![Porphyrogenetus](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Porphyrogenetus.jpg)
''Autokrator'' or ''Autocrator'' ( grc-gre,
αὐτοκράτωρ, autokrátōr, , self-ruler," "one who rules by himself," whence English "autocrat, from grc, αὐτός, autós, self, label=none + grc, κράτος, krátos, dominion, power, label=none;
pl. grc, αὐτοκράτορες, autokrátores, label=none) is a Greek
epithet applied to an individual who is unrestrained by superiors. It has been applied to military commanders-in-chief as well as
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
and
Byzantine emperors
This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as ...
as the translation of the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
title ''
imperator''. Its connection with Byzantine-style
absolutism gave rise to the modern terms
autocrat and
autocracy. In
Modern Greek
Modern Greek (, , or , ''Kiní Neoellinikí Glóssa''), generally referred to by speakers simply as Greek (, ), refers collectively to the dialects of the Greek language spoken in the modern era, including the official standardized form of the ...
, it means "
emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
", and its feminine form is ( grc, αὐτοκράτειρα, , label=none).
Ancient Greece
The title appeared in
Classical Greece in the late 5th century BC, and was used for generals given independent authority, i.e. a supreme commander ( grc, στρατηγὸς αὐτοκράτωρ, ''
stratēgòs autokrátōr'', , label=none). In
Classical Athens, were generals endowed with autonomous power of command, i.e. they were able to make certain military and diplomatic decisions without prior consultation with the
Athenian assembly
The ecclesia or ekklesia ( el, ) was the assembly of the citizens in city-states of ancient Greece.
The ekklesia of Athens
The ekklesia of ancient Athens is particularly well-known. It was the popular assembly, open to all male citizens as so ...
. This was enacted when the general was expected to operate far from Athens, for instance during the
Sicilian Expedition
The Sicilian Expedition was an Athenian military expedition to Sicily, which took place from 415–413 BC during the Peloponnesian War between Athens on one side and Sparta, Syracuse and Corinth on the other. The expedition ended in a devas ...
. Nevertheless, the generals remained accountable to the assembly for their conduct upon their return. Similar practices were followed by other Greek states, such as
Syracuse, where the post served as a power base for several of the city's
tyrant
A tyrant (), in the modern English usage of the word, is an absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defend their positions by resorting to re ...
s. were also appointed by various leagues of city-states to head their combined armies. Thus
Philip II of Macedon
Philip II of Macedon ( grc-gre, Φίλιππος ; 382 – 21 October 336 BC) was the king ('' basileus'') of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia from 359 BC until his death in 336 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty, founders of the ...
was declared as ( grc, ἡγεμών, , leader, label=none) and of the southern Greek states by the
League of Corinth
The League of Corinth, also referred to as the Hellenic League (from Greek Ἑλληνικός ''Hellenikos'', "pertaining to Greece and Greeks"), was a confederation of Greek states created by Philip II in 338–337 BC. The League was create ...
, a position later given to his son
Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...
as well. The term was also employed for envoys entrusted with
plenipotentiary
A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of his or her sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the wor ...
powers (πρέσβεις αὐτοκράτορες, ''présbeis autokrátores'', "elder autocrats").
In the
Iranian languages
The Iranian languages or Iranic languages are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family that are spoken natively by the Iranian peoples, predominantly in the Iranian Plateau.
The Iranian languages are groupe ...
, the term
''*hwatā́wā'' 'lord, sovereign; (''literally'') self-ruler' might be an intentional calque from Greek (presumably arisen in the
Hellenistic period
In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
).
Rome and Byzantium
In later times, with the rise of the
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...
, was used by Greek historians to translate different Roman terms:
Polybius uses the term to translate the title ''
dictator
A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in tim ...
'', while
Plutarch
Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...
uses it in its later sense as a translation of the
victory title
A victory title is an honorific title adopted by a successful military commander to commemorate his defeat of an enemy nation. The practice is first known in Ancient Rome and is still most commonly associated with the Romans, but it was also adop ...
''
imperator''. ''Autokrátōr'' became entrenched as the official translation of the latter during the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
, where ''imperator'' was part of the titulature of the
Roman emperors. As such it continued to be used in Greek translations from Latin until the adoption of the Greek title by Emperor
Heraclius in 629.
It was retained in archaic forms of address during ceremonies in the
East Roman (Byzantine) Empire, and was revived (no later than the early 9th century) in the form of (, usually translated as "emperor and autocrat"), which then designated the senior of several ruling co-emperors ( grc, συμβασιλεῖς, symbasileîs, label=none), who held the actual power. In the
Palaiologan period
The Byzantine Empire was ruled by the Palaiologos dynasty in the period between 1261 and 1453, from the restoration of Byzantine rule to Constantinople by the usurper Michael VIII Palaiologos following its recapture from the Latin Empire, founde ...
, this use was extended to include the designated heir. The title is evidenced in
coins
A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order t ...
from 912, in imperial
chrysobulls from the 11th century, and in numerous illuminated manuscripts.
The term continued to be used in the Byzantine period as well. The title is particularly prevalent in the 6th century (e.g. for
Belisarius
Belisarius (; el, Βελισάριος; The exact date of his birth is unknown. – 565) was a military commander of the Byzantine Empire under the emperor Justinian I. He was instrumental in the reconquest of much of the Mediterranean terr ...
), and re-appears in the 10th–11th centuries for senior military commanders.
Thus, for instance,
Basil II
Basil II Porphyrogenitus ( gr, Βασίλειος Πορφυρογέννητος ;) and, most often, the Purple-born ( gr, ὁ πορφυρογέννητος, translit=ho porphyrogennetos).. 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar S ...
installed
David Arianites David Areianites or Arianites ( el, ) was a high-ranking Byzantine commander of the early 11th century.
Origin
The origin of the surname is uncertain and different theories have been proposed ranging from various anthroponomastic and toponymic d ...
as of
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
, implying powers of command over the other regional in the northern Balkans.
Other nations
The Byzantine imperial formula was imitated among the Byzantine influenced nations such as Georgia and Balkan states, and later, most notably, the emerging
Tsardom of Russia
The Tsardom of Russia or Tsardom of Rus' also externally referenced as the Tsardom of Muscovy, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of Tsar by Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter I ...
.
* One of the titles of
Georgian kings of
Bagrationi dynasty
The Bagrationi dynasty (; ) is a royal dynasty which reigned in Georgia from the Middle Ages until the early 19th century, being among the oldest extant Christian ruling dynasties in the world. In modern usage, the name of the dynasty is som ...
was "Autocrat of all the east and the west", title introduced during
David IV
David IV, also known as David the Builder ( ka, დავით აღმაშენებელი, ') (1073–1125), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was the 5th king of United Georgia from 1089 until his death in 1125.
Popularly considered to be ...
and lasted until dissolution of the unified
Georgian monarchy during the reign of
George VIII, and later dissolution officially confirmed at 1490.
* The rulers of the
Second Bulgarian Empire used the title "Emperor (
Tsar
Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...
) of the Bulgarians", in the early reigns with the addition of "and the
Vlachs
"Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other E ...
", but
Ivan Asen II
Ivan Asen II, also known as John Asen II ( bg, Иван Асен II, ; 1190s – May/June 1241), was Emperor (Tsar) of Bulgaria from 1218 to 1241. He was still a child when his father Ivan Asen I one of the founders of the Second Bulgarian Empir ...
(r. 1218–41), who after the
Battle of Klokotnitsa
The Battle of Klokotnitsa ( bg, Битката при Клокотница, ''Bitkata pri Klokotnitsa'') occurred on 9 March 1230 near the village of Klokotnitsa (today in Haskovo Province, Bulgaria) between Second Bulgarian Empire and Emp ...
in 1230 expanded his control over most of the Byzantine Empire's former European possessions, also adopted the title of "Tsar and ''autokrator'' of all the Bulgarians and the Greeks", a title which had first been claimed by Prince
Simeon I (r. 893–927).
* Similarly, when the
Serbian king
Stefan Dušan
Stefan Uroš IV Dušan ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Урош IV Душан, ), known as Dušan the Mighty ( sr, / ; circa 1308 – 20 December 1355), was the King of Serbia from 8 September 1331 and Tsar (or Emperor) and autocrat of the Serbs, Gre ...
claimed the imperial title in 1345/46, he used the title "''basileus'' and ''autokrator'' 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 of
Constantine the Great
Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterran ...
, he lacked possession of Constantinople and of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which alone conferred full legitimacy.
* Deriving from this usage, the Russian tsars, from the establishment of the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
up to the
fall
Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Southe ...
of the
Russian monarchy
This is a list of all reigning monarchs in the history of Russia. It includes the princes of medieval Rus′ state (both centralised, known as Kievan Rus′ and feudal, when the political center moved northeast to Vladimir and finally to Mos ...
in 1917, used the formula "Emperor and Autocrat of
All the Russias". In the
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages, also known as the Slavonic languages, are Indo-European languages spoken primarily by the Slavic peoples and their descendants. They are thought to descend from a proto-language called Proto-Slavic, spoken during the ...
, the title was used in a translated form ( bg, самодържец, ''samodarzhets'', sr, самодржац, ''samodržac''; russian: самодержец, ''samoderzhets'').
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
*
*{{cite book , last=Wifstrand, first=A., year=1939, title=Autokrator, Kaisar, Basileus
Ancient Greek titles
Byzantine imperial titles