]] rejected the title of Emperor when offered. The only period when British monarchs held the title of ''Emperor'' in a dynastic succession started when the title [[Emperor of India|Empress of India]] was created for [[Queen Victoria]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=liamfoley63|date=2019-11-12|title=History of Styles and Titles Part IV: Emperor of Britain.|url=https://europeanroyalhistory.wordpress.com/2019/11/12/history-of-styles-and-titles-part-iv-emperor-of-britain/|access-date=2020-11-27|website=European Royal History|language=en}}</ref> The government led by [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] [[Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield|Benjamin Disraeli]], conferred the additional title upon her by an Act of Parliament, reputedly to assuage the monarch's irritation at being, as a mere Queen, notionally inferior to the emperors of Russia, Germany, and Austria. That included her own daughter ([[Victoria, Princess Royal|Princess Victoria]], who was the wife of the [[Frederick III, German Emperor|reigning German Emperor]]). Hence, "Queen Victoria felt handicapped in the battle of protocol by not being an Empress herself".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Longford |first1=Elizabeth |title=Queen Victoria: Born to Succeed |date=1972 |isbn=9780515028683 |pages=404 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BGWCT8QaGD0C&q=handicapped+in+her+battles+over+protocol+by+not+being+an+Empress |access-date=18 August 2020}}</ref> The Indian Imperial designation was also formally justified as the expression of Britain succeeding the former [[Mughal Empire|Mughal Emperor]] as [[suzerain]] over hundreds of [[princely state]]s. The [[Indian Independence Act 1947]] provided for the abolition of the use of the title "[[Emperor of India]]" by the [[British monarch]], but this was not executed by [[George VI of the United Kingdom|King George VI]] until a [[royal proclamation]] on 22 June 1948. Despite this, George VI continued as king of India until 1950 and as king of Pakistan until his death in 1952.

The last Empress of India was George VI's wife, [[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother]].

===German Empire===
{{Main|German Emperor}}
[[File:Kohner - Kaiser Wilhelm II.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Wilhelm II, German Emperor|Wilhelm II]], [[German Emperor]] and [[King of Prussia]]]]
Under the guise of idealism giving way to realism, German nationalism rapidly shifted from its liberal and democratic character in 1848 to [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussian]] prime minister [[Otto von Bismarck]]'s authoritarian ''[[Realpolitik]]''. Bismarck wanted to unify the rival German states to achieve his aim of a conservative, Prussian-dominated Germany. Three wars led to military successes and helped to convince German people to do this: the [[Second war of Schleswig]] against Denmark in 1864, the [[Austro-Prussian War]] against [[Austrian Empire|Austria]] in 1866, and the [[Franco-Prussian War]] against the [[Second French Empire]] in 1870–71. During the [[Siege of Paris (1870-1871)|Siege of Paris]] in 1871, the [[North German Confederation]], supported by its allies from [[southern Germany]], formed the [[German Empire]] with the proclamation of the Prussian king [[Wilhelm I of Germany|Wilhelm I]] as German Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors at the [[Palace of Versailles]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Treaty of Frankfurt am Main ends Franco-Prussian War|url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/treaty-of-frankfurt-am-main-ends-franco-prussian-war|access-date=2020-11-27|website=HISTORY|date=5 November 2009 |language=en}}</ref> to the humiliation of the French, who ceased to resist only days later.

After his death he was succeeded by his son [[Frederick III, German Emperor|Frederick III]] who was only emperor for 99 days. In the same year his son [[Wilhelm II, German Emperor|Wilhelm II]] became the third emperor within a year. He was the last German emperor. After the empire's defeat in World War I the empire, called the [[German Reich]], had a president as head of state instead of an emperor. The use of the word ''Reich'' was abandoned following [[World War II]].

===Russia===
{{Main|Emperor of Russia}}
[[File:Profile portrait of Catherine II by Fedor Rokotov (1763, Tretyakov gallery).jpg|thumb|upright|Empress [[Catherine the Great]] of Russia]]
In 1472, the niece of the last Byzantine emperor, [[Sophia Paleologue|Sophia Palaiologina]], married [[Ivan III of Russia|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 the monk Filofej addressed to their son [[Vasili III of Russia|Vasili III]]. In 1480, after ending Muscovy's dependence on its overlords of the [[Great Horde]], Ivan III began the usage of the titles [[Tsar]] and Autocrat (''samoderzhets''). 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, Holy Roman Emperor|Maximilian I]] to Vasili III. His son [[Ivan the Terrible|Ivan IV]] emphatically crowned himself [[Tsar of Russia]] on 16 January 1547. The word "Tsar" derives from Latin [[Caesar (title)|Caesar]], but this title was used in Russia as equivalent to "King"; the error occurred when medieval Russian clerics referred to the biblical Jewish kings with the same title that was used to designate Roman and Byzantine rulers — "Caesar".

On 31 October 1721, [[Peter the Great|Peter I]] was proclaimed Emperor by the [[Governing Senate]]. The title used was Latin "''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, in which the Holy Roman Emperor used the term in referring to Vasili.

A formal address to the ruling Russian monarch adopted thereafter was 'Your Imperial Majesty'. The [[Tsarevich|crown prince]] was addressed as 'Your Imperial Highness'.

The title has not been used in Russia since the [[Abdication of Nicholas II|abdication]] of Emperor [[Nicholas II of Russia|Nicholas II]] on 15 March 1917.

The [[Russian Empire]] produced four reigning Empresses, all in the eighteenth century. These were [[Catherine I of Russia|Catherine I]], [[Anna of Russia|Anne]], [[Elizabeth of Russia|Elizabeth]], and [[Catherine the Great|Catherine II]].

The role of head of the [[House of Romanov]] is claimed by [[Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia]] (Great-great-granddaughter of [[Alexander II of Russia]]), [[Prince Andrew Romanoff]] (great-great-grandson of [[Nicholas I of Russia]]), and [[Prince Karl Emich of Leiningen]] (Great-grandson of [[Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia]]).

===Serbia===
{{main|Serbian Empire|Emperor of Serbs}}
[[File:Serbian Emperor Stefan Dušan.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|[[Emperor of Serbs|Emperor]] of [[Serbian Empire|Serbia]] [[Dušan the Mighty]]]]
In 1345, the Serbian King [[Stefan Dusan|Stefan Uroš IV Dušan]] proclaimed himself Emperor ([[Tsar]]) and was crowned as such at [[Skopje]] on [[Easter]] 1346 by the newly created [[Serbian Patriarch]], 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 standardized form, the Serbian imperial title read "Emperor of Serbs and Greeks" (цар Срба и Грка, ''car Srba i Grka'' in modern Serbian). It was only employed by two monarchs in Serbia, Stefan Uroš IV Dušan and his son Stefan Uroš V, becoming extinct after the latter's death in 1371. 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 rule over Greek speakers and the derivation of the imperial tradition from the Romans.<ref>Fine 1987: 309–310.</ref> A renegade Hungarian-Serb commander, [[Jovan Nenad]], who claimed to be a descendant of Serbian and Byzantine rulers, styled himself Emperor.