Tsar or
czar (
BulgarianBulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian demonstrates several linguistic innovations that set it apart from all other Slavic languages except the Macedonian language, such as the elimination of case declension, the development of a suffixed definite...
цар, , , in
SerbianSerbian is a South Slavic language, spoken chiefly in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, and in the Serbian diaspora...
: цар, in
scientific transliterationScientific transliteration, variously called academic, linguistic, or scholarly transliteration, is an international system for transliteration of text from the Cyrillic to the Latin alphabet...
respectively
car' and
car), occasionally spelled
csar or
Tzar in
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
, is a Slavic term with Bulgarian origins used to designate certain
monarchA monarch is the person who heads a monarchy, a form of government in which the country or entity usually ruled or controlled by an individual who usually rules for life or until abdication...
s. The first ruler to adopt the title
tsar was
Simeon I of BulgariaSimeon I the Great ruled over Bulgaria from 893 to 927, during the First Bulgarian Empire. Simeon's successful campaigns against the Byzantines, Magyars and Serbs led Bulgaria to its greatest territorial expansion ever, making it the most powerful state in contemporary Eastern Europe...
As a system of government, it is known as Tsarism.
Originally, the title
Czar (derived from
CaesarCaesar , Latin: Caesar , is a title of imperial character. It derives from the cognomen of Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator...
) meant
EmperorAn emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress is the female equivalent. As a title, "empress" may indicate the wife of an emperor or a woman who rules in her own right...
in the European medieval sense of the term, that is, a ruler who claims the same rank as a
RomanAncient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea, it became one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
emperor, with the approval of another emperor or a supreme ecclesiastical official (the
PopeThe pope is the Bishop of Rome and, as such, is leader of the worldwide Catholic Church...
or the Ecumenical Patriarch).
Occasionally, the word could be used to designate other, non-Christian, supreme rulers. In Russia and Bulgaria the imperial connotations of the term were blurred with time and, by the 19th century, it had come to be viewed as an equivalent of
KingA monarch is the person who heads a monarchy, a form of government in which the country or entity usually ruled or controlled by an individual who usually rules for life or until abdication...
.
"Tsar" was the official title of the supreme ruler in the following states:
- Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a country in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe. Bulgaria borders five other countries: Romania to the north , Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south...
in 913–1018, in 1185–1422 and in 1908–1946
- Serbia
The Serbian Empire was a medieval empire in the Balkans that emerged from the medieval Serbian kingdom in the 14th century...
in 1346–1371
- Russia
The Tsardom of Rus was the official type of government and name for the Russian state between Ivan IV's assumption of the title of Tsar in 1547 and Peter the Great's foundation of the Russian Empire in 1721....
from about 1547 until 1721 (replaced in 1721 by imperator, but remained in common usage until 1917).
Simeon Saxe-Coburg-GothaSimeon of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha or Simeon II of Bulgaria is an important political and royal figure in Bulgaria. He was head of state as the Tsar of Bulgaria from 1943 to 1946, when the monarchy was overthrown...
, the last Tsar of Bulgaria, is the only living person who bore the Slavonic title Tsar.
Meaning in Slavic languages
In contrast to the Latin word "imperator", the Byzantine Greek term
basileusBasileus , signifies "sovereign" or "king". It is perhaps best known in English as a title used by Byzantine emperors, but also has a longer history of use for persons of authority in ancient Greece, as well as for the kings of modern Greece.-Etymology:The etymology of basileus is unclear...
had both political and Biblical connotations. In the history of the Greek language, the word originally meant something like "potentate", had gradually approached the meaning of "king" in the
Hellenistic PeriodHellenistic civilization represents the zenith of Greek influence in the ancient world from 323 BC to about 146 BC ; note, however that Koine Greek language and Hellenistic philosophy and religion are also indisputably elements of the Roman era till Late Antiquity...
, and designated "emperor" after the inception in the
Roman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean. The term is used to describe the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor,...
. As a consequence, Byzantine sources continued to call the Biblical, and ancient kings "basileus", even when that word had come to mean "emperor" when referring to contemporary monarchs (while it was never applied to Western European kings, whose title was transliterated from Latin "rex" as , or to other monarchs, for whom designations such as "leader", "chieftain" were used.)
As the Greek "basileus" was consistently rendered as "tsar" in Slavonic translations of Greek texts, the dual meaning was transferred into Church Slavonic. Thus, "tsar" was not only used as an equivalent of Latin "imperator" (in reference to the rulers of the Byzantine Empire, the Holy Roman Empire and to native rulers) but was also used to refer to Biblical rulers and ancient kings.
From this ambiguity, the development has moved in different directions in the different Slavic languages. Thus, the
Bulgarian languageBulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian demonstrates several linguistic innovations that set it apart from all other Slavic languages except the Macedonian language, such as the elimination of case declension, the development of a suffixed definite...
and
Russian languageRussian is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages, and the largest native language in Europe...
no longer use
tsar as an equivalent of the term
emperor/
imperator as it exists in the West European (Latin) tradition. Currently, the term
tsar refers to native sovereigns, ancient and Biblical rulers, as well as monarchs in fairy tales and the like. The title of
king (Russian
korol' , Bulgarian
kral) is perceived as alien and is reserved for (West) European royalty (and, by extension, for those modern monarchs outside of Europe whose titles are translated as
king in English,
roi in French etc.). Foreign monarchs of imperial status, both inside and outside of Europe, ancient as well as modern, are generally called
imperator (император), rather than
tsar.
In contrast, the
Serbian languageSerbian is a South Slavic language, spoken chiefly in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, and in the Serbian diaspora...
(along with the closely related
Croatian languageCroatian is a South Slavic language which is used primarily in Croatia, by Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, by Croatian minorities in some neighbouring countries, in the Italian region of Molise, and parts of the Croatian diaspora....
and
Bosnian languageBosnian is a South Slavic language spoken primarily in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the region of Sandžak in Serbia and Montenegro, although it is also spoken in various places throughout the world, as many speakers were forced to become refugees during the Bosnian war...
) translates "
emperor" (Latin
imperator) as
tsar (
car, цар) and not as
imperator, whereas the equivalent of
king (
kralj, краљ) is used to designate monarchs of non-imperial status, Serbian as well as foreign, including Biblical and other ancient rulers - just like Latin "
rex".
In the West Slavic languages and Slovene language, the use of the terms is identical to the one in English and German: a king is designated with one term (Czech
král, Slovak
král' , Polish
król, Slovene
kralj), an emperor is designated with another, derived from
Caesar as in German (Czech
císař, Slovak
cisár, Polish
cesarz, Slovene
cesar), while the exotic term "tsar" (Czech, Slovene and Polish
car, Slovak
cár) is reserved for the Russian ruler and at least in Polish it has a certain negative semantic shade resulting from the historical trauma of the
partitionsThe Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The partitions were carried out by Prussia, Russia and Habsburg Austria dividing up the Commonwealth lands...
and consequently unfriendly attitude of Polish historical tradition towards the Russian monarchy.
Bulgaria
The sainted Boris I is sometimes retrospectively referred to as tsar, because at his time
Bulgaria was converted to ChristianityThe Christianization of Bulgaria was the process of converting 9th-century medieval Bulgaria to Christianity.-Background:When Khan Boris began his reign in 852, the international situation was very complicated. The conflict with the Byzantine Empire for the rulership over the Slavic tribes in...
. However, the title "tsar" (and its Byzantine Greek equivalent "
basileusBasileus , signifies "sovereign" or "king". It is perhaps best known in English as a title used by Byzantine emperors, but also has a longer history of use for persons of authority in ancient Greece, as well as for the kings of modern Greece.-Etymology:The etymology of basileus is unclear...
") were actually adopted and used for the first time by his son
Simeon ISimeon I the Great ruled over Bulgaria from 893 to 927, during the First Bulgarian Empire. Simeon's successful campaigns against the Byzantines, Magyars and Serbs led Bulgaria to its greatest territorial expansion ever, making it the most powerful state in contemporary Eastern Europe...
, following a makeshift imperial coronation performed by the
Patriarch of Constantinople-Current Ecumenical Patriarch:The current Ecumenical Patriarch is His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople.-General Introduction:...
in 913. After an attempt by the
Byzantine EmpireThe Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on the capital of Constantinople, and ruled by Emperors in direct and de jure succession to the ancient Roman Emperors...
to revoke this major diplomatic concession and a decade of intensive warfare, the imperial title of the Bulgarian ruler was recognized by the Byzantine government in 924 and again at the formal conclusion of peace in 927. Since in Byzantine political theory there was place for only two emperors, Eastern and Western (as in the Late
Roman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean. The term is used to describe the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor,...
), the Bulgarian ruler was crowned basileus as "a spiritual son" of the Byzantian basileus.
Some of the earliest attested occurrences of the contraction "tsar" (
car' ) from "tsesar" (
cěsar' ) are found in the grave inscription of the
chărgubilja (
ichirgu-boilThe Ichirgu-boil or Chargobilya was a high-ranking official in the First Bulgarian Empire. He was the commander of the garrison of the capital and was the third most important person in the state after the ruler and the Kavkhan. In peace-time the ichirgu-boil had diplomatic functions...
)
MostichMostich was a high-ranking official in the 10th-century First Bulgarian Empire, during the rule of Simeon I and Peter I...
, a contemporary of Simeon I and Peter I, from Preslav.
It has been hypothesized that Simeon's title was also recognized by a papal mission to Bulgaria in or shortly after 925, as a concession in exchange for a settlement in the Bulgarian-
CroatiaCroatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a country in southeast Europe, at the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean Sea. Its capital is Zagreb...
n conflict or a possible attempt to return Bulgaria to union with Rome. Thus, in the later diplomatic correspondence conducted in 1199–1204 between the Bulgarian ruler Kaloyan and Pope Innocent III, Kaloyan — whose self-assumed Latin title was "imperator Bulgarorum et Blachorum" — claims that the imperial crowns of
Simeon ISimeon I the Great ruled over Bulgaria from 893 to 927, during the First Bulgarian Empire. Simeon's successful campaigns against the Byzantines, Magyars and Serbs led Bulgaria to its greatest territorial expansion ever, making it the most powerful state in contemporary Eastern Europe...
, his son
Peter IPeter I was emperor of Bulgaria from May 27, 927 to 969, died January 30, 970.-Early Reign:Peter I was the son of Simeon I of Bulgaria by his second marriage to the sister of George Sursuvul. Peter had been born early in the 10th century, but it appears that his maternal uncle was very...
, and of
SamuelSamuel was the Emperor of the First Bulgarian Empire from 997 to 6 October 1014. From 980 to 997, he was a general under Roman I of Bulgaria, the second surviving son of Emperor Peter I of Bulgaria, and co-ruled with him, as Roman bestowed upon him the command of the army and the effective royal...
were somehow derived from the Papacy. The Pope, however, only speaks of
reges, kings of Bulgaria in his replies, and eventually grants only that lesser title to Kaloyan, who nevertheless proceeds to thank the Pope for the "imperial title" conferred upon him.
The title, later augmented with epithets and titles such as
autocrat to reflect current Byzantine practice, was used by all of Simeon's successors until the complete conquest of
BulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a country in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe. Bulgaria borders five other countries: Romania to the north , Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south...
by the
Ottoman EmpireThe Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299 to November 1, 1922 The Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State (Ottoman Turkish: دَوْلَتِ عَلِیَّهِ عُثْمَانِیَّه Dawlet-il ʿAliyyat-il ʿOs̠māniyye, Modern Turkish:...
in 1422. In Latin sources the Emperor of Bulgaria is sometimes designated "Emperor of Zagora" (with variant spellings). Various additional epithets and descriptions apart, the official style read "Emperor and autocrat of all Bulgarians and Greeks".
During the five-century period of
Ottoman rule in BulgariaAfter falling almost entirely under Ottoman rule in the end of the 14th century, the Bulgarian state ceased to exist as an independent entity and remained part of the Ottoman Empire for nearly five centuries until 1878...
, the
sultanSultan is an Islamic title, with several historical meanings. Originally it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", or "rulership", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power"...
was frequently referred to as "tsar". This may be related to the fact that he had claimed the legacy of the Byzantine Empire or to the fact that the sultan was called "Basileus" in medieval Greek.
After Bulgaria's liberation from the Ottomans in 1878, its new monarchs were at first
autonomous prince (knjaz). With the declaration of full independence,
Ferdinand I of BulgariaFerdinand , born Prince Ferdinand Maximilian Karl Leopold Maria of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, was the Knjaz and later Tsar of Bulgaria as well as an author, botanist, entomologist and philatelist....
adopted the traditional title "tsar" in 1908 and it was used until the abolition of the monarchy in 1946. (In the same way as the modern rulers of Greece used the traditional title of
basileusBasileus , signifies "sovereign" or "king". It is perhaps best known in English as a title used by Byzantine emperors, but also has a longer history of use for persons of authority in ancient Greece, as well as for the kings of modern Greece.-Etymology:The etymology of basileus is unclear...
in Greek and the title of "king" or "roi" in English and French). However, these titles weren't generally perceived as equivalents of "Emperor" any longer. In the Bulgarian as in the Greek vernacular, the meaning of the title had shifted (although
PaisiusPaisius may refer to:* Paisius I, the Patriarch of Jerusalem* Saint Paisius of Hilendar , an 18th century Bulgarian National Revival figure* Paisius Velichkovsky, the founder of modern Eastern Orthodox staretsdom...
'
Slavonic-Bulgarian HistoryIstoriya Slavyanobolgarskaya is a book by Bulgarian scholar and clergyman Saint Paisius of Hilendar...
(1760–1762) had still distinguished between the two concepts) and the rulers of these countries were recognized only as kings by international diplomacy.
Kievan Rus
The term "czar" was used once by Church officials of Kievan Rus in the naming of Yaroslav the Wise of
KievKiev or Kyiv , is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300...
. This may be connected to Yaroslav's war against Byzantium and to his efforts to distance himself from
ConstantinopleConstantinople was the imperial capital of the Roman Empire , the Byzantine/Eastern Roman Empire , the Latin Empire , and the Ottoman Empire...
. However, other princes of Kievan Rus never styled themselves as "czars". After the fall of Constantinople to the Crusaders and the
Mongol invasion of RusThe Mongol invasion of Rus was heralded by the Battle of the Kalka River in 1223 between the Mongolian generals Subutai and Jebe's reconnaissance unit and the combined force of several Rus' princes. After fifteen years of peace, it was followed by Batu Khan's full-scale invasion during 1237 to 1240...
(1237–1240), the term "tsar" was applied by some people of Kievan Rus to the Mongol (
TatarTatars , sometimes spelled Tartars, are a Turkic ethnic group mainly inhabiting Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. They numbered 10 million in the late 20th Century, which includes all subgroups of Tatar people, such as...
) overlords of the Rus' principalities.
Serbia
The title Tsar was also used in Serbia, but only by two monarchs — Stefan Uroš IV Dušan and Stefan Uroš V between 1345 and 1371. Earlier Serbian monarchs had used the royal title
Kralj / Краљ (
KingA monarch is the person who heads a monarchy, a form of government in which the country or entity usually ruled or controlled by an individual who usually rules for life or until abdication...
) since 1077, which had been granted by the Papacy during an early union with the Western Church. In 1345 Stefan Uroš IV Dušan began to style himself "Emperor of Serbians and Greeks" (the Greek renderings read "
basileus and
autokratorAutokratōr is a Greek epithet applied to an individual who exercises absolute power, unrestrained by superiors. In a historical context, it has been applied to military commanders-in-chief, and to Roman and Byzantine emperors as the translation of the Latin title imperator...
of Serbians and Romans"), and was crowned as such in
SkopjeSkopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia, with more than a quarter of the population of the country, as well as its political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. It was known in the Roman period under the name Scupi. The city developed rapidly after World War II,...
on
EasterEaster is the most important annual religious feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to Christian scripture, Jesus was resurrected from the dead on the third day from his crucifixion...
(April 16) 1346 by the newly created Serbian patriarch, alongside with the Bulgarian patriarch and the autocephalous archibishop of Ohrid. On the same occasion, he had his wife
Helena of BulgariaHelena of Bulgaria was the daughter of Sratsimir of Kran and Keratsa Petritsa and the sister of Tsar Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria.On Easter day, 19 April 1332, Helena married Stefan Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia. The marriage was arranged as part of the peace agreement between Bulgaria and Serbia. This...
crowned as empress and his son associated in power as king. When Dušan died in 1355, his son Stefan Uroš V became the next "emperor of Serbians and Greeks". The new emperor's uncle
Simeon UrošSimeon Uroš or Siniša Uroš, also Symeon Ouresis Palaiologos , was the ruler of Epirus from 1359 to 1366 and of Thessaly from 1359 until his death in c...
(Siniša) contested the succession and claimed the same titles as a dynast in Thessaly. After his death around 1370, he was succeeded in his claims by his son
John UrošJohn Uroš or John Oureses Doukas Palaiologos , was ruler of Thessaly from c. 1370 to c. 1373, died 1422/3....
, who retired to a monastery in about 1373.
With the extinction of Nemanjić dynasty in Serbia in 1371, the imperial title became obsolete (though it was retained by Stefan Uroš IV's widow Elena of Bulgaria until her death in 1376/1377). The royal title was preserved by
Vukašin MrnjavčevićVukašin Mrnjavčević was a Serbian medieval ruler in modern-day central and northwestern Macedonia, who ruled from 1365 to 1371....
, a Serbian ruler in
MacedoniaMacedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but the region is nowadays held to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania and Serbia...
, who had been associated by Stefan Uroš V as king, but lapsed on the death of his son
MarkoKing Marko was an independent Serbian feudal lord in Macedonia from 1371-1395. Marko is venerated as a national hero by the the Serbs and Bulgarians and he is also the protagonist of many epic poems...
in 1395. The
BosnianThe Bosniaks or Bosniacs are a South Slavic ethnic group, living mainly in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a smaller autochthonous population also present in the Sandžak, Croatia, and the Republic of Macedonia. Bosniaks are typically characterized by their tie to the Bosnian historical region,...
ban Tvrtko I also assumed the Serbian royal title, but he and his heirs reigned as kings of
SerbsSerbs are a South Slavic people living in the Central Europe and the Balkans , between the Balkan- and Carpathian mountains in the east and the Adriatic sea in the west. They are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and, to a lesser extent, in Croatia...
and
BosniaHistorically and geographically, the region known as Bosnia lies mainly in the Dinaric Alps, ranging to the southern borders of the Pannonian plain, with the rivers Sava and Drina marking its northern and eastern borders...
, while Serbian part in fact remained under the rule of princes, occasionally granted the Byzantine title of
despotēs.
Several other Serbian rulers are known traditionally as tsars, although they realistically cannot be called so. They include Tsar Lazar, Tsar Jovan Nenad and Tsar Stephen the Little.
When Serbia, which had emerged as an autonomous principality after a long period of Ottoman domination, became an independent kingdom, its prince,
knjaz, adopted the traditional title of king,
kralj. The King's full style was, between 6 March 1882 and 1 December 1918 (New Style):
Po milosti Božjoj i volji narodnoj kralj Srbije "
By the grace of GodBy the Grace of God is a an introductory part of the full styles of a monarch taken to be ruling by divine right....
and the will of the people, King of Serbia".
Again, when the Serbian dynasty came to rule an enlarged kingdom, including
CroatiaCroatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a country in southeast Europe, at the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean Sea. Its capital is Zagreb...
and
SloveniaSlovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central Europe bordering Italy to the west, the Adriatic Sea to the southwest, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north...
, three peoples on the Balkan peninsula, after a decade generally collectively referred to as
Yugoslavs (literally "
Southern Slavonic"), its full style remained accordingly:
- 1 December 1918 (New Style) - 3 October 1929: Po milosti Božjoj i volji narodnoj kralj Srba, Hrvata i Slovenaca "By the Grace of God
By the Grace of God is a an introductory part of the full styles of a monarch taken to be ruling by divine right....
and will of the people, King of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes";
- 3 October 1929 - 29 November 1945: Po milosti Božjoj i volji narodnoj kralj Jugoslavije "By the Grace of God and will of the people, King of Yugoslavia".
Russia
The first Russian ruler to openly break with the khan of the
Golden HordeThe Ulus of Jochi or the Golden Horde is an East Slavic designation for the Mongol—later Turkicized—Muslim khanate established in the western part of the Mongol Empire after the Mongol invasion of Rus' in the 1240s: present-day Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Kazakhstan, and the Caucasus...
, Mikhail of Tver, assumed the title of "Basileus of Rus" and "czar".
Following his assertion of independence from the khan and perhaps also his marriage to an heiress of the
Byzantine EmpireThe Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on the capital of Constantinople, and ruled by Emperors in direct and de jure succession to the ancient Roman Emperors...
, "
Veliki KniazThe title grand duke is used in Western Europe and particularly in Germanic countries for provincial sovereigns. Grand duke is of a protocolary rank below a king but higher than a sovereign duke. Grand duke is also the usual and established translation of grand prince in languages which do not...
"
Ivan IIIIvan III Vasilevich , also known as Ivan the Great, was a Grand Prince of Moscow and "Grand Prince of all Russia" Sometimes referred to as the "gatherer of the Russian lands", he tripled the territory of his state, renovated the Moscow Kremlin, and laid the foundations of the Russian state...
of Muscovy started to use the title of tsar regularly in diplomatic relations with the West. From about 1480, he is designated as "imperator" in his Latin correspondence, as "keyser" in his correspondence with the Swedish regent, as "kejser" in his correspondence with the Danish king, Teutonic Knights, and the
Hanseatic LeagueThe Hanseatic League was an alliance of trading cities and their guilds that established and maintained a trade monopoly along the coast of Northern Europe, from the Baltic to the North Sea and inland, during the Late Middle Ages and early modern period...
. Ivan's son
Vasily IIIVasili III Ivanovich was the Grand Prince of Moscow from 1505 to 1533. He was the son of Ivan III Vasiliyevich and Sophia Paleologue and was christened with the name Gavriil...
continued using these titles, as his Latin letters to Clement VII testify: "Magnus Dux Basilius, Dei gratia Imperator et Dominator totius Russiae, nec non Magnus Dux Woldomeriae", etc. (In the Russian version of the letter, "imperator" corresponds to "tsar"). Herberstein correctly observed that the titles of "kaiser" and "imperator" were attempts to render the Russian term "tsar" into German and Latin, respectively.
This was related to Russia's growing ambitions to become an Orthodox "
Third RomeThe term Third Rome describes the idea that some European city, state, or country is the successor to the legacy of the Roman Empire, with Byzantium being the "second Rome."- Russian claims :...
", after
Constantinople had fallenThe Fall of Constantinople was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire which occurred after a siege laid by the Ottoman Empire, under the command of Sultan Mehmed II. The siege lasted from Thursday, 5 April, 1453 until Tuesday, 29 May, 1453 , when the city fell to the Ottomans...
. The Muscovite ruler was recognized as an emperor by
Maximilian IMaximilian I may refer to:*Maximilian of Mexico, reigned April 1864 to May 1867*Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, reigned 1508 to 1519*Maximilian I, Duke of Bavaria, reigned 1597 to September 1651...
, the emperor of the
Holy Roman EmpireThe Holy Roman Empire was a union of territories in Central Europe during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period under a Holy Roman Emperor. The first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire was Otto I, crowned in 962. The last was Francis II, who abdicated and dissolved the Empire in 1806 during...
in 1514. However, the first Russian ruler to be formally crowned as "tsar of all Russia" was
Ivan IVIvan IV Vasilyevich , known in English as Ivan the Terrible was Grand Prince of Moscow from 1533. The epithet "Grozny" is associated with might, power and strictness, rather than poor performance, horror or cruelty...
, until then known as Grand Prince of all Russia (1547). Some foreign ambassadors — namely, Herberstein (in 1516 and 1525), Daniel Printz a Buchau (in 1576 and 1578) and Just Juel (in 1709) — indicated that the word "tsar" should not be translated as "emperor", because it is applied by Russians to David, Solomon and other Biblical kings, which are simple "reges". On the other hand,
Jacques MargeretJacques Margeret, was a French mercenary captain who, in 1607, wrote the first printed French travel account of Muscovy, entitled, “Estate de l’Empire de Russie et de Grand Duché de Moscovie”.-Birth and early life in France:...
, a bodyguard of False Demetrius I, argues that the title of "tsar" is more honorable for Muscovites than "kaiser" or "king" exactly because it was God and not some earthly potentate who ordained to apply it to David, Solomon, and other kings of Israel.
Samuel CollinsSamuel Collins was a British doctor and author...
, a court physician to Tsar Alexis in 1659-66, styled the latter "Great Emperour", commenting that "as for the word
Czar, it has so near relation to
Cesar... that it may well be granted to signifie Emperour. The Russians would have it to be an higher Title than King, and yet they call David
Czar, and our kings,
Kirrols, probably from Carolus Quintus, whose history they have among them".
In short, the Westerners were at a loss as to how the term "tsar" should be translated properly. In 1670, Pope Clement X expressed doubts that it would be appropriate for him to address Alexis as "tsar", because the word is "barbarian" and because it stands for an "emperor", whereas there is only one emperor in the Christian world and he does not reside in Moscow. Reviewing the matter, abbot Scarlati opined that the term is not translatable and therefore may be used by the Pope without any harm. Paul Menesius, the Russian envoy in Vatican, seconded Scarlati's opinion by saying that there is no adequate Latin translation for "tsar", as there is no translation for "shah" or "sultan". In order to avoid such difficulties of translation and to assert his imperial ambitions more clearly, an edict of
Peter I the GreatPeter I the Great or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov ruled Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his weak and sickly half-brother, Ivan V....
decreed that the Latin-based title
imperator should be used instead of "tsar" (1721).
The title
tsar remained in common usage, and also officially as the designator of various titles signifying rule over various states absorbed by the Muscovite monarchy (such as the former Tatar khanates and the Georgian Orthodox kingdom). In the 18th century, it was increasingly viewed as inferior to "emperor" or highlighting the oriental side of the term. Upon annexing
CrimeaCrimea or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea is the only autonomous republic of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name.The territory of Crimea was conquered and controlled many times throughout its history...
in 1783, Catherine the Great adopted the hellenicized title of "Tsaritsa of Tauric
ChersonesosChersonesos was an ancient Greek colony founded approximately 2500 years ago in the southwestern part of Crimea, known then as Taurica...
", rather than "Tsaritsa of the Crimea", as should have been expected. By 1815, when a large part of Poland was annexed, the title had clearly come to be interpreted in Russia as the equivalent of Polish Król "king", and the Russian emperor assumed the title "tsar of Poland", (and the puppet
Kingdom of PolandCongress Poland , officially and formally Kingdom of Poland and informally known as Russian Poland was a constitutional personal union of the Russian Empire created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, replaced by the Central Powers in 1915 with the Kingdom of Poland...
was officially called
Królewstwo Polskie in Polish and
Царство Польское -
Tsardom of Poland - in Russian) (see also Full style of Russian Sovereigns below).
Since the word "tsar" remained the popular designation of the Russian ruler despite the official change of style, its transliteration of this title in foreign languages such as English is commonly used also, in fact chiefly, for the Russian Emperors up to 1917.
Full style of Russian Sovereigns
The full title of Russian emperors started with
By the Grace of GodBy the Grace of God is a an introductory part of the full styles of a monarch taken to be ruling by divine right....
, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias (Божию Милостию, Император и Самодержец Всероссийский [
Božiju Milostiju, Imperator i Samoderžec Vserossijskij]) and went further to list all ruled territories. For example, according to the article 59 of the Russian Constitution of April 23, 1906, "the full title of His Imperial Majesty is as follows: We, ------ by the grace of God,
EmperorAn emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress is the female equivalent. As a title, "empress" may indicate the wife of an emperor or a woman who rules in her own right...
and Autocrat of all the Russias, of
MoscowMoscow is the capital and the largest city of Russia. It is also the largest metropolitan area in Europe, and ranks among the largest urban areas in the world. Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the world, a...
,
KievKiev or Kyiv , is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300...
,
VladimirVladimir-Suzdal Principality or Vladimir-Suzdal Rus’ was a principality which succeeded Kievan Rus' as the most powerful Rus' state in the late 12th century and lasted until the late 14th century...
, Novgorod, Tsar of
KazanKazan is the capital city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, and one of Russia's largest cities. It is a major industrial, commercial and cultural center, and remains the most important center of Tatar culture. Since April 2009 Kazan has the legal right to brand itself as the "Third Capital" of...
, Tsar of
AstrakhanAstrakhan is a major city in southern European Russia and the administrative center of Astrakhan Oblast. The city lies on the Volga River, close to where it discharges into the Caspian Sea. Population: 502,800 ; 504,501 ; 509,210 .-Medieval history:Astrakhan' is situated in the Volga Delta, rich...
, Tsar of
PolandCongress Poland , officially and formally Kingdom of Poland and informally known as Russian Poland was a constitutional personal union of the Russian Empire created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, replaced by the Central Powers in 1915 with the Kingdom of Poland...
, Tsar of
SiberiaSiberia , is the vast region constituting almost all of Northern Asia and for the most part currently serving as the massive central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, having served in the same capacity previously for the USSR from its beginning, and the Russian Empire beginning in the...
, Tsar of
TauricThe Tauric Chersonese was the name by which the Crimea was known to the Greeks and Romans.- Etymology of the name :The Greeks named the region after its inhabitants, the Tauri: Ταυρική Χερσόνησος or Χερσόνησος Ταυρική , "Tauric peninsula"...
ChersonesosChersonesos was an ancient Greek colony founded approximately 2500 years ago in the southwestern part of Crimea, known then as Taurica...
, Tsar of
GeorgiaGeorgia Georgia Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Situated at the juncture of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the east by Azerbaijan...
,
LordLord is a title with various meanings. It can denote a prince or a feudal superior . The title today is mostly used in connection with the peerage of the United Kingdom or its predecessor countries, although some users of the title do not themselves hold peerages, and use it 'by courtesy'...
of
PskovPskov is an ancient city located in the north-west of Russia about east from the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. The city of Pskov serves as the administrative center of Pskov Oblast...
, and
Grand DukeThe title grand duke is used in Western Europe and particularly in Germanic countries for provincial sovereigns. Grand duke is of a protocolary rank below a king but higher than a sovereign duke. Grand duke is also the usual and established translation of grand prince in languages which do not...
of
SmolenskSmolensk is a Russian city and the administrative centre of Smolensk Oblast, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler. Today, Smolensk...
,
LithuaniaThe Grand Duchy of Lithuania was an Eastern and Central European state from the 12th /13th century until 1795. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the pagan Baltic tribes from Aukštaitija...
,
VolhyniaVolhynia, Volynia, or Volyn is a historic region in western Ukraine located between the rivers Prypiat and Western Bug, to the north of Galicia and Podolia. The area has some of the oldest Slavic settlements in Europe...
,
PodoliaThe region of Podolia is an historical region in the west-central and south-west portions of present-day Ukraine, corresponding to Khmelnytskyi Oblast and Vinnytsia Oblast. Northern Transnistria, in Moldova is also a part of Podolia...
, and
FinlandThe Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland that existed in its territory 1809–1917 as part of the Russian Empire.- History :...
,
PrincePrince, from French "Prince" , is a general term for a monarch, for a member of a monarchs' or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in some members of Europe's highest nobility...
of
EstoniaEstonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by the Russian Federation...
,
LivoniaLivonia was once the land of the Finnic Livonians inhabiting the principal ancient Livonian County Metsepole with its center at Turaida...
,
CourlandCourland is one of the cultural and historical regions of Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland.- Geography and climate :...
and
SemigaliaZemgale, also known under Latinized names Semigalia or Semigallia is an historical region of Latvia, sometimes also including a part of Lithuania. The region takes its name from the Baltic people known as Semigallians...
,
SamogitiaSamogitia is one of the five ethnographic regions of Lithuania.-Geography:The region is located in northwestern Lithuania in the territories of Palanga city municipality, Rietavas municipality, Tauragė district municipality, Šilalė district municipality, Skuodas district municipality, Jurbarkas...
, Belostok,
KareliaKarelia , the land of the Karelian peoples, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Finland, Russia, and Sweden...
,
TverTver is a city in Russia, the administrative center of Tver Oblast. Population: 405,500 ; 408,903 . Tver, which is located north of Moscow, was formerly the capital of a powerful medieval state and a model provincial town in Imperial Russia with population of 60,000 onJanuary 14, 1913...
,
YugraYugra was the name of the lands between the Pechora River and Northern Urals in the Russian annals of the 12th–17th centuries, as well as the name of the Khanty and partly Mansi tribes inhabiting these territories. The difference between Khanty and Mansi people was not made in ancient...
,
PermPerm is a city and administrative center of Perm Krai, Russia. It is situated on the banks of the Kama River, in the European part of Russia near the Ural Mountains....
,
VyatkaVyatka may refer to:*Vyatka River, a river in Russia*Vyatka, former name of the city of Kirov, Kirov Oblast, Russia*Vyatka Region, an informal name of Kirov Oblast of Russia*Vyatka Motor Scooter, a Russian copy of Italy's Vespa Motor Scooter...
,
BulgariaVolga Bulgaria or Volga-Kama Bolghar, is a historic Bulgar state that existed between the seventh and thirteenth centuries around the confluence of the Volga and Kama rivers in what is now Russia. Today, both the Republics of Tatarstan and Chuvashia are considered to be descendants of Volga...
and other territories; Lord and Grand Duke of Nizhni Novgorod, Sovereign of Chernigov,
RyazanRyazan is a city in the Central Federal District of Russia and the administrative center of Ryazan Oblast. It is on the Oka River south-east of Moscow. Its population is 521,560 ; 514,638...
, Polotsk,
RostovRostov is one of the oldest towns in Russia and an important tourist centre of the so-called Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero in Yaroslavl Oblast, 202 km to the north east of Moscow. Population:...
,
YaroslavlYaroslavl is a city in Russia, the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, located north-east of Moscow. The historical part of the city, a World Heritage Site, is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Kotorosl Rivers. Population:...
, Beloozero, Udoria, Obdoria, Kondia,
VitebskVitebsk, also known as Viciebsk or Vitsyebsk , is a city in Belarus, near the border with Russia and Latvia. The capital of the Vitebsk Oblast, in 2004 it had 342,381 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth largest city...
, Mstislavl, and all northern territories; Sovereign of
IveriaIberia , also known as Iveria , was a name given by the ancient Greeks and Romans to the ancient Georgian kingdom of Kartli , corresponding roughly to the eastern and southern parts of the present day Georgia...
,
KartaliniaKartli is a historical region in central-to-eastern Georgia traversed by the river Mtkvari , on which Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is situated. Known to the Classical authors as Iberia, Kartli played a crucial role in ethnic and political consolidation of the Georgians in the Middle Ages...
, and the
KabardKabarda or Kabard are terms referring to a people of the northern Caucasus more commonly known by the plural term Kabardin . Originally they comprised the semi-nomadic eastern branch of what was once the Adyghe tribal fellowship. The Kabardin still consider themselves as a tribe of Adyghe...
inian lands and
ArmeniaArmenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n territories - hereditary Lord and Ruler of the
CircassiaCircassia, also known as Cherkessia in Russian, is a region in Caucasia. Historically it comprised the southern half of the current Krasnodar Territory and most of the interior of the current Stavropol Territory, but now only refers to a portion of the Karachay-Cherkessia Republic, Adyghe Republic...
ns and Mountain Princes and others; Lord of
TurkestanTurkestan, spelled also as Turkistan and Turkharistan is a region in Central Asia, which today is largely inhabited by Turkic peoples. It has been referenced in many Turkic and Persian sagas and is an integral part of Turan...
, Heir of
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
, Duke of Schleswig-
HolsteinHolstein is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is part of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany....
,
StormarnStormarn is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Segeberg and Ostholstein, the city of Lübeck, the district of Lauenburg, and the city state of Hamburg.- History :...
,
DithmarschenDithmarschen is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Nordfriesland, Schleswig-Flensburg, Rendsburg-Eckernförde, and Steinburg, by the state of Lower Saxony , and by the North Sea.- Geography...
,
OldenburgOldenburg is a historical state in today's Germany named for its capital, Oldenburg. Oldenburg existed from 1180 until 1918 as a county, duchy and grand duchy. It was located near the mouth of the River Weser...
, and so forth, and so forth, and so forth."
For example,
Nicholas II of RussiaNicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Duke of Finland, and claimed the title of King of Poland...
(1 November 1894 - 15 March 1917) was titled as follows (notice the archaic Cyrillic spelling):
- Божію Поспѣшествующею Милостію МЫ, НИКОЛАЙ ВТОРЫЙ ИМПЕРАТОРЪ и САМОДЕРЖЕЦЪ ВСЕРОССІЙСКІЙ
- Московскій, Кіевскій, Владимірскій, Новгородскій,
- Царь Казанскій, Царь Астраханскій, Царь Польскій, Царь Сибирскій, Царь Херсонеса Таврическаго, Царь Грузинскій,
- Государь Псковскій, и
- Великій Князь Смоленскій, Литовскій, Волынскій, Подольскій и Финляндскій;
- Князь Эстляндскій, Лифляндскій, Курляндскій и Семигальскій, Самогитскій, Бѣлостокский, Корельскій,
- Тверскій, Югорскій, Пермскій, Вятскій, Болгарскій и иныхъ;
- Государь и Великій Князь Новагорода низовскія земли, Черниговскій, Рязанскій, Полотскій,
- Ростовскій, Ярославскій, Бѣлозерскій, Удорскій, Обдорскій, Кондійскій, Витебскій, Мстиславскій и
- всея Сѣверныя страны Повелитель; и
- Государь Иверскія, Карталинскія и Кабардинскія земли и области Арменскія;
- Черкасскихъ и Горскихъ Князей и иныхъ Наслѣдный Государь и Обладатель;
- Государь Туркестанскій;
- Наслѣдникъ Норвежскій,
- Герцогъ Шлезвигъ-Голстинскій, Стормарнскій, Дитмарсенскій и Ольденбургскій, и прочая, и прочая, и прочая.
- The Emperor's subsidiary title of Tsar of Kazan proclaimed the chief Orthodox dynasty as successor in law to the mighty Islamic khanate of Kazan
The Khanate of Kazan was a medieval Tatar state which occupied the territory of former Volga Bulgaria between 1438 and 1552. The khanate covered contemporary Tatarstan, Mari El, Chuvashia, Mordovia, parts of Udmurtia and Bashkortostan; its capital was the city of Kazan...
, not maintaining its 'heathen' (khanKhan is an originally Central Asian title for a sovereign or military ruler, first used by medieval Altaic-speaking nomadic tribes living to the north of China and the center of Rumelia Kailar yoruks are mentioned as yorukkhans in Ottoman arvhives...
) title (as the Ottoman Great Sultans did in several cases), but christening it. It should also be noted that Khans of Kazan were mentioned in Russian chronicles such as Kazan ChronicleKazan Chronicle or Story of the Tsardom of Kazan is a document written between 1560 and 1565 by a Muscovite chronicler. The chronicler introduces himself as a Russian who was held in captivity in Kazan for about 20 years until Ivan the Terrible sacked Kazan in 1552...
as Tsars of Kazan.
- The Emperor's subsidiary title of Tsar of Siberia refers to the Tatar Khanate of Sibiria
The Khanate of Sibir was a Tatar Turkic khanate in the later Russian Siberia. The Khanate had an ethnically diverse population of Siberian Tatars, Khanty, Mansi, Nenets and Selkup people.-History:...
, easily subdued in the early stages of the exploration and annexation of the larger eponymous region, most of it before inhabited by nomadic tribal people without a state in the European sense.
- The subsidiary title of Tsar in chief of Transcausasian Georgia
Georgia Georgia Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Situated at the juncture of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the east by Azerbaijan...
is the continuation of a royal style of a native dynasty, that had as such been recognized by Russia.
- The subsidiary title of Tsar of Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
demonstrates the Russian Emperors' rule over the legally separate (but actually subordinate) Polish Kingdom, nominally in personal union with Russia, established by the Congress of ViennaThe Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by the Austrian statesman Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from November, 1814 to June, 1815. Its objective was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic...
in 1815 (hence also called "Congress PolandCongress Poland , officially and formally Kingdom of Poland and informally known as Russian Poland was a constitutional personal union of the Russian Empire created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, replaced by the Central Powers in 1915 with the Kingdom of Poland...
"), in a sense reviving the royal style of the pre-existent national kingdom of Poland. Internationally and in Poland, the tsars were referred to as Kings (królKrol is a surname and may refer to:* George A. Krol, American ambassador to Belarus* Henk Krol , Dutch journalist* Jack Krol , American baseball coach and manager* Joe Krol , Canadian Football League player...
owie) of Poland.
In some cases, defined by the Code of Laws, the Abbreviated Imperial Title was used:
- "We, ------ by the grace of God, Emperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress is the female equivalent. As a title, "empress" may indicate the wife of an emperor or a woman who rules in her own right...
and Autocrat of all the Russias, of MoscowMoscow is the capital and the largest city of Russia. It is also the largest metropolitan area in Europe, and ranks among the largest urban areas in the world. Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the world, a...
, KievKiev or Kyiv , is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300...
, Vladimir, Novgorod, Tsar of KazanKazan is the capital city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, and one of Russia's largest cities. It is a major industrial, commercial and cultural center, and remains the most important center of Tatar culture. Since April 2009 Kazan has the legal right to brand itself as the "Third Capital" of...
, Tsar of AstrakhanAstrakhan is a major city in southern European Russia and the administrative center of Astrakhan Oblast. The city lies on the Volga River, close to where it discharges into the Caspian Sea. Population: 502,800 ; 504,501 ; 509,210 .-Medieval history:Astrakhan' is situated in the Volga Delta, rich...
, Tsar of PolandCongress Poland , officially and formally Kingdom of Poland and informally known as Russian Poland was a constitutional personal union of the Russian Empire created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, replaced by the Central Powers in 1915 with the Kingdom of Poland...
, Tsar of SiberiaSiberia , is the vast region constituting almost all of Northern Asia and for the most part currently serving as the massive central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, having served in the same capacity previously for the USSR from its beginning, and the Russian Empire beginning in the...
, Tsar of TauricThe Tauric Chersonese was the name by which the Crimea was known to the Greeks and Romans.- Etymology of the name :The Greeks named the region after its inhabitants, the Tauri: Ταυρική Χερσόνησος or Χερσόνησος Ταυρική , "Tauric peninsula"...
ChersonesosChersonesos was an ancient Greek colony founded approximately 2500 years ago in the southwestern part of Crimea, known then as Taurica...
, Tsar of GeorgiaGeorgia Georgia Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Situated at the juncture of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the east by Azerbaijan...
, LordLord is a title with various meanings. It can denote a prince or a feudal superior . The title today is mostly used in connection with the peerage of the United Kingdom or its predecessor countries, although some users of the title do not themselves hold peerages, and use it 'by courtesy'...
of PskovPskov is an ancient city located in the north-west of Russia about east from the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. The city of Pskov serves as the administrative center of Pskov Oblast...
, and Grand DukeThe title grand duke is used in Western Europe and particularly in Germanic countries for provincial sovereigns. Grand duke is of a protocolary rank below a king but higher than a sovereign duke. Grand duke is also the usual and established translation of grand prince in languages which do not...
of SmolenskSmolensk is a Russian city and the administrative centre of Smolensk Oblast, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler. Today, Smolensk...
, LithuaniaThe Grand Duchy of Lithuania was an Eastern and Central European state from the 12th /13th century until 1795. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the pagan Baltic tribes from Aukštaitija...
, VolhyniaVolhynia, Volynia, or Volyn is a historic region in western Ukraine located between the rivers Prypiat and Western Bug, to the north of Galicia and Podolia. The area has some of the oldest Slavic settlements in Europe...
, PodoliaThe region of Podolia is an historical region in the west-central and south-west portions of present-day Ukraine, corresponding to Khmelnytskyi Oblast and Vinnytsia Oblast. Northern Transnistria, in Moldova is also a part of Podolia...
, and FinlandThe Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland that existed in its territory 1809–1917 as part of the Russian Empire.- History :...
, and so forth, and so forth, and so forth."
In other cases, also defined by the Code of Laws, the Short Imperial Title was used:
- "We, ------ by the grace of God, Emperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress is the female equivalent. As a title, "empress" may indicate the wife of an emperor or a woman who rules in her own right...
and Autocrat of all the RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
s, Tsar of PolandCongress Poland , officially and formally Kingdom of Poland and informally known as Russian Poland was a constitutional personal union of the Russian Empire created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, replaced by the Central Powers in 1915 with the Kingdom of Poland...
, Grand DukeThe title grand duke is used in Western Europe and particularly in Germanic countries for provincial sovereigns. Grand duke is of a protocolary rank below a king but higher than a sovereign duke. Grand duke is also the usual and established translation of grand prince in languages which do not...
of FinlandThe Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland that existed in its territory 1809–1917 as part of the Russian Empire.- History :...
, and so forth, and so forth, and so forth."
Titles in the Russian Royal/Imperial family
TsaritsaTsaritsa , formerly spelled czaritsa , is the title of a female autocratic ruler of Bulgaria or Russia, or the title of a Tsar's wife....
(царица) is the term used for an Empress, though in English contexts this seems invariably to be altered to tsarina (since 1717, from Italian
czarina, from German
Zarin). In Imperial Russia, the official title was Empress (Императрица). Tsaritsa (Empress) could be either the ruler herself or the wife (Empress consort) of the tsar. The title of tsaritsa is used in the same way in Bulgaria and Serbia.
TsesarevichTsesarevich was the title of the heir apparent or heir presumptive to the emperors of Russia...
(Цесаревич) is the term for a
maleMale refers to the sex of an organism, or part of an organism, which produces small mobile gametes, called spermatozoa. Each spermatozoon can fuse with a larger female gamete or ovum, in the process of fertilization...
heir apparentAn heir apparent is an heir who cannot be displaced from inheriting.An heir presumptive, by contrast, is an heir currently in line to inherit a title, but who could be displaced at any time by certain events.Today these terms most commonly describe heirs to hereditary titles, particularly monarchies...
, the full title was Heir Tsesarevich ("Naslednik Tsesarevich", Наследник Цесаревич), informally abbreviated in Russia to The Heir ("Naslednik") (capitalized).
TsarevichTsarevich is a Slavic term for the Tsar's son. Under the Pauline house law, the term was discontinued. The tsar's eldest son , came to be called Tsesarevich...
(царевич) was the term for the ruler's heir. In older times the term was used in place of "Tsesarevich" (Цесаревич). A son who was not an heir was formally called Velikii Kniaz (Великий Князь) (
Grand DukeThe title grand duke is used in Western Europe and particularly in Germanic countries for provincial sovereigns. Grand duke is of a protocolary rank below a king but higher than a sovereign duke. Grand duke is also the usual and established translation of grand prince in languages which do not...
or
Grand PrinceThe title Grand Prince or Great Prince ranked in honour below emperor and tsar and above a sovereign prince .Grand Duke is the usual and established, though not literal, translation of these terms in...
). The latter title was also used for grandsons (through male lines).
TsarevnaTsarevna or czarevna is the daughter of a Tsar or Tsaritsa, similar to a princess being the daughter of a King or Queen. A Tsarevna could also be the wife to a Tsar's son....
(царевна) was the term for a daughter and a granddaughter of a Tsar or Tsaritsa. The official title was Velikaya Kniaginya (Великая Княгиня), translated as
Grand Duchess or
Grand Princess.
See also Grand Duchess for more details on the
Velikaya Kniaginya title.
TsesarevnaTsesarevich was the title of the heir apparent or heir presumptive to the emperors of Russia...
(Цесаревна) was the wife of the Tsesarevich.
Metaphorical uses
Like many lofty titles, e.g.
MogulMogul may refer to:*Mughal Empire, or any member of its ruling dynasty*Business magnate*Mogul lamp , a floor lamp which has a large center light bulb surrounded by three smaller bulbs...
, Tsar or Czar has been used as a
metaphorA metaphor is a figure of speech concisely comparing two things, saying that one is the other. The English metaphor derives from the 16th c...
for positions of high authority, in English since 1866 (referring to U.S. President
Andrew JohnsonAndrew Johnson , the 17th President of the United States , was the first U.S. President to be impeached, as well as the first U.S. president to succeed to the presidency upon the assassination of his predecessor.At the time of the secession of the Southern states, Johnson was a U.S. Senator from...
), with a connotation of dictatorial powers and style, fitting since "Autocrat" was an official title of the Russian Emperor (informally referred to as 'the Tsar'). Similarly,
Speaker of the HouseThe Speaker of the United States House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives. The current Speaker is Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat representing California's 8th congressional district....
Thomas Brackett ReedThomas Brackett Reed, , occasionally ridiculed as Czar Reed, was a U.S. Representative from Maine, and Speaker of the House from 1889–1891 and from 1895–1899...
was called "Czar Reed" for his dictatorial control of the
House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as the "House," is the lower house of the bicameral United States Congress, the upper house being the United States Senate. The composition and powers of the House and the Senate are established in Article One of the Constitution...
in the 1880s and 1890s.
In the United States the title "czar" is a slang term for certain high-level civil servants, such as the "
drug czarDrug Czar is an informal name for the person who directs drug-control policies in the United States, following the U.S. use of the 'czar' term. The 'drug czar' title was first published in a 1982 news story by United Press International which reported that “Senators... voted 62-34 to establish a...
" for the director of the
Office of National Drug Control PolicyThe White House Office of National Drug Control Policy , a former cabinet level component of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, was established in 1988 by the Anti-Drug Abuse Act...
, "terrorism czar" for a Presidential advisor on terrorism policy, "cybersecurity czar" for the highest-ranking Department of Homeland Security official on
computer securityComputer security is a branch of technology known as information security as applied to computers and networks. The objective of computer security includes protection of information and property from theft, corruption, or natural disaster, while allowing the information and property to remain...
and
information securityInformation security means protecting information and information systems from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification or destruction.The terms information security, computer security and information assurance are...
policy, and "war czar" to oversee the wars in
IraqThe Iraq War, also known as the Occupation of Iraq or Operation Iraqi Freedom, is an ongoing military campaign which began on March 20, 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by a multinational force led by troops from the United States and the United Kingdom.Prior to the war, the governments of the United...
and
AfghanistanThe War in Afghanistan is an ongoing coalition conflict which began on October 7, 2001, as the British military participated in the US military's Operation Enduring Freedom that was launched in response to the September 11 attacks...
. More specifically, a czar refers to a sub-cabinet level advisor within the executive branch of the U.S. government. One of the earliest known usages of the term was for Judge
Kenesaw Mountain LandisKenesaw Mountain Landis was an American jurist who served as a federal judge from 1905 to 1922, and subsequently as the first commissioner of organized baseball, including both the American and National leagues and the governing body of minor league baseball, the National Association of...
, who was named commissioner of baseball, with broad powers to clean up the sport after it had been dirtied by the
Black Sox scandalThe Black Sox Scandal refers to an incident that took place around and during the play of the 1919 World Series. The name "Black Sox" also refers to the Chicago White Sox team from that era. Eight members of the major league franchise were banned for life from baseball for throwing games, and...
of 1919.
See also
External links