''Princeps'' (plural: ''Principes'') is a

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

word meaning "first in time or order; the first, foremost, chief, the most eminent, distinguished, or noble; the first person". As a title, ''Princeps'' originated in the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

wherein the leading member of the Senate was designated ''princeps senatus''. It is primarily associated with the Roman emperors as an unofficial title first adopted by Augustus () in 27 BC. Its use in this context continued until the regime of Diocletian (r. 284 – 305 AD) at the end of the third century. He preferred the title of ''dominus'', meaning "lord" or "master". As a result, the Roman Empire from Augustus to Diocletian is termed the " principate" (''principatus''). Other historians define the reign of Augustus to Severus Alexander (r. 222 – 235) as the Principate, and the period afterwards as the "Autocracy". The

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

title "Prince" is a derivative of princeps, as is the title Principal.Encyclopædia Britannica – Princeps
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Roman military

* See Principes (legionary heavy infantry soldier) * centurio(n) in command of a unit or administrative office. * ''Princeps ordinarius vexillationis'': centurion in command of a '' vexillatio'' (detachment). * ''Princeps peregrinorum'' ("commander of the foreigners"): centurion in charge of troops in the ''castra peregrina'' (military base at Rome for personnel seconded from the provincial armies) * ''Princeps prior'': Centurion commanding a ''manipulus'' (unit of two centuries) of ''principes'' (legionary heavy infantry). * ''Princeps posterior'': deputy to the Princeps prior * ''Princeps praetorii'' : centurion attached to headquarters. ''Princeps'' was also used as the second part of various other military titles, such as '' Decurio princeps'', Signifer princeps (among the standard-bearers). See also Principalis (as in '' Optio principalis''): NCO.

Roman administration

''Princeps'' is also the (official) short version of Princeps officii, the chief of an officium (the office staff of a Roman dignitary).

Roman Emperor

''Princeps civitatis'' ("First Citizen") was an official title of a Roman

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

, as the title determining the leader in

Ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

at the beginning of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

. It created the principate Roman imperial system.Grant, p. 62 This usage of "''Princeps''" derived from the position of '' Princeps senatus'', the " first among equals" of the Senate. The ''princeps senatus'' (plural ''principes senatus'') was the first member by precedence of the Roman Senate, and his opinion would usually be asked first in senatorial debates. It was first given as a special title to Caesar Augustus in 27 BC, who saw that use of the titles ''rex'' (king) or dictator would create resentment amongst senators and other influential men, who had earlier demonstrated their disapproval by supporting the assassination of

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

. While Augustus had political and military supremacy, he needed the assistance of his fellow Romans to manage the Empire. In his '' Res Gestae'', Augustus claims auctoritas for the princeps (himself). Various official titles were associated with the Roman Emperor. These titles included '' imperator'', Augustus, Caesar, and later dominus (lord) and

basileus ''Basileus'' () is a Greek term and title that has signified various types of monarchs throughout history. In the English language, English-speaking world, it is perhaps most widely understood to mean , referring to either a or an . The title ...

(the Greek word for " sovereign"). The word

is derived from the Roman title "imperator", which was a very high, but not exclusive, military title until Augustus began to use it as his praenomen. The Emperor Diocletian (284–305), the father of the Tetrarchy, was the first to stop referring to himself as "princeps" altogether, calling himself "dominus" (lord, master), thus dropping the pretense that emperor was not truly a monarchical office. The period when the emperors that called themselves princeps ruled—from Augustus to Diocletian—is called "the Principate". Ancient Rome knew another kind of "princely" principes too, like "princeps iuventutis" ("the first amongst the young"), which in the early empire was frequently bestowed on eligible successors to the emperor, especially from his family. It was first given to Augustus' maternal grandsons Gaius and Lucius.Suetonius

Nobiliary legacy

"''Princeps''" is the root and Latin rendering of modern words as the English title and generic term ''

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

'' (see that article, also for various equivalents in other languages), as the Byzantine version of Roman law was the basis for the legal terminology developed in feudal (and later absolutist) Europe.

Non-Roman meaning

Princeps has been used in various scientific names, including the following: * ''Princeps'', a former genus of swallowtail butterflies now treated as a subgenus of '' Papilio'' * '' Accipiter princeps'', the New Britain goshawk * '' Actenoides princeps'', the scaly-breasted kingfisher * ''Cattleya walkeriana'' var. ''princeps'', a synonym for ''Cattleya walkeriana'', an orchid species * '' Emberiza flaviventris princeps'', a subspecies of golden-breasted bunting found in Angola and Namibia * '' Grallaria guatimalensis princeps'', a subspecies of scaled antpitta found in Costa Rica and Panama * '' Heterohyrax brucei princeps'', a subspecies of yellow-spotted rock hyrax * '' Melionyx princeps'', the long-bearded melidectes * '' Morphnarchus princeps'', the barred hawk *'' Triplofusus princeps'', a tropical

sea snail Sea snails are slow-moving marine (ocean), marine gastropod Mollusca, molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the Taxonomic classification, taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguishe ...

. * '' Passerculus sandwichensis princeps'', the Ipswich sparrow (a subspecies of Savannah sparrow) * '' Ploceus princeps'', the Príncipe weaver * '' Psittacus timneh princeps'', the Príncipe subspecies of Timneh parrot

Fiction

*The ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

'' episode " Bread and Circuses" takes place on Magna Roma, an alternate Earth where the Roman Empire never fell. In this episode, the leader of Magna Roman society (Merikus, played by William Smithers) is referred to as First Citizen of his empire. *In the Foundation series by

Isaac Asimov Isaac Asimov ( ; – April 6, 1992) was an Russian-born American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. H ...

, First Citizen is the title taken by the Mule and his successors in their position as leader of the Union of Worlds. Asimov had previously used the title "First Citizen of the State" for Korell's authoritarian ruler Commdor in the original Foundation novel. *Princeps is the name of a dog that Brother Priad meets in the '' Warhammer 40,000'' book ''Brothers of the Snake''. *Princeps is the title for the captain of a Titan, a massive humanoid war machine in the tabletop wargame '' Warhammer 40,000''. *In the book series '' Codex Alera'' by Jim Butcher, Princeps is the title given to the crown prince of the empire of Alera. It is also used in the title of the fifth book in the series, Princeps' Fury. *In the '' Star Trek: Infinity's Prism'' book '' Seeds of Dissent'' by James Swallow, "Princeps" is the title for "Commander" Julian Bashir of the warship ''Defiance'', which exists in an alternate universe from the more familiar 24th Century envisioned in the television series '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''. *In the book '' The Three-Body Problem'' by Cixin Liu, "Princeps" is the title of the leader of the Trisolaran civilization. *In the book '' The Magic Mountain'' by Thomas Mann, "Princeps Scholasticorum" is the title Settembrini uses to introduce Naphta. *In the actual-play series '' Dimension 20: A Starstruck Oddysey'' by Dropout, Princeps Zortch is a non-binary member of Rubian V's royalty.

Roman military

Roman administration

Roman Emperor

Nobiliary legacy

Non-Roman meaning

Fiction

See also

References

Further reading