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The title ofimperator (/ˌɪmpəˈrɑːtər/im-pə-RAH-tər) originally meant the rough equivalent ofcommander under theRoman Republic. Later, it became a part of the titulature of theRoman Emperors as theirpraenomen. The Roman emperors generally based their authority on multiple titles and positions, rather than preferring any single title. Nevertheless,imperator was used relatively consistently as an element of a Roman ruler's title throughout thePrincipate and thelater Roman Empire. It was abbreviated to "IMP" in inscriptions. The word derives from the stem of the verbimperare, meaning 'to order, to command'. The English wordemperor derives fromimperator viaOld French:Empereür.
When Rome was ruled bykings,[1]to be able to rule, the king had to be invested with the full regal authority and power. So, after thecomitia curiata that was held to elect the king, the king also had to be conferred theimperium.[2]
InRoman Republican literature and epigraphy, an imperator was a magistrate with imperium.[3] During the later Roman Republic and during the late Republican civil wars,imperator mainly was the honorific title assumed by certain military commanders. After an especially great victory, an army's troops in the field would proclaim their commanderimperator, an acclamation necessary for a general to apply to theSenate for atriumph. After being acclaimedimperator, the victorious general had a right to use the title after his name until the time of his triumph, where he would relinquish the title as well as hisimperium.[4]
Since a triumph was the goal of many politically ambitious commanders, republican history is full of cases wherelegions were bribed to call their commanderimperator. The title ofimperator was given firstly to Aemilius Paulus in 189 BC, for his campaigns against the Lusitanians from 191–89 BC.[5] Next, it was given to Lucius Cornelius Sulla in 95 BC as governor or pro consul of the Cilician province for his returning of Ariobarzanes I to the Cappadocia throne.[6] Then in 90 BC toLucius Julius Caesar, in 84 BC toGnaeus Pompeius Magnus, in 60 BC toGaius Julius Caesar, relative of the previously mentioned Lucius Julius Caesar, during the 50s BC to Gaius Julius Caesar (in Gaul), in 45 BC again to Gaius Julius Caesar, in 43 BC toDecimus Junius Brutus, and in 41 BC toLucius Antonius (younger brother and ally of the more famousMarcus Antonius). In AD 15Germanicus was alsoimperator during the empire (see below) of his adoptive fatherTiberius.[7]
AfterAugustus established theRoman Empire, the titleimperator was generally restricted to the emperor, although in the early years of the empire it would occasionally be granted to a member of his family. As a permanent title,imperator was used as apraenomen by the Roman emperors and was taken on accession. After the reign ofTiberius, the act of being proclaimed imperator was transformed into the act of imperial accession. In fact, if a general was acclaimed by his troops asimperator, it would be tantamount to a declaration of rebellion against the ruling emperor. At first the term continued to be used in the Republican sense as avictory title, but attached to thede factomonarch andhead of state, rather than the commander of the military. The title then followed the emperor's name along with the number of times he was acclaimed as such, for exampleIMP V ("imperator five times"). In time it became the title of thede facto monarch, pronounced upon (and synonymous with) their assumption.
As a titleimperator was generally translated into Greek asautokrator ("one who rules oneself," also sometimes used as a translation forRoman dictators). This was necessarily imprecise as it lost the nuances of Latin political thought contrastingimperium with other forms of public authority. Nevertheless, this title (along withsebastos foraugustus) was used in Greek-language texts for Roman emperors from the establishment of the empire.
In the east, the title continued to be used into the Byzantine period, although to a lesser, and much more ceremonial extent. In most Byzantine writings, the Greek translation "Autokrator" is preferred, but "Imperator" makes an appearance inConstantine IV's mid seventh century mosaic in theBasilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe, and on various ninth century lead seals.
After the Roman empire collapsed in the West in the fifth century, Latin continued to be used as the official language of theEastern Roman Empire. The Roman emperors of this period (historiographically referred to asByzantine emperors) were referred to asimperatores in Latin texts, while the wordbasileus (king) andautokrator (emperor) were used in Greek.
After 800, theimperator was used (in conjunction withaugustus) as a formal Latin title in succession by theCarolingian and GermanHoly Roman Emperors until 1806 and by theAustrian Emperors until 1918.
In medieval Spain, the titleimperator was used under a variety of circumstances from the ninth century onward, but its use peaked, as a formal and practical title, between 1086 and 1157. It primarily was used by theKings of León andCastile, but it also found currency in theKingdom of Navarre and was employed by theCounts of Castile and at least oneDuke of Galicia. It signalled at various points the king's equality with theByzantine Emperor andHoly Roman Emperor, his rule by conquest or military superiority, his rule over several people groups ethnic or religious, and his claim tosuzerainty over the other kings of the peninsula, both Christian and Muslim.
Beginning in 1077, Alfonso instituted the use of the styleego Adefonsusimperator totius Hispaniae ("I, Alfonso, emperor of all Spain") and its use soon became regular.[8] This title was used throughout the period 1079–81, which represents the peak of his imperial pretensions before his capture of thecity of Toledo, ancient capital of the Visigoths. In 1080, he introduced the formego Adefonsus Hispaniarum imperator ("I, Alfonso, emperor of the Spains"), which he used again in 1090. His most elaborate imperial title wasego Adefonsus imperator totius Castelle et Toleto necnon et Nazare seu Alave ("I, Alfonso, emperor of all Castile and of Toledo also and of Nájera, or Álava").[9]
After theOttoman Empire conquered both the Balkan peninsula (Rumeli in Turkish meaning "lands of Rome") andConstantinople, the Turkish ruler acclaimed to be the Caesar of Rome (sultan-ı iklim-i Rûm). In the fifteenth centuryBayezid II established diplomatic relations with some Christian European states, and sent a document to the King of Poland in which he used the titlesSultan Dei gratia Asie, Grecie etc. Imperator Maximus ("with help of God, emperor of Asia and Greece"). Like his predecessor,Selim I titled himself imperator in diplomatic correspondence (per la Divina favente clementia Grande Imperator di Constantinopoli, di Asia, Europa, Persia, Syria et Egypto et Arabia et de li mari etc.) due to his military successes.[10]
The termimperatrix seems not to have been used in Ancient Rome to indicate the wife of an imperator or later, of anemperor. In the early years of theRoman Empire there was no standard title or honorific for the emperor's wife, even the"Augusta" honorific was rather exceptionally granted, and not exclusively to wives of living emperors.
It is not clear when the feminine form of the Latin termimperator originated or was used for the first time. It usually indicates areigning monarch, and is thus used in the Latin version of titles of modern reigning empresses.
WhenFortuna is identified "imperatrix mundi" in theCarmina Burana, the term describes the Goddess Fortune, or a personification of her, it is as the "ruler of the world".
The wordimperatrix, which did not exist in Latin, is deployed byCicero forClodia in 56 BC; only in the mid-fifth century AD isPulcheria Augusta also imperatrix.[11]
In Christian context,Imperatrix became a laudatory address to theVirgin Mary, in diverse forms at least since the Middle Ages — for example, she is sometimes called "Imperatrix angelorum" ("ruler of the angels").
Imperator is the root for the word for emperor of most Romance languages. It is the root of the English word "emperor", which entered the language via the Frenchempereur, while related adjectives such as "imperial" were imported into English directly from Latin.
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