Ruler title
The rulers title is the head of a monarchic -run state to.
In the parts of Europe outside Germany, equivalence of lower nobility titles with a ruler title was the exception, so that here it could only be assumed that the highest nobility titles could be understood as rulers' titles. These included and still count today:
- Kaiser - derived from the name Caesar for imperator . Equivalent to this, Shah , Padishah , Sultan , Caliph , Empereur, Tsar , Khagan (Great Khan, Khan of all Khans), the Chinese Son of Heaven , the Japanese Tennō , the Ethiopian King of Kings ( Neguse Negest ) and the Indian Great Mughal
- König - or also Rex (lat. For king), King, Konung, Roi, Rey, Rè, Malik, Khan
- Grand Duke - standing above the Duke ( predicate : royal highness); today only: Grand Duchy of Luxembourg - English: Grand Duke
- Herzog - comparable to the English Duke or Hertig, Duc, Duque, Duca;
- Landgrave and Margrave - princely rank of a count, ruler of a landgrave or margraviate
- Prince - highest rank in a principality (today only Liechtenstein , Monaco , Wales and Asturias ) - Prince, Furste, Principe
Rulers' titles by country
Although most of the titles of nobility are based on an appropriate translation into other European languages, there are differences in their ranking, the title hierarchy. In the following section, the titles of some of the more important European countries are arranged in descending order of rank.
Ancient Greece
At first only the Basileus , then Archon eponymos , Basileus, Archon polemarchos , Thesmothet
Ancient Rome
Imperator , Augustus , Caesar , Senator , (approved for the offices: Censor , Consul / Proconsul , Praetor / Proprätor , Aedile , Quaestor ), Eques (approved for the offices: Prefect , Procurator )
Empire of Ethiopia
Neguse Negest (King of Kings), Enderasse , Negus , Ras , Dejazmach , Fitawrari
China
Son of Heaven (God) Emperor ( 天子 , tiānzǐ ) and the 5 noble classes 公侯伯子男 , gōng hóu bó zǐ nán : 公爵 ( Duke ), 侯爵 ( Margrave ), 伯爵 ( Count ), 子爵 ( Viscount ), 男爵 ( Baron )
France
(Empereur) Roi, Pair de France, Duc, Marquis, Comte, Viscount, Baron, Chevalier, Ecuyer
Holy Roman Empire / Austria
In the Peace of Westphalia , all imperial territorial lords in the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation were granted sovereignty over their " national territory ", including very small units. This leads to the fact that historically very low-ranking nobility titles (see there) could also be rulers' titles .
Emperor, king, elector, arch / grand duke, duke, march / land / palatinate, (imperial) prince, (imperial) count, baron, baron, knight, junker, noble
The meaning of the titles changed over time (see Tribal Dukes - Titular Dukes). In the Holy Roman Empire, which in addition to today's Germany and Austria also included Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands (until 1648), Switzerland (until 1648), the Czech Republic (Bohemia), Slovenia and parts of today's Poland, France and Italy, it played a significant role who was the feudal lord of the respective sovereign. Imperial immediate areas and the associated titles were z. B. Dominions, free imperial cities, imperial counts, imperial princes. Princes with the right to elect emperors carried the title of elector in addition to the title of the principality associated with the electoral dignity. They represented the highest nobility class after the emperor or king. With the end of the Roman Empire, the title of Kurt fell away almost everywhere (exception: Electorate of Hesse ). Some electorates became kingdoms or grand duchies. Titles of nobility that were not awarded by the empire but by a king, grand duke, etc., are accordingly not imperial, but land or z. B. Prussian Junkers .
Iran ( Persian Empire )
Great King later Shah / Padischah , Khan , Emir
Italy
Re, Principe, Duca, Marchese, Conte, Visconte, Barone, Nobile, Cavaliere, Patrizio
Japan
Tennō , Kampaku , Shogun , Tandai , Daimyō , Hatamoto , Omemie , Gokenin ( Samurai )
North africa
Ottoman Empire
Sultan , caliph , emir , sheikh , (personal official nobility: Pascha , Bey , Aga ), Efendi
Portugal
Rei, Grande de Portugal, Duque, Marquès, Conde, Visconde, Barão, Senhor, Fidalgo
Russia
Царь / Великий князь / Император / Князь императорской крови, Принц , Герцог , Князь , Граф , Барон
Sweden
Konung, Greve, Friherre (Baron)
Spain
Rey, Grande de España, Duque, Marqués, Conde, Vizconde, Barón, Señor, Hidalgo
Countries of the Bohemian Crown and Hungary
King, (princes, but only the king's children), magnates: inherited members of the magnate class: counts, barons and untitled (from, de), magnates awarded: counts, barons, from / de; Nobles who were not members of the magnate class. (Other titles such as the title of prince would be allowed for some leadership, but still belonged to the originally Bohemian / Hungarian in rank)
United Kingdom
King, Duke , Marquis , Earl , Viscount , Baron , Baronet , Knight , Esquire
example
Since a ruler can rule over a large number of territories, there is the great title , which completely enumerated all these areas with the respective title - in descending order and within the same rank according to the age of acquisition. As an example, here is the Great Title of the Emperor of Austria :
- Franz Joseph I , by God's grace Emperor of Austria, Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Bohemia, Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, Galicia, Lodomeria and Illyria, King of Jerusalem etc., Archduke of Austria, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Krakow , Duke of Lorraine, of Salzburg, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola and Bukovina, Grand Duke of Transylvania, Margrave of Moravia, Duke of Upper and Lower Silesia, of Modena, Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla, of Auschwitz and Zator, of Teschen , Friuli, Ragusa and Zara, Prince Count of Habsburg and Tyrol, of Kyburg, Görz and Gradiska, Prince of Trient and Brixen, Margrave of Upper and Lower Lusatia and in Istria, Count of Hohenembs, Feldkirch, Bregenz, Sonnenberg etc. , Lord of Trieste, of Cattaro and on the Windischen Mark, Großvoiwode of the Voivodeship of Serbia etc. etc.
See also
- Aristocracy and the references there to the main articles on the countries, e.g. B. German or French nobility