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Emperor Of Japan

Emperor of Japan

The Emperor of Japan (天皇 tennō) is a constitutionally-recognized symbol of the Japanese nation and the unity of its people. He is the head of the Japanese Imperial Family, the imperial family of Japan. Historically, the role of the Emperor of Japan has alternated between that of a supreme-rank cleric with largely symbolic powers and that of an actual imperial ruler from the dawn of history until the mid-twentieth century. An underlying imperial cult (Arahitogami) has played a role, as monarch's high-priestly (mediator between people and divine) position has regarded to have come from his close (hereditary) ties with Japanese gods. Whereas violence and military operations have been regarded inconsistent with Tennō's role for at least 14 centuries - thus Japanese monarchs have not been military commanders at least since, contrary to the role of monarchs usually and in the West. However, the main function of the Emperor for most of the last millennium has usually been merely to authorize and legitimize those in power. Under Japan's present constitution, the emperor is largely a ceremonial figurehead in its constitutional monarchy (see Politics of Japan). The current Emperor is Emperor Akihito (referred to in Japan simply as Tennō Heika), who has been on the Chrysanthemum Throne since his father Emperor Hirohito died in 1989. Since the mid-nineteenth century, the Imperial Palace has been called Kōkyo (皇居), and located on the site of Edo Castle in the heart of Tokyo. Earlier emperors resided in Kyoto for nearly eleven centuries. Certain dates and details may be in dispute among Japanese historians. Many Emperors cited in the formal list of Emperors of Japan died at a very young age and can hardly be said to have "ruled" in any serious sense of the word. Others were overshadowed by their predecessors, who had ostensibly retired to a monastery but continued to exert influence in a process called "cloistered rule." It is nevertheless important to maintain the entire list, because, even today, dating by the reigns of emperors is the standard way of referencing Japanese history. Cloistered Emperors have been known to come into conflict with their official counterparts from time to time; a notable example is the Hogen Rebellion of 1156, in which former Emperor Sutoku attempted to seize power from the then current Emperor Go-Shirakawa. Other instances, such as Emperor Go-Toba's 1221 rebellion against the Kamakura shogunate and the 1336 Kenmu Restoration under Emperor Go-Daigo, clearly show the power struggle that has taken place between the Imperial House and the military governments of Japan.

Roles

Emperor Go-Daigo The emperor's role is defined in Chapter I of the 1947 Constitution of Japan. Article 1 defines the emperor as the symbol of state and the unity of the people, Article 3 requires the approval of the cabinet for all acts of the emperor in matters of state, Article 4 specifically states that the emperor shall not have powers related to government, Article 6 gives the emperor the power to appoint the Prime Minister and the Chief Judge of the Supreme Court, each as designated by the diet and cabinet, respectively, and Article 7 gives the emperor power to perform various ministerial functions typical of a head of state, subject to the advice and approval of the cabinet. In contrast with other constitutional monarchs, the Emperor of Japan has no reserve powers. Although the emperor performs many of the roles of a head of state, there has been a persistent controversy within Japan as to whether the emperor is in fact a true monarch in a political sense or merely a hereditary pretender, as a political servant of a constitutional parliamentary republic. In a traditional monarchy, political power devolves from the sovereign that is the monarch, with power being exercised by elected legislators on behalf of the so-called Royal prerogative and by practice of long established custom or constitutional convention. However, if there is no royal prerogative then the people who made it so by the right to make and amend the constitution are the sovereign, and the system is reversed, with the monarch actually being subordinate to them. According to this theory the emperor is best understood as a political actor whose embodiment is a mock up of a role required under Westminster system of government, but not the "head of the state" as such because he is not the sovereign. Efforts in the 1950s by conservative powers to amend the constitution to explicitly name the emperor as head of state were rejected. Regardless, the emperor does perform all the diplomatic functions normally associated with a head of state and as a result is recognized as such by foreign powers.

History

1950s, Princess Aiko (title: Toshi-no-miya), HIM The Emperor, HM Empress Michiko, HIH Crown Prince Naruhito (Hiro-no-miya) back left to right: HIH Princess Sayako (Nori-no-miya), HIH Princess Mako, HIH Prince Akishino (Akishino-no-miya), HIH Princess Kako, HIH Princess Kiko (Princess Akishino)]] Although the emperor has been a symbol of continuity with the past, the degree of power exercised by the emperor of Japan has varied considerably throughout Japanese history. The earliest emperors recorded in Kojiki and Nihonshoki, such as Emperor Jimmu, are considered today to have no historical credibility. Historians think the first emperor who existed historically was Emperor Ōjin, but the time of his reign is uncertain. These two books state that the imperial house kept a continuous lineage, though today some historians believe that many ancient emperors who were stated as descendants of Emperor Ōjin had no actual genealogic tie to their predecessor. The members of the imperial house of Japan rarely marry members of royal families of other countries. However, according to the Chronicles of Japan II (續日本紀), Emperor Kanmu's mother (Takano no Niigasa) was a descendant of 200-years-earlier King Muryeong of Baekje, Korea. Takano's clan was low-class nobility in Japan, so Kanmu was not a prospective candidate for emperor. Kanmu and his father became emperor through a power game between clans. From the 1100s to 1868, the real power was in the hands of the shōguns, who were in theory always given their authority through the emperor. When Spanish and Portuguese explorers first contacted Japan (see Nanban period), they likened the relationship between emperor and shōgun to that of the Catholic Pope (godly, but with little political power) and king (earthly, but with a relatively large amount of political power). The title "Emperor of Japan" is in some sense an expedient Western construct of a hereditary officer who has historically had a deeply ingrained position in Japanese society, without any necessary role in government. Japanese administrations have usually been in a position where the emperor was something that had to be accepted as a necessary inconvenience - as the Italian government has had to live with the Pope residing within the borders of Italy. We conventionally regard such a figurehead as a monarch, in the same sense as the Caliph and the Pope and, in its time, the Stadtholder of the Netherlands, a republic, have been regarded as monarchs. In most (if not all) periods, that monarch has had at least some official role in the government of Japan - we should perhaps say that governments have utilized the influence of the emperor to their own advantage. Up to rather recent centuries, Japan did not include several remoter regions of what is now regarded as its territory. The name Nippon came into use only many many centuries after the start of the current imperial line. Centralized government really only began to appear shortly before and during the time of Prince Shotoku. The emperor was more like a revered embodiment of divinity rather than the head of an actual governing administration. In Japan it has always been easy for ambitious lords to hold actual power, as such positions have not been inherently contradictory to the emperor's position. Parliamentary government today continues a similar coexistence with the emperor as have various shoguns, regents, warlords, guardians, etc. It is perhaps technically a distortion to refer to such a monarch as an emperor. In Europe, people holding similar offices have retained the titles used in their own native language, which is perhaps more accurate than trying to translate such a unique office into a preexisting English term. Historically the titles of Tenno in Japanese have never included territorial designations as is the case with many European monarchs. The position of emperor is a territory-independent phenomenon - the emperor is the emperor, even if he has followers only in one province (as was the case sometimes with the Southern and Northern courts). By the constitution of 1889, the emperor of Japan transferred a large part of his former powers as absolute monarch to the representatives of the people, but remained as head of the empire. Though inspired by the constitutions of Europe, the new Meiji Constitution was not as democratic as some had initially hoped. The emperor was given broad and vague "reserve powers" which in turn were exploited by the prime minister and various cliques around the emperor. By the 1930s the Japanese cabinet was largely composed of pseudo-fascist military leaders who used the emperor and his supposed divinity as an ultra-nationalistic rallying point for expansion of the Empire. When World War II erupted, the emperor was the symbol soldiers were indoctrinated to fight and die for. The emperor himself was hidden from sight however, and his actual role during this period is disputed. It is commonly believed he was largely sidelined by the military. Controversy still remains as to the role Hirohito played in commanding Japanese forces during the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific War.

Post World War II

Pacific War After Japan's surrender to Allied forces ending WWII, 'emperor' became a ceremonial title only, with real power residing in a legislative body; in essence, its de jure status is similar to the de facto status of the British monarchy. US General Douglas MacArthur insisted that Hirohito remain emperor to keep him as a symbol of continuity and cohesion within Japanese society. Despite Truman's desire to have Hirohito tried for war crimes, Truman consented, and Hirohito kept his status, though he was forced to disavow the emperor's previous claims of being an arahitogami, living god. Since the war, the emperor has become a strictly ceremonial figure within Japanese society. Though he presides over certain government events, he is now simply a figurehead who is explicitly banned from participating in politics in any way. Succession is now regulated by laws passed by the Japanese Diet. The current law excludes females from the succession despite the historical existence of female occupants of the throne. A change to this law is being considered, since, as of 2005, the only child of The Imperial Highness the Crown Prince Naruhito is female. (In the list of emperors of Japan, the empresses regnant are those with an asterisk after their reigning periods.) This creates a logistical challenge as well as political, any change in the law would most likely mean a revision to allow the succession of the first born rather than the first born son, however, the current emperor is not the first born, he has elder sisters.

Marriage traditions

Japanese monarchs have been, as much as others elsewhere, dependent on making alliances with powerful chiefs and other monarchs. Many such alliances were sealed by marriages. The specific feature in Japan has been the fact that these marriages have been soon incorporated as elements of tradition which controlled the marriages of later generations, though the original practical alliance had lost its real meaning. Beginning from the 7th and 8th centuries, emperors primarily took women of the Fujiwara clan as their highest wives - the most probable mothers of future monarchs. This was cloaked as a tradition of marriage between heirs of two kamis, Shinto gods: descendants of Amaterasu with descendants of the family kami of the Fujiwara. (Originally, the Fujiwara were descended from relatively minor nobility, thus their kami is an unremarkable one in the Japanese myth world.) The reality behind such marriages was an alliance between an imperial prince and a Fujiwara lord, his father-in-law or grandfather, the latter with his resources supporting the prince to the throne and most often controlling the government. These arrangements created the tradition of regents (sessho and kampaku), with these positions allowed to be held only by a Fujiwara sekke lord. Earlier, the emperors had married females from families of the government-holding Soga lords, and females of the imperial clan itself, i.e various-degree cousins and often even their own sisters (half-sisters). Several imperials of the 5th and 6th centuries were children of a couple of half-siblings. These marriages often were alliance or succession devices: the Soga lord ensured the domination of a prince, to be put as puppet to the throne; or a prince ensured the combination of two imperial descents, to strengthen his own and his children's claim to the throne. Marriages were also a means to seal a reconciliation between two imperial branches. After a couple of centuries, emperors could no longer make anyone from outside such families a primary wife, whatever would have been the expediency of such a marriage and power or wealth brought by such. Only very rarely was a prince without a mother of said traditional descents allowed to ascend. The earlier necessity and expediency had mutated into a strict tradition that did not allow for current expediency or necessity, but only dictated that daughters of a restricted circle of families were eligible brides, because they had produced eligible brides for centuries. Tradition is sometimes more forceful than a law. The five Fujiwara families Ichijo, Kujo, Nijo, Konoe and Takatsukasa were the primary source of imperial brides from the 8th century to the 19th century, even more often than daughters of the imperial clan itself. Fujiwara daughters were thus the usual empresses and mothers of emperors. The result has been a relative inbreeding in the imperial family. The five Sekkan families and the branches of the imperial clan (Yamato) form a genetic "village". The acceptable imperial wives, brides for an emperor and for a crown prince, were even legislated into the Meiji-era imperial house laws, which stipulated that daughters of Sekke (the five main branches of the higher Fujiwara) and daughters of the imperial clan itself were primarily acceptable brides. Since that law was repealed in the aftermath of WWII, the present emperor Akihito became the first crown prince for over a thousand years to have an empress outside the previously eligible circle.

Naming

Due to linguistic and cultural differences between Japan and the Western world, naming the emperors of Japan is often troublesome. While scholastic texts in Japan use " tennō" consistently, in texts by English-speaking academics several variants have been used, such as "Emperor ", "the Emperor", and " Tenno", although "Emperor " appears to be the most common among these, particularly for the emperors prior to Emperor Meiji. What is often not understood, however, is that emperors are posthumously named " tennō", and thus the word "tennō, or "emperor", actually forms a part of their proper name. This is particularly misunderstood with respect to the emperors from Emperor Meiji onward, since the convention now is to posthumously name the emperors the same name as the era over which they preside. This leads to references such as "the Meiji emperor", meaning the emperor of the Meiji era. Such constructs are never used in Japanese, however. In English, the term Mikado (御門 or 帝 or みかど), which literally means "exalted gate", used to be used to refer to the emperor of Japan; this usage is now outdated, as it is in Japanese. In Japanese, the emperors of Japan, but not of other countries, are known as tennō (天皇), which literally means "heavenly emperor" or "god-king". Sumeramikoto (lit. "heavenly ruler above the clouds") was also used in Old Japanese. There are three Japanese words that describe the concept of "emperor": tennō (天皇) is used specifically to describe the emperor of Japan, kōtei (皇帝, lit. "emperor of emperors") is used primarily to describe a Chinese emperor or a foreign emperor, and teiō (帝王, lit. "emperor of kings") is used to describe foreign emperors as well but never a Chinese emperor. Some scholars point out that the use of ten (天, "heaven") was, in relation to the Chinese concept of tentei (天帝, "heaven's emperor" or "the god in the sky"), meant to show that the emperor's duty was not limited to political or military duties but included spiritual and religious duties as well. Traditionally, East Asians consider it discourteous to call a person of noble rank by their given name. This convention is almost dead, but still observed for the Imperial family. In fact, the emperor is never to be referred to by name (imina) unless he is dead. Instead, past emperors are called by posthumous names such as Emperor Jimmu, Emperor Kammu and Meiji. Since the Meiji era, era names are also used as posthumous names. The current emperor on the throne is almost always referred to as Tennō Heika (天皇陛下, lit. "His Majesty the Emperor") or solemnly as Kinjō Tennō (今上天皇). On the other hand, in ordinary conversations he is referred to simply as Heika, Okami or To-gin san ('To-gin' is a frank expression of Kinjō). The current emperor is not called by the current era name: the era will become his posthumous name. But today this custom tends to be followed more loosely, as described below. In English, the recent emperors are called by their personal names according to Western convention. As explained above, in Japanese this sounds offensive and, in some contexts, blasphemous. For example, the previous emperor is usually called Hirohito in English, but after his death he was renamed Shōwa Tennō and is now referred to exclusively by this name in Japanese. However, during his reign, he was never referred as Hirohito or Shōwa Tennō in Japanese. Rather, he was simply referred to as Tennō Heika (meaning "His Majesty the Emperor"). See also List of Japanese Emperors.

Succession

Millennia ago, the Japanese Imperial Family developed its own peculiar system of hereditary succession. It has been non-primogenitural, more or less agnatic, based mostly on rotation. Today, Japan uses strict agnatic primogeniture - in other words, pure Salic law. It was adopted from Prussia, from which Japan took much influence in the 1870s. Strict agnatic primogeniture is, however, directly contradictory to several old Japanese traditions of Imperial succession. The controlling principles and their interaction were apparently very complex and sophisticated, leading to even idiosyncratic outcomes. Some chief principles apparent in the succession have been:
- Females were allowed to succeed (but not allowed to be inherited by their own children, unless the father of the child also happened to be an agnate of the imperial house). However, female accession was clearly much rarer than male.
- Adoption was possible and a much used way to increase the number of succession-entitled heirs (however, the adopted child had to be a child of another member of the Imperial House).
- Abdication was used very often, and occurred more often than a death on the throne. In those days, the tenno's chief task was priestly (or godly), containing so many repetitive rituals that it was deemed that the incumbent deserved pampered retirement as an honored former emperor.
- Primogeniture was not used - rather, in the early days, the imperial house practised something resembling a system of rotation. Very often a brother (or sister) followed the elder sibling even in the case of the predecessor leaving children. The "turn" of the next generation came more often after several individuals of the senior generation. Rotation went often between two or more of the branches of the imperial house, thus more or less distant cousins succeeded each other. Emperor Go-Saga even decreed an official alternation between heirs of his two sons, which system continued for a couple of centuries (leading finally to shōgun-induced (or -utilized) strife between these two branches, "Southern" and "Northern" Emperors). Towards the end, the alternates were very distant cousins counted in degrees of male descent (but all that time, intermarriages occurred within the imperial house). After a while, however, probably due to Confucian influence, inheritence by sons - but not always, or even most often, the eldest son - became the norm. Historically, the succession to Japan's Chrysanthemum Throne has always passed to descendants in male line from the imperial lineage. Generally they have been males, though of the over one hundred monarchs there have been eight women as tenno. In part, the Japanese imperial dynasty owes its longevity in the male line to the use of concubines, a practice that only ended in the Taishō period (1912-1926). The Japanese monarchy also relied on the specially designated collateral lines or shinnōke (shinnō houses). It seems that for the recent thousand years, sons of an imperial male and a Fujiwara woman had preferential position in the succession. Also, sons of the empress had preferential position to sons of concubines - but quite often, Fujiwara women were empresses and concubines came from some less exalted nobility. Some emperors even had two empresses simultaneously (kogo, chugu) after a decree from the reign of Emperor Ichijō. There are indications that between a son of a Fujiwara woman and son of an imperial princess, the Fujiwara descent was given precedence. This may have been caused by the higher influence of the said Fujiwara's relatives, but may also have been a part of tradition, perhaps due to the preference to have an emperor with two-side descent from the two kamis. The two influential patterns of maternal descent were:
- a powerful maternal grandfather ensured a puppet on the throne in the person of an underage grandson, himself becoming their guardian. This pattern was usual in the Soga and Fujiwara eras, and even some later shoguns used their daughters in that way. This sometimes also occurred with a father-in-law and an imperial son-in-law (but regent lords preferred underage grandsons to adult son-in-laws).
- a prince having descent from two rival branches of the imperial dynasty, one from the paternal side and the other from the maternal side, was elevated to the throne as a symbol of reconciliation. Besides the empress, the emperor could take concubines, and the son he had by a concubine would be recognized as heir to the throne if the empress did not give birth to an heir. Concubines were allowed also to other dynasts (shinno, o). With the help of polygamy, the imperial clan thus was capable of producing more male offspring, increasing the probability that the dynasty survived in the male line. If the immediate imperial family failed to produce an heir, one of the shinnōke could provide the future emperor. There were four such collateral lines in the Edo period: Fushimi, Katsura, Arisugawa, and Kan'in. Emperor Kōkaku (reigned 1780-1817), the lineal ancestor of all subsequent emperors, was a scion of the Kan'in house. A shinnoke could be inherited by a prince of another branch by permission of the emperor, and alternatively could be revived (the princedoms, shinnoke, seem more or less the common property of the imperial clan). The Edo-period Katsura and Arisugawa houses died out in 1881 and 1913, respectively (though they were revived later, the Arisugawa as Takamatsu, its older name, and the Katsura in the person of the second son of Prince Mikasa). The Fushimi branch, originating from the 15th century, produced a vast number of children in two generations in the 19th century. A scion of the Fushimi house succeeded to the Kan'in house in 1884. The Fushimi house was the progenitor of nine other cadet branches (ōke) of the imperial family during the Meiji period. This house and its offshoots were reduced to commoner status in 1947. Before the Meiji Restoration, Japan had eight female tennō or reigning empresses, all of them daughters of the male line of the imperial clan. None ascended purely as a wife or as a widow of an emperor. Imperial daughters and granddaughters, however, usually ascended the throne as a sort of a "stop gap" measure - if a suitable male was not available or some imperial branches were in rivalry so that a compromise was needed. Almost all Japanese empresses and dozens of emperors abdicated - many empresses once a suitable male descendant in the male line of imperial descendants became old enough. (Suitable male means after his toddler years - Japanese emperors have often ascended as children, as young as 6 or 8 years old, as reaching the age of legal majority was not a requirement. The high-priestly duties were deemed possible for a walking child - and several emperors abdicated/reached their entitled retirement while still in their teens.) Three empresses, Empress Suiko, Empress Kōgyoku (also Empress Saimei) and Empress Jitō, were widows of deceased emperors and princesses of the blood imperial in their own right. One, Empress Gemmei, was the widow of a crown prince and a princess of the blood imperial. The other four, Empress Genshō, Empress Kōken (also Empress Shōtoku), Empress Meishō and Empress Go-Sakuramachi, were unwed daughters of previous emperors. None of these empresses married or gave birth after ascending the throne. A panel that was dealing with the succession issue recommended on October 25, 2005 that females be allowed to ascend to the Japanese throne. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said that he would submit a bill to the Diet by the end of the year.[http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051025/ap_on_re_as/japan_imperial_succession]

References

External links

- [http://www.kunaicho.go.jp/eindex.html The Imperial Household Agency]
- [http://photoguide.jp/pix/thumbnails.php?album=158 Photos of Emperor's birthday at the Imperial Palace]
- [http://www.friesian.com/sangoku.htm#japan List of the Emperors], accompanied with the regents and shoguns during their reign and a genealogical tree of the imperial family
- [http://www.wsu.edu:8001/~dee/GLOSSARY/TENNO.HTM A Page from Washington State University]
- [http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=17&ItemID=8081 Emperor, Shinto, Democracy]: Japan's Unresolved Questions of Historical Consciousness Category:Japanese monarchy Category:Positions of authority Category:Monarchy Category:Tokyo Category:Yamato line Category:History of Japan ko:덴노 ja:天皇

Emperor

:This article is about Emperor in the meaning of "monarch", for all other uses, see: Emperor (disambiguation) An emperor is a (male) monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress is the feminine form and can either be the wife of an emperor or a woman being an imperial monarch herself. Emperors are generally recognised to be above kings in honour and rank. Emperor Akihito of Japan is the world's only reigning emperor.

Distinction between Emperor and other types of monarch

Both kings and emperors are monarchs. There is no single rule to distinguish the one from the other: several factors, like interpretations of historians, the size and characteristics of the governed realm, and the title(s) chosen by the monarch play a part in distinguishing the one from the other. General characteristics indicating that a monarch is to be considered an emperor rather than a king include:
- The monarch chose a title that usually translates as "emperor" in English, and/or is accepted as the equivalent of "emperor" in international diplomatic relations;
- The monarch rules over other monarchs, without stripping monarchy-related titles from these subjects ("vassals" or non-sovereign monarchs);
- The monarch assumes divine or other high-ranked religious characteristics (see: imperial cult, caesaropapism);
- The monarch rules several formerly sovereign countries, or peoples from different nations or ethnic provenance. Where the title chosen by the monarch has become a separate concept in the English language, the distinction whether this monarch would have been an "emperor" or a "king" is often no longer made: for instance caliph, sultan or khan as a concept of a type of monarch is usually defined separately, making it redundant to apply the emperor/king distinction to these types of monarchy.

Imperium maius

In Christian Europe the use of the title emperor is more than an affectation. A king recognises that the church is an equal or superior in the religious sphere, emperors do not. This was illustrated by Henry VIII of England who started to use the word imperium in his dispute with the Pope over his first divorce. By stating that they were emperors the Russian Tsars claimed to be the head of the (Russian Orthodox) church and did not recognise any superior authority but God.

Historical development

Europe

Roman Tradition

In the Roman tradition a large variety in the meaning and importance of the Imperial form of monarchy developed: in intention it was always the highest office, but it could as well fall down to a redundant title for nobility that had never been near to the "Empire" they were supposed to be reigning. Also the name of the office split in several branches of Western tradition, see section on the Origin of the Western terminology below. Importance and meaning of Coronation ceremonies and regalia also varied within the tradition: for instance Holy Roman Emperors could only be crowned emperor by the pope, which meant the coronation ceremony usually took place in Rome, often several years after these emperors had ascended to the throne (as "king") in their home country. The first Latin Emperors of Constantinople on the other hand had to be present in the newly conquered capital of their Empire, because that was the only place where they could be granted to become Emperor. Early Roman Emperors on the other hand avoided any type of ceremony or regalia different from what was already usual for republican offices in the Roman Republic: the most intrusive change had been changing the color of their robe to purple. Later new symbols of worldly and/or spiritual power, like the orb became an essential part of the Imperial accessories. Rules for indicating successors also varied: there was a tendency towards male inheritance of the supreme office, but as well election by noblemen, as ruling Empresses (for empires not too strictly under salic law) are known. Ruling monarchs could additionally steer the succession by adoption, as often occurred in the two first centuries of Imperial Rome. Of course, intrigue, murder and military force could also mingle in for appointing successors, the Roman Imperial tradition made no exception to other monarchical traditions in this respect. Probably the epoch best known for this part of the Imperial tradition is Rome's third century

Roman Emperors

Ancient Rome - origin of Western terminology

:see: Roman Emperor When Republican Rome turned into a monarchy again, in the second half of the 1st century BC, at first there was no name for the title of the new type of monarch: ancient Romans abhorred the name Rex ("king"), and after Julius Caesar also Dictator (which was an acknowledged office in Republican Rome, Julius Caesar not being the first to hold it). In fact Caesar Augustus, who can be considered the first Roman Emperor, avoided to name himself anything that could be reminding of "monarchy" or "dictature". Instead, these first Emperors constructed their office as a complicated collection of offices, titles, and honours, that were consolidated around a single person and his closest relatives (while in the republic the "taking of turns", often in shared offices, had been the principle for passing on power). These early Roman emperors didn't need a specific name for their monarchy: they had enough offices and powers accumulated so that in any field of power they were "unsurpassable", and besides: everybody just knew they had supreme power. If needed that supreme power could be demonstrated by a proces for high treason, exile, poisoning, or whatever, for those who gave semblance not to understand. As the first Roman Emperors did not rule by virtue of any particular republican or senatorial office, the name given to the office of "head of state" in this new monarchical form of government became different depending on tradition, none of these traditions consolidated in the early days of the Roman Empire:
- Princeps (as, for example, in Tacitus' Annals). This tradition did not continue. An echo can be found in Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince, where "Prince" is used as a generic name for "monarch", and later in the first dynasties of Imperial monarchs of ancient Rome being called principate by historians. This name for the Roman monarch appears to go back to the office of Princeps senatus (which can be translated as "president of the senate"), an office since Augustus held exclusively by the ruling monarch.
- Caesar (as, for example, in Suetonius' Twelve Caesars). This tradition continued in many languages: in German it became "Kaiser"; in certain Slavic languages it became "Tsar"; in Hungarian it became "Császár", and several more variants. The name derived from Julius Caesar's cognomen "Caesar": this cognomen was adopted by all Roman emperors, exclusively by the ruling monarch after the Julio-Claudian dynasty had died out. In this tradition Julius Caesar is sometimes described as the first Caesar/emperor (following Suetonius).
- Augustus was the honorific first bestowed on Emperor Augustus: after him all Roman emperors added it to their name. Although it had a high symbolical value, something like "akin to divinity", it was generally not used to indicate the office of Emperor itself. Exceptions include the title of the Augustan History, a half-mockumentary biography of the Emperors of the 2nd and 3rd century. Augustus had (by his last will) granted the feminine form of this honorific (Augusta) to his wife. Since there was no "title" of Empress(-consort) whatsoever, women of the reigning dynasty sought to be granted this honorific, as the highest attainable goal. Few were however granted the title, and certainly not as a rule all wives of reigning Emperors.
- Imperator (as, for example, in Pliny the Elder's Naturalis Historia). In the Roman Republic Imperator meant "(military) commander". In the late Republic Imperator was a title granted to Roman generals by their troops and the Roman Senate after a great victory, roughly comparable to field marshal. This title, during the Republic, had been given to people seven times at all: in 90 BC to a Gaius Julius Caesar, in 84 BC to Cneus Pompeus, in 60 BC to the other, most famous, Gaius Julius Caesar, relative of the former, in 50 BC to Marcus Tullius Cicero, in 45 BC again to Caius Julius Caesar, in 44 BC to Marcus Iunius Brutus, and in 41 BC to Lucius Antonius (relative and ally of the more famous Marcus Antonius). Soon after the emergence of the imperial monarchy in Rome "Imperator" also became an exclusive title, adopted by the ruling monarch. This led to "Emperor" in English and, among other examples, "Empereur" in French. The Latin feminine form Imperatrix only developed after "Imperator" had gotten the connotation of "Emperor".
- : although the Greeks used equivalents of "Caesar" (Καίσαρ) and "Augustus" (in two forms: Αύγουστος or translated as Σεβαστός/"Sebastos") these were rather used as part of the name of the Emperor than as an indication of the office. Instead of developing a new name for the new type of monarchy, they used ("autokratôr", only partly overlapping with the modern understanding of "autocrat") or ("basileus", until then the usual name for "king"). "Autokratôr" could be seen as a translation of the Latin "Imperator" (it was certainly used as its replacement in Greek-speaking part of the Roman Empire), but also here there is only partial overlap between the meaning of the original Greek and Latin concepts. For the Greeks "Autokratôr" was not a military title, and was closer to the Latin dictator concept ("the one with unlimited power"), before it came to mean Emperor. Basileus appears not to have been used in the meaning of Emperor before the 7th century. After the problematic year 69, the Flavian Dynasty reigned for about half a century. The succeeding Nervan-Antonian Dynasty, ruling for most of the 2nd century, stabilised the Empire. This epoch became known as the era of the Five Good Emperors, and was followed by the short-lived Severan Dynasty. In the 3rd century Barracks Emperors succeeded one another at short intervals. The next period, known as the Dominate, started with the Tetrarchy installed by Diocletian. Through most of the 4th century, there were separate emperors for the Western and Eastern part of the Empire. Although there were several dynastic relations between the Emperors of both parts, they also often were adversaries. The last Emperor to rule a unified Roman Empire was Theodosius. Less than a century after his death in 395, the last Emperor of the Western half of the Empire was driven out.

The Eastern Emperors after 476

:see Byzantine Emperor

=Byzantine Emperors

= Byzantine Emperors: that's why this famous mosaic, featuring the Byzantine emperor in the center, can be admired at Ravenna.]] Historians generally call the eastern part of the Roman Empire the Byzantine Empire due to its capital Constantinople, whose ancient name was Byzantium (now Istanbul). After the fall of Rome to barbarian forces in 476, the title of "emperor" lived on in rulers of Constantinople (New Rome). The Byzantine Emperors completed the transition from the idea of the Emperor as a semi-republican official to the Emperor as a traditional monarch when Emperor Heraclius took the title of Basileus (the original Greek word for "King") in the seventh century. A specifically Byzantine development of emperor's position was cesaropapism, position as leader of christians. The Byzantine empire produced also three reigning empresses: Irene, Zoe, and Theodora.

=Latin Emperors

= In 1204, the Fourth Crusade captured Constantinople, and soon established a Latin Empire of Constantinople under one of the Crusader leaders. The Latin Empire was, however, unable to consolidate control of the whole of the former territories of the Byzantine Empire. Driven out of Constantinople in 1261 some territories in Greece still recognized their authority for some time. Eventually, the Imperial title became redundant and did not even contribute any longer to the prestige of the noblemen in their own country: it remained dormant in 1383.

=Byzantine Emperors after the 4th Crusade

= In Asia Minor, after being driven out of Constantinople, relations of the last pre-Crusader emperors established the Empire of Nicaea and the Empire of Trebizond. Similarly, the Despotate of Epirus was founded in the Western Balkans (the rulers of the latter took the title of Emperor for a short time following their conquest of Thessalonica a few decades later). Eventually, the Nicaean Emperors were successful in reclaiming the Byzantine imperial title. They managed to force Epirus into submission and retake Constantinople by 1261, but Trebizond remained independent. The restored Byzantine empire finally fell due to Ottoman invasion in 1453. The Trapezuntines held on until 1461.

Revival of the title in the Western part of Europe

:See: Holy Roman Emperor

=Charlemagne and his heirs

= On 25 December , 800, Charles I, King of the Franks, was crowned Emperor by Pope Leo III in Rome. This was seen as a revival of the Western Roman Empire, and descendants of Charlemagne continued to be crowned in Rome through the 9th century. The increasing divisions within the Frankish lands, however, led to a suspension of the office.

=Holy Roman Emperors

= Western Roman Empire is pictured as performing the actual coronation, the highly symbolical sword ("Reichsschwert") and Holy Lance are handed by the saints Ulrich († 973) and Emmeram († 652) - Henry had actually been crowned Emperor by Pope Benedict VIII in 1014.]] In 962, Otto I, King of the Eastern Franks (or Germany) was again crowned Emperor by the Pope. His successors became known as Holy Roman Emperors. The Holy Roman Empire, such as it was, consisted of the Kingdoms of Germany, Italy, and Burgundy. After the 13th century and the fall of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, the universalistic aspirations of the Emperors became increasingly theoretical, and their control over Italy, still seen as the locus of the proper empire, became increasingly tenuous. Rather than being hereditary, emperors were chosen by the prince-electors, in a process codified by the Golden Bull of 1356. Coronations in Rome became rarer and rarer, until in 1508, King Maximilian I, after receiving permission from the pope, declared himself Emperor-Elect without having been crowned in Rome. Although Maximilian's grandson and successor, Charles V, was crowned in Bologna in 1529 by the Pope, he was the last, and thereafter the position of Holy Roman Emperor was a wholly German post until the Empire's dissolution in August 6, 1806. Even in Germany itself, real control was increasingly tenuous, as various local princes increased their power, so that the Habsburg emperors who ruled almost continuously from 1438 until the end of the empire derived their power much more from their hereditary lands in the south-eastern part of the monarchy than from their position as emperor. As religious differences added to the tensions, compromise was needed (Peace of Augsburg, 1555). The Habsburg dynasty attempted to reassert authority over the Empire in the Thirty Years War, which ended with the Peace of Westphalia (1648) that recognized princes sort of sovereign instead of dependents. The impotence of the Emperors' position became most nakedly apparent during the brief reign of Charles VII from 1742 to 1745. As Duke of Bavaria, Charles was the only non-Habsburg emperor for the last three hundred fifty years of the empire's existence, and his utter inability even to protect his own hereditary lands from the forces of his enemy, Maria Theresa, the Habsburg heiress, showed how empty the position of Holy Roman Emperor had become. The conquests of the French revolutionary armies in the 1790s made the Empire itself untenable, so that Emperor Francis II in 1804 took the title of Emperor of Austria (see below), and ultimately, allowed the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire a few years later.

Overview

Austria

:see: Emperor of Austria On 11 August , 1804 anticipating the eventual collapse of the Holy Roman Empire at the behest of Napoleon I, Francis II of the Holy Roman Empire assumed the additional title of Emperor of Austria (as Francis I thereof). The precaution was a wise one, because two years later on August 6 1806 he was obliged to proclaim the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire. Emperor Karl of Austria, the last ruling hereditary monarch in that country, "relinquished every participation in the administration of the State" on November 11 1918.

Bulgaria

In 913, Bulgarian king Simeon I crowned himself "Emperor and Autocrat of all the Bulgars and Greeks" following a victory over the Byzantines. His successors held on to the title Tsar until the conquest of Bulgaria by the Byzantines in 1018. In 1186, Bulgaria again achieved independence, and its rulers again took the style of Tsar, which they held until 1396 when Bulgaria fell to the invading Ottoman Empire. The title was again revived from 1908 to 1946. Simeon II, the last tsar, abdicated and the monarchy was abolished. The title of the modern Bulgarian tsars is frequently translated into English as king.

France

Simeon II), at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
The painting by David commemorating the event is equally famous: the gothic cathedral restyled style Empire, supervised by the 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.]] Napoléon 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 May 18, 1804. Despite being ruled by an emperor, it continued to be the French Republic (République Française) until 1808, when it was renamed the French Empire (Empire Français). Napoleon relinquished the title of Emperor of the French on 6 April and again on April 11, 1814, but was allowed to style himself Emperor of Elba, the island of his first exile. After his attempted restoration and defeat in 1815 he was stripped of even that usage during his second exile. His nephew Napoleon III resurrected the title on December 2, 1852 after establishing the Second French Empire in a presidential coup, and lost it when he was deposed on September 4, 1870 by the Third Republic. It has not been used in France since then.

Germany

Following victory after the Franco-Prussian war and the founding of the German Empire, the Prussian king had himself crowned German Emperor as Wilhelm I on January 18 1871, as part of the competition with the Emperor of Austria for dominance in the German-speaking lands. With defeats in World War I and revolution breaking out, Emperor Wilhelm II abdicated on 9 November 1918 and a republic was established.

Russia

In 1472, the last Byzantine emperor's niece, Sophia Paleologue, married Ivan III, grand duke of Moscow, who began championing the idea of Russia being the successor to the Byzantine Empire. Their grandson Ivan IV crowned himself tsar in 16 January, 1547. On 31 October , 1721 Peter I was crowned emperor as well. He based his claim partially upon a letter discovered in 1717 written in 1514 from Maximilian I to Vasili III, Sophia's son and Ivan IV's father, in which the Holy Roman Emperor used the term in referring to Vasili. The title has not been used in Russia since the abdication of Emperor Nicholas II on 15 March, 1917. Imperial Russia produced four reigning empresses, all in the eighteenth century.

Serbia

After a series of victories against his neighbors, Serbian king Stefan Uros IV proclaimed himself "Tsar and Autocrat of Serbs, Greeks, Bulgarians and Albanians" in 1346. His son, Stefan Uros V, was unable to retain the empire. After his death in 1371, no Serb monarch would use the title Tsar.

Spain

King Sancho III of Navarre declared himself emperor of Spain in 1034. His son, Ferdinand I of Castile also took the title in 1039. Ferdinand's son, Alfonso VI of Castile took the title in 1077. Alfonso VI's grandson, Alfonso VII was the only one who actually had an imperial coronation in 1135. The title was not exactly hereditary but self proclamations by those that had, wholly or partially, united Christian (northern) Spain 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.

British Emperors and Empresses

In the late 3rd century, by the end of the epoch of the barracks emperors in Rome, there were two Britannic Emperors, reigning for about a decade.

England

King William I of England thought it important enough to request and get a Papal blessing for his conquest of England. Throughout the high Middle Ages the English kings recognised the supremacy of the Pope in matters spiritual. For example, when Thomas à Becket was murdered, King Henry II of England was forced to recognise that, although he ruled temporal matters, spiritual matters came under the authority of the Church in Rome. This changed with the dispute between Henry VIII of England and Pope Clement VII over Henry's wish to have his marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled. The Act in restraint of Appeals (1533) explicitly stated that :Where by divers sundry old authentic histories and chronicles it is manifestly declared and expressed that this realm of England is an empire, and so hath been accepted in the world, governed by one supreme head and king, having the dignity and royal estate of the imperial crown of the same. The next year the Act of Supremacy (1534) explicitly tied the head of church to the imperial crown: :The only supreme head in earth of the Church of England called Anglicana Ecclesia, and shall have and enjoy annexed and united to the imperial crown of this realm. The an Act by the Irish Parliament in 1541 (effective 1542) changed the traditional title used by the Monarchs of England for the reign over Ireland, from Lord of Ireland to King of Ireland and naming Henry head of the Church of Ireland, for similar reasons. During the English Interregnum these laws were annulled, but the acts which caused the laws to be in abeyance were themselves, deemed to be null and void by the Parliaments of the English Restoration, so by act of Parliament The Crown of England and (later the British and UK crowns) are imperial crowns.

Britain

In 1801 when Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland, it was proposed that George III become Emperor of the British and Hanoverian Dominions, and therefore Emperor of the British Empire. George III however rejected the idea, favouring the traditional title of king. When a royal marriage made it obvious to the British in 1877 that their Queen Victoria would be outranked by her own daughter who would someday become German Empress, the British government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, conferred the additional title Empress of India by an Act of Parliament. That title was relinquished by George VI with effect from August 15 1947, when India was granted independence. The Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927 in which it was agreed that the United Kingdom and the dominions were "equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by common allegiance to the Crown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations". This in effect along with the Statute of Westminster, 1931 marked the beginning of the end of the British Empire and set the basis for the continuing relationship between the Commonwealth Realms and the structure of the Crown.

The Americas

Brazil

Brazil declared independence from Portugal in 1822, and made Dom Pedro, eldest son of the then-King of Portugal, who was acting as regent, Emperor as Pedro I on 12 October. The empire came to an end with the overthrow of Emperor Pedro II in 1889.

Haiti

Haiti was declared an empire by its ruler, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who made himself Jacques I, in 20 May, 1805. He was assassinated the next year. Haiti again became an empire from 1849 to 1859 under Faustin Soulouque.

Mexico

Faustin Soulouque In Mexico, there were two short-lived attempts to create an Empire. Agustín de Iturbide, the general who helped secure Mexican independence from Spanish rule, was proclaimed Emperor Agustín I in 12 July, 1822, but was overthrown the next year. In 1863, the invading French, in alliance with Mexican conservatives, proclaimed an empire and invited Archduke Maximilian, younger brother of the Austrian Emperor, to become emperor as Maximilian I. The childless Maximilian also adopted Agustín's grandson as his heir to bolster his claim. After the withdrawal of French protection in 1867, Maximilian was captured and executed by liberal forces.

Africa

Central African Empire

In 1976, president Jean-Bédel Bokassa of the Central African Republic, proclaimed the country to be the Central African Empire, and made himself Emperor as Bokassa I. The expenses of his coronation ceremony actually bankrupted the country, and he was overthrown three years later, and the republic restored.

Ethiopia

:see: Emperor of Ethiopia In Ethiopia, the Solomonid dynasty used, beginning in 1270, the title of "Negus Negust" which also translates to Emperor and is literally "King of Kings". The use of the king of kings style might however already have started a millennium earlier in this region. Another title used by this dynasty was "Itegue Zetopia". "Itegue" translates as Empress, and was also used by the only female reigning Empress, Zauditu, along with the official title Negiste Negest (Queen of Kings). In 1936, the Italian king Victor Emmanuel III took the title of Emperor of Ethiopia when that country was under Italian occupation. After the defeat of the Italians by the British (1941), Haile Selassie was restored to the throne but Victor Emmanuel did not relinquish his claim to the title until 1943. Haile Selassie was the rare example of an Emperor with some sort of godhead status after the second world war, see rastafari. He was deposed in 1974, the Imperial title ending the next year when his son, who had succeeded him, was deposed and exiled.

China

Qin tradition

:see: Emperor of China Emperor of China, China's first Emperor]] In 221 BC, Zheng, who was king of Qin at the time, proclaimed himself shi huangdi, which translates as "first emperor". Huangdi is composed of huang ("august one") and di ("sage-king"), and referred to legendary/mythological sage-emperors living several millennia earlier, of which three were huang and five were di (the sānhuáng wǔdì, see: The Three August Ones and the Five Emperors). Thus Zheng became Qin Shi Huang, abolishing the system where the huang/di titles were reserved to dead and/or mythological rulers. The imperial title continued in China until the Qing dynasty was overthrown in 1912. The title was briefly revived from December 12, 1915 to March 22, 1916 by President Yuan Shikai and again in early July , 1917 when General Zhang Xun attempted to restore last Qing emperor Puyi to the throne. Puyi retained the title and attributes of Emperor, as a personal status, until 1924. In general, an emperor would have one empress (Huanghou, 皇后) at one time, although posthumous entitlement to empress for a concubine was not uncommon. The earliest known usage of empress was in the Han Dynasty. The emperor would generally select the empress from his harem. In subsequent dynasties, when the distinction between wife and concubine became more accentuated, the crown prince would have chosen an empress-designate before his reign. Imperial China produced only one reigning empress, Wu Zetian, and she used the same Chinese title as an emperor (Huangdi, 皇帝).

Manchuria

The Khitan Empire was founded in this region on 907. They were overthrown by the Jurchen Jin Empire (1115–1234) which was in turn conquered by Mongol armies. In 1616, Ming China's Jurchen vassal, Nurhaci, rebelled and crowned himself emperor of the renamed Manchus. His successors, the Qing dynasty, conquered China in 1644 and reigned until revolution toppled them in 1912. After the Japanese occupied Manchuria in 1931, they proclaimed it to be the Empire of Manchukuo, and Puyi, the last Qing emperor of China, became puppet emperor. This puppet state came to an end with the Japanese defeat in 1945.

Mongol Emperors of the Yuan dynasty

The title Khagan (khan of khans or grand khan) was held by Genghis Khan, founder of the Mongol Empire in 1206. When the empire was partitioned, the Yuan dynasty khans in China (where they also took the native title huangdi) were nominal rulers of the whole Mongol realm. After being overthrown, the Yuan fled back to Mongolia and were subsequently known to historians as the Northern Yuan. They kept their title of Grand Khan until the Manchu emperor Hong Taiji forced them to surrender it in 1634. Only the Yuan Emperors of China between 1279 and 1368 are normally referred to as Emperors in English.

Japan

:See Emperor of Japan Emperor of Japan In Japan, the ruler in Yamato court was called "Tenno" (天皇) (heavenly emperor), which in Western languages is equalled to Emperor of Japan. Like in early Western tradition, the highest position of secular power was combined with the highest religious office (comparable with the Roman pontifex maximus) and claims of godhood (see Arahitogami). In several eras, the high-priestly role of the monarch has even been paramount, with a no more than formal secular role. Japanese monarchs placed themselves from 607 on equal footing with Chinese emperors in titulary and also took the Chinese style "Son of Heaven". In the Japanese language, tenno is restricted to Japan's own monarch. Koutei (皇帝) is used of foreign emperors. Often in Japan, retired emperors have kept effective power over a child-emperor. At same or other times, a Shogun or Regent has wielded effective power. After World War II, "Son of Heaven" and all other claims of divinity were dropped (see Ningen-sengen). Parliamentary government has wielded the power, reducing the office of emperor again to a mere ceremonial function. By the end of the 20th century Japan was the only (real) country with an emperor on the throne. In the early 21st century, Japan is under the Salic Law preventing female succession, but considering to abandon that rule. In earlier times, Japan has had eight reigning empresses who used the basically unigender title "Tenno" over the female consort title kōgō (皇后) or chugu. There is ongoing discussion of the Japanese Imperial succession controversy. Although current Japanese law prohibits female succession, all Japanese emperors trace their lineage to the supreme deity in Shinto religion, Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess.

Korea

Some early legendary dynasties used the title tanje which is translated as "emperor under the birch". The Bohai (669–926), which ruled parts of northern Korea and Manchuria used hwangje (huangdi). Rulers of the Koryo/Goryo dynasty (from Guangjong, the second ruler of the dynasty, onward) took the title of emperor as a means of enhancing the prestige of the monarchy. The title was stripped in the 13th century, however, after the surrender to the Mongols and the Korean rulers were demoted to kings thereafter and, as such, vassals of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty of China. Following the Chinese defeat by Japan in 1895, Korea declared total independence from China (see Treaty of Shimonoseki) and King Gojong took the title of Taehan Hwangje, translated as Emperor of Greater Korea. The empire came to an end with Japanese annexation in 1910.

Vietnam

Although the Vietnamese rulers acknowledged the supremacy of China, and were known to the Chinese emperors as simply King of Annam, domestically they took on a full Chinese-style imperial regalia in 1806, and are usually referred to as emperors in English. Axis-occupied Vietnam was declared an empire by the Japanese in March 1945. The line of emperors came to an end with Bao Dai, who was deposed after the war, although he later served as head of state of South Vietnam from 1949 to 1955.

Persian tradition

Iran

In Persia (or Iran), from the time of the Cyrus the Great, Persian rulers used the title Shahanshah which is sometimes translated as emperor and is literally "King of Kings". Persians were founders of one of the earliest and largest empires of the world, extending from India to Greece and Libya. Alexander the Great probably crowned himself shahanshah after conquering Persia. The last Shahanshah abdicated in 1979, when Iran became a republic. In English, the Shahnshah title is usually translated as "King" for ancient rulers of the Achaemenid, Arsacid, and Sassanid dynasties, and is shortened to "Shah" for rulers since the Safavid dynasty in the 16th century.

Ottoman Emperors

Ottoman rulers held the title Padishah, equivalent to the Persian shahanshah. After conquering the Byzantine Empire in 1453, Mehmed II also took the title of Roman emperor. Although in English the Ottoman rulers are generally known by the Turkish title Sultan, their titles of Padishah and Emperor would remain among the lists of titles carried by the Ottoman sultans until the monarchy was abolished in 1922.

India and Pakistan

Some Indian monarchs held the rare title Maharajadhiraja (Great King of Kings) but because it was treated as subordinate under the Mughals and the British, it is usually not considered imperial. The Mughal Emperors (1526–1857) held the title Badshah (padishah). The throne became vacant after Bahadur Shah II was unseated by the British. For the episode from 1877 to 1947 when British Emperors and Empresses ruled in India, see above. Note that Queen Victoria was the only reigning empress of India. In the valley of Swat (in modern Pakistan), Miangul Golshahzada Abdul Wadud titled himself badshah in 1918. In 1926, he was granted recognition of authority over Swat by the British in return for taking the lesser title of wali.

Afghanistan

Ahmad Shah founded the Durrani Empire in 1747 with the title Padshah. The Sadozai were overthrown in 1823 but there was a brief restoration by Shoja Shah in 1839. The title went dormant after his assassination in 1842 until 1926 when Amanullah Khan resurrected it. The title was finally laid to rest with the abdication of Mohammed Zahir Shah in 1973 following a coup. Afghan padshah is normally translated into English as king.

Pre-Columbian American traditions

Aztec Emperors

The only pre-Columbian North American rulers to be commonly called emperors were the Hueyi Tlatoani of the Aztec Empire (1375–1521). Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés slew Emperor Cuauhtémoc and installed puppet emperors who became vassals for Spain. Mexican Emperor Maximilian built his palace over the ruins of the Aztec one at Chapultepec.

Inca Emperors

The only pre-Columbian South American rulers to be commonly called emperors were the Sapa Inca of the Inca Empire (1438–1533). Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro, a second cousin of Hernán Cortés, conquered the Inca for Spain, killed Emperor Atahualpa, and installed puppets as well.

Other traditions

Lists of emperors

Emperors of traditional empires

Ancient empires

- Persian Empire (559 BC–330 BC) - see List of kings of Persia
- Empire of Alexander the Great (334 BC–281 BC)
- Mauryan Empire (321 BC–185 BC) - see Mauryan dynasty
- Chinese Empire (221 BC–1911) - see Table of Chinese monarchs
- Roman Empire (27 BC–476) - see List of Roman Emperors

Medieval empires

- Holy Roman Empire (800 and 962–1806) - see List of Holy Ro

Imperial Household of Japan

The Imperial Household of Japan (also referred to as the Imperial Family or kōshitsu (皇室)) refers to those members of the extended family of the reigning Emperor of Japan who undertake official and public duties, as well as their minor children. Under the present Constitution of Japan, the emperor is the symbol of the state and unity of the people. The other members of the imperial family perform ceremonial and social duties, but have no role in the affairs of government. The Japanese monarchy is the oldest continuous hereditary monarchy in the world. The imperial household recognizes one hundred twenty-five legitimate monarchs since the accession of Emperor Jimmu (traditionally dated to February 11, 660 BCE), including the reigning emperor, Akihito. Most historians regard the first fourteen emperors (Emperor Jimmu to Emperor Chuai) as legendary figures.

Current members of the imperial family

The 1947 Imperial Household Law defines the imperial household as: the empress (kōgō 皇后), the empress dowager (kōtaigō 皇太后), the grand empress dowager (tai-kōtaigō 太皇太后), the crown prince (kōtaishi 皇太子) and his consort, the imperial grandson who is heir apparent (kōtaison 皇太孫) and his consort, the shinnō (親王) and their consorts, the naishinnō (内親王), the ō (王) and their consorts, and the nyoō (女王). The legitimate children and male line grandchildren of an emperor are shinnō (imperial princes) in the case of males and naishinnō (imperial princesses) in the case of females. More distant male line descendants are ō (princes) or nyoō (princesses). See below for more information on these titles. After the removal of eleven families from the imperial household in October 1947, the official membership of the imperial family has effectively been limited to the male line descendants of the Taishō Emperor, excluding females who married outside the imperial family and their descendants. There are presently 22 members of the imperial family. Their personal names appear in parentheses:
- His Imperial Majesty the Emperor (Akihito) was born at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on 23 December 1933, the elder son and fifth child of the Shôwa Emperor and Empress Kōjun (Nagako). He was married on 10 April 1959 to Her Imperial Majesty the Empress (Michiko). The Empress, formerly Miss Shoda Michiko, was born in Tokyo on 24 October 1934, the eldest daughter of the late Mr. Shoda Hidesaburo, president and honorary chairman of Nisshin Flour Milling Company. Emperor Akihito succeeded his father as emperor on 7 January 1989.
- His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince (Naruhito), the eldest son of the Emperor and the Empress, was born at the Tsugo Palace in Tokyo on 23 February 1960. He became heir apparent upon his father's ascension to the throne. Crown Prince Naruhito married on 6 May 1993 to Miss Owada Masako. Her Imperial Highness the Crown Princess (Masako) was born on 6 December 1963, the daughter of Hisashi Owada, former vice minister of foreign affairs and former permanent representative of Japan to the United Nations. The Crown Prince and Crown Princess have one daughter, Princess Aiko, who was born on 1 December 2001 and who holds the childhood title Princess Toshi (Toshi-no-miya). 2001
- His Imperial Highness Prince Akishino (Fumihito), the Emperor's second son, was born on 11 November 1965. His childhood title was Prince Aya (Aya-no-miya). He received the title Prince Akishino (Akishino-no-miya) and permission to start a new branch of the imperial family upon his marriage to Miss Kawashima Kiko on 29 June 1990. Her Imperial Highness Princess Akishino was born on 11 September 1966, the daughter of Dr. Kawashima Tatsuhiko, professor of economics at Gakushuin University. Prince and Princess Akishino have two daughters: Princess Mako (born 23 October 1991) and Princess Kako (born 29 December 1994).
- His Imperial Highness Prince Hitachi (Masahito) was born on 28 November 1935, the second son and sixth child of the Emperor Shôwa (Hirohito) and Empress Kojun (Nagako). His childhood title was Prince Yoshi (Yoshi-no-miya). He received the title Prince Hitachi (Hitachi-no-miya) and permission to set up a new branch of the imperial family on 1 October 1964, the day after his wedding. Her Imperial Highness Princess Hitachi (Hanako), was born on 19 July 1940, the daughter of late former Count Tsugaru Yoshitaka. Prince and Princess Hitachi have no children.
- His Imperial Highness Prince Mikasa (Takahito) was born on 2 December 1915, the fourth son of the Taisho Emperor and Empress Teimei (Sadako). He is the surviving brother of Emperor Shôwa and the surviving parternal uncle of Emperor Akihito. His childhood title was Prince Sumi (Sumi-no-miya). He received the title Prince Mikasa (Mikasa-no-miya) and permission to start a new branch of the imperial family on 2 December 1935. He married on 22 October 1941. Her Imperial Highness Princess Mikasa (Yuriko) was born on 6 June 1923, the second daughter of the late Viscount Takagi Masanori. Prince and Princess Mikasa have two daughters and three sons. Their youngest son, Prince Takamado (Norihito), is deceased.
- His Imperial Highness Prince Tomohito of Mikasa is the eldest son of Prince and Princess Mikasa and a first cousin of Emperor Akihito. He is also heir apparent to his father's title, Mikasa-no-miya. He was born on 5 January 1946. Prince Tomohito was married Miss Aso Nobuko on 7 November 1980. Her Imperial Highness Princess Tomohito of Mikasa was born on 9 April 1955, the daughter of the late Mr. Aso Takakichi, chairman of Aso Cement Co. and his wife, Kazuko, a daughter of former prime minister Yoshida Shigeru. Prince and Princess Tomohito of Mikasa have two daughters: Princess Akiko (born 20 December 1981) and Princess Yoko (born 25 October 1983).
- His Imperial Highness Prince Katsura (Yoshihito) is the second son of Prince and Princess Mikasa and a first cousin of Emperor Akihito. He was born on 11 February 1948. Originally known as Prince Yoshihito of Mikasa, he received the title Prince Katsura (Katsura-no-miya) and authorization to start a new branch of the imperial family on 1 January 1988.
- Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado (Hisako) is the widow of His Imperial Highness Prince Takamado (Norihito) (born 29 December 1954, died 21 November 2002), the third son of Prince and Princess Mikasa and a first cousin of Emperor Akihito. The princess was born 10 July 1953, the daughter of Mr. Tottori Shigejiro. She married the prince on 6 December 1984. Originally known as Prince Norihito of Mikasa, he received the title Prince Takamado (Takamado-no-miya) and permission to start a new branch of the imperial family on 1 December 1984. Princess Takamado has three daughters: Princess Tsuguko (born 6 March 1986), Princess Noriko (born 21 July 1988), and Princess Ayako (b. 15 September 1990).

Living former members of the imperial family

Under the terms of the 1947 Imperial Household Law, naishinnō (imperial princesses) and nyoō (princesses) lose their titles and membership in the imperial family upon marriage, unless they marry the Emperor or another member of the imperial family. Three of the five daughters of Emperor Shōwa and the two daughters of Prince Mikasa left the imperial family upon marriage, taking the surnames of their husbands. (The eldest daughter of Emperor Shōwa married the eldest son of Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko in 1943. The Higashikuni family lost its imperial status along with the other collateral branches of the imperial household in October 1947). The living former imperial princesses (whose personal names are in parentheses) are:
- Mrs. Ikeda Takamasa (Atsuko), born 7 March 1931, fourth daughter of Emperor Shōwa and surviving elder sister of Emperor Akihito.
- Mrs. Shimazu Hisanaga (Takako), born 2 March 1939, fifth daughter and youngest child of Emperor Shōwa and younger sister of Emperor Akihito.
- Mrs. Konoe Tadateru (Yasuko), born 26 April 1944, eldest daughter and eldest child of Prince and Princess Mikasa.
- Mrs. Sen Soshitsu (Masako), born 23 October 1951, second daughter and fourth child of Prince and Princess Mikasa.
- Mrs. Kuroda Yoshiki (Sayako), born 18 April 1969, third child and only daughter of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko. In addition to these former princesses, there are also descendants of the eleven cadet branches of the dynasty (Asaka, Fushimi, Higashi-Fushimi, Higashi-kuni, Kan'in, Kaya, Kitashirakawa, Kuni, Nashimoto, Takeda, and Yamashina) that left the imperial household in October 1947.

Succession

Historically, the succession to Japan's Chrysanthemum Throne has generally passed to male descendants in the imperial lineage. In part, the Japanese imperial dynasty owes its longevity to the use of concubines, a practice that only ended in the Taishō period (1912–1926). The Japanese monarchy also relied on the specially designated collateral lines or shinnōke (princely houses). If the imperial household failed to produce an heir, one of the shinnōke could provide the future emperor. There were four such collateral lines also extant in the Meiji era: Fushimi, Katsura, Arisugawa, and Kan'in. Emperor Kōkaku (reigned 1780–1817), the lineal ancestor of all subsequent emperors, had been a scion of the Kan'in house. A shinnoke could be inherited by a prince of another branch by permission of emperor, and alternatively could be revived (the princedoms, shinnoke, seem more or less common property of imperial clan). The Edo-period Katsura and Arisugawa houses died out in 1881 and 1913, respectively (though resurrected later, the first as Takamatsu, its older name, and the second in person of second son of Mikasa). The Fushimi branch, originated from 15th century, produced a vast number of children in two generations in the 19th century. A scion of the Fushimi house succeeded to the Kan'in house in 1884. The Fushimi house was the progenitor of nine other cadet branches (ōke) of the imperial family during the Meiji period. This house and its offshoots were reduced to commoner status in 1947. Before the Meiji Restoration, Japan had eight female tennō or reigning empresses, all of them daughters of male line of the imperial clan. None ascended purely as a wife or as a widow of emperor. None of these empresses married or gave birth after ascending the throne. Article 2 of the 1889 Meiji Constitution (or Constitution of the Empire of Japan) stated, "The Imperial Throne shall be succeeded to by Imperial male descendants, according to the provisions of the Imperial House Law." The 1889 Imperial Household Law fixed the succession on male descendants of the imperial line, and specifically excluded female descendants from the succession. In the event of a complete failure of the main line, the throne would pass to the nearest collateral branch, again in the male line. If the empress did not give birth to an heir, the emperor could take a concubine, and the son he had by that concubine would be recognized as heir to the throne. This law, which was promulgated on the same day as the Meiji Constitution, enjoyed co-equal status with that constitution. Article 2 of the Constitution of Japan provides that "The Imperial Throne shall be dynastic and succeeded to in accordance with the Imperial Household Law passed by the Diet." The Imperial Household Law of 16 January 1947, enacted by the ninety-second and last session of the Imperial Diet, retained the exclusion on female dynasts found in the 1889 law. The government of Prime Minister Yoshida Shigeru hastily cobbled together the legislation to bring the Imperial Household in compliance with the American-written Constitution of Japan that went into effect in May, 1947. In an effort to control the size of the imperial family, the law stipulates that only legitimate male descendants in the male line can be dynasts; that imperial princesses and princesses lose their status as imperial family members if they marry outside the imperial family; and that the Emperor and other members of the imperial family may not adopt children. There is a potential succession crisis since no male child has been born into the imperial family since Prince Akishino in 1965. Following the birth of Princess Aiko, there was some public debate about amending the Imperial Household Law to allow women to succeed to the throne. In January 2005 Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro appointed a special panel comprised of judges, university professors, and civil servants to study changes to the Imperial Household Law and to make recommendations to the government. On October 25, 2005, the commission recommended amending the law to allow females in the male line of imperial descent to succeed to the throne. The Prime Minister has suggested that legislation to do so may be introduced in late 2005 or early 2006. There is broad public support for such a change. See Japanese Imperial succession controversy.

Current order of succession

# His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Naruhito, the current Emperor's first son # His Imperial Highness Prince Akishino (Fumihito), the current Emperor's second son # His Imperial Highness Prince Hitachi (Masahito), the current Emperor's brother # His Imperial Highness Prince Mikasa (Takahito), the current Emperor's uncle # His Imperial Highness Prince Tomohito of Mikasa, Prince Mikasa's first son # His Imperial Highness Prince Katsura (Yoshihito), Prince Mikasa's second son Except for Prince Mikasa, none of the princes now in the line of succession have sons. Crown Prince Naruhito has a daughter (Aiko), Prince Akishino has two daughters (Mako and Kako). The emperor's brother, Prince Hitachi, is childless. Of the three sons of Prince Mikasa: Prince Tomohito of Mikasa has two daughters (Akiko and Yōko), Prince Katsura is childless, and the late Prince Takamado had three daughters (Tsuguko, Noriko, and Ayako).

Possible succession solutions

Aside from amending the Imperial Household Law to allow women to succeed to the throne, there are a limited number of viable solutions. # Crown Princess Masako attempts to produce a male heir. # Prince Akishino attempts to produce a male heir. # Prince Katsura could marry and produce a male heir. The remote possibility for Prince Tomohito to produce a male heir is very slim. Prince Takamado is deceased. Otherwise, no one else in the Imperial Family can produce a possible male heir. The remaining members of the Imperial family are all female, namely the daughters of the above mentioned princes. These female members would all lose their Imperial status upon marrying a commoner. Since there are no eligible male members of the Imperial Family for them to marry, they