Ivory plaque with EmperorConstantine VII being crowned byChrist. The legend reads: "Constantine, in God [faithful],autokratōr andbasileus of the Romans.
Autokrator orAutocrator (Ancient Greek:αὐτοκράτωρ,romanized: autokrátōr,lit. 'self-ruler', fromαὐτός,autós, 'self' +κράτος,krátos, 'dominion') is a Greekepithet applied to an individual who is unrestrained by superiors. It has been applied to militarycommanders-in-chief as well asRoman andByzantine emperors as the translation of theLatin titleimperator. Its connection with Byzantine-styleabsolutism gave rise to the modern termsautocracy andautocrat.
The title appeared inClassical Greece in the late 5th century BC, and was used for generals given independent authority, i.e. a supreme commander (στρατηγὸς αὐτοκράτωρ,stratēgòs autokrátōr). InClassical Athens,stratēgoì autokrátores were generals endowed with autonomous power of command, i.e. they were able to make certain military and diplomatic decisions without prior consultation with theAthenian assembly. This was enacted when the general was expected to operate far from Athens, for instance during theSicilian Expedition. Nevertheless, the generals remained accountable to the assembly for their conduct upon their return.[1] Similar practices were followed by other Greek states, such asSyracuse, where the post served as a power base for several of the city'styrants.Stratēgoì autokrátores were also appointed by various leagues of city-states to head their combined armies. ThusPhilip II of Macedon was declared ashēgemṓn (ἡγεμών, 'leader') andstratēgòs autokrátōr of the southern Greek states by theLeague of Corinth,[2] a position later given to his sonAlexander the Great as well.[3] The term was also employed for envoys entrusted withplenipotentiary powers (πρέσβεις αὐτοκράτορες,présbeis autokrátores, 'elder autocrats').[4]
In later times, with the rise of theRoman Republic,[stratēgòs] autokrátōr was used by Greek historians to translate different Roman terms:Polybius uses the term to translate the titledictator,[5] whilePlutarch uses it in its later sense as a translation of thevictory titleimperator.Autokrátōr became entrenched as the official translation of the latter during theRoman Empire, whereimperator was part of the titulature of theRoman emperors. As such it continued to be used in Greek translations from Latin until the adoption of the Greek titlebasileús by EmperorHeraclius in 629.[6]
It was retained in archaic forms of address during ceremonies in theEast Roman (Byzantine) Empire, and was revived (no later than the early 9th century) in the form ofbasileùs [kaì] autokrátōr (βασιλεὺς [καὶ] αὐτοκράτωρ, usually translated as "emperor and autocrat"), which then designated the senior of several ruling co-emperors (συμβασιλεῖς,symbasileis), who held the actual power. In thePalaiologan period, this use was extended to include the designated heir. The title is evidenced incoins from 912, in imperialchrysobulls from the 11th century, and in numerous illuminated manuscripts.[6] The termstratēgòs autokrátōr continued to be used in the Byzantine period as well. The title is particularly prevalent in the 6th century (e.g. forBelisarius), and re-appears in the 10th–11th centuries for senior military commanders.[7] Thus, for instance,Basil II installedDavid Arianites asstratēgòs autokrátōr ofBulgaria, implying powers of command over the other regionalstratēgoí in the northern Balkans.[8]
The Byzantine imperial formula was imitated among the Byzantine influenced nations such as Georgia and Balkan states, and later, most notablyRussia, beginning with the reign ofIvan III.[9]
Ottoman sultanBayezid II titled himself "By the grace of God,basileus andautokrator of the two continents of Asia and Europe and other possessions".[10]
The rulers of theSecond Bulgarian Empire used the title "Emperor (Tsar) of the Bulgarians", in the early reigns with the addition of "and theVlachs", butIvan Asen II (r. 1218–41), who after theBattle of Klokotnitsa in 1230 expanded his control over most of the Byzantine Empire's former European possessions, also adopted the title of "Tsar andautokrator of all the Bulgarians and the Greeks", a title which had first been claimed by PrinceSimeon I (r. 893–927).[12]
Similarly, when theSerbian kingStefan Dušan claimed the imperial title in 1345/46, he used the title "basileus andautokrator of Serbia and of Romania" in Greek, and "Tsar of the Serbs and Greeks" in Serbian. The use of "Romania" (i.e. the land of the Romans, the Byzantine Empire) and not the usual Byzantine formula "of the Romans" signified that although he claimed the direct succession to all Byzantine emperors from the time ofConstantine the Great, he lacked possession of Constantinople and of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which alone conferred full legitimacy.[13]
Deriving from this usage, the Russian tsars, from the establishment of theRussian Empire up to thefall of theRussian monarchy in 1917, used the formula "Emperor and Autocrat ofAll the Russias".Ivan III as grand prince styled himself as autocrat,[9] whileFeodor I was the first to be crowned as both tsar and autocrat.[14] The titlesamoderzhets (autocrat) became standard in the title of the tsar from the 17th century.[14] In theSlavic languages, the title was used in a translated form (Bulgarian:самодържец,samodarzhets,Serbian:самодржац,samodržac;Russian:самодержец,samoderzhets).
^Gábor Ágoston (2023).The Last Muslim Conquest: The Ottoman Empire and Its Wars in Europe. p. 335.
^Lordkipanidze, Mariam Davydovna; Hewitt, George B. (1987),Georgia in the XI-XII Centuries, Ganatleba Publishers: Tbilisi.
^Božilov, Ivan (2011). "La Bulgarie". InLaiou, Angeliki E.;Morrisson, Cécile (eds.).Le monde byzantin, Tome III: Byzance et ses voisins : 1204–1453 (in French). Presses universitaires de France. pp. 343–354 (esp. 345, 346–348).ISBN978-2-13-052008-5.
^Maksimović, Ljubomir (2011). "La Serbie: pouvoir et organisation sociale". In Laiou, Angeliki E.; Morrisson, Cécile (eds.).Le monde byzantin, Tome III: Byzance et ses voisins : 1204–1453 (in French). Presses universitaires de France. pp. 323–342 (esp. 333–336).ISBN978-2-13-052008-5.
Ostrogorsky, George (1970). "Avtokrator i samodržac".Sabrana Dela.IV. Beograd:321–338.
Ostrogorsky, George (1935). "Avtokrator i Samodržac: Prilog za istorju vladalačke titulature u Vizantiji i u južnih Slovena".Glas.84. Srpska kraljevska Akademija:95–187.
