emperor, feminine empress, title designating the sovereign of an empire, conferred originally on rulers of the ancient Roman Empire and on various later European rulers, though the term is also applied descriptively to some non-European monarchs.
An emperor is like a king or a male head of an empire. However, Emperor is a person with absolute power over a country, whereas a female head of an empire is the empress. An empress is, therefore, like a queen. Hence, the opposite gender emperor is an empress.
Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules in her own right and name (empress regnant).
The style of address for the Emperor, the Empress, the Grand Empress Dowager, and the Empress Dowager is "His", "Her" or "Your" " Majesty." The style of address for other Members of the Imperial Family is "His", "Her" or "Your" "Imperial Highness" or "Imperial Highnesses."
Much like their male counterparts, female rulers who ascend the throne by their birthright are referred to as 天皇 (tennō), but can also be referred to as josei tennō (女性天皇, heavenly empress regnant) or jotei (女帝, empress regnant).
The Japanese language has two words equivalent to the English word "emperor": tennō (天皇, "heavenly sovereign"), which refers exclusively to the emperor of Japan, and kōtei (皇帝), which primarily identifies non-Japanese emperors. Sumeramikoto ("the imperial person") was also used in Old Japanese.
Japan. In Japan, the order of titles in nobility is based on a system of ranks called “kazoku.” The highest rank is that of Prince, followed by Marquess, Count, Viscount, Baron, and Baronet. Knights are not recognised as part of the nobility in Japan.
An empire can have many kingdoms within it; the emperor rules the entire empire while kings (or queens) rule smaller kingdoms within the empire. While the king (like the regional manager) has total control over his territory, the emperor (like the CEO) is the one who makes the final decision for the entire region.
The title of Emperor/Empress (who rules over an Empire) is widely regarded as the highest ranking Monarchial title, King/Queen (who reigns over a Kingdom) is a lesser title than Emperor but still ranks above any other title.
The emperors used a variety of different titles throughout history. Often when a given Roman is described as becoming "emperor" in English, it reflects his taking of the title augustus (and later basileus). Another title often used was caesar, used for heirs-apparent, and imperator, originally a military honorific.
Another is empress, which is a female emperor. An emperor is like a king: a person with absolute power over a country. An empress is therefore like a queen. Also, just as a queen is the wife of a king, an empress might be the wife of an emperor, meaning she's not the ruler of the country but just married to the ruler.
1 The legitimate children of an Emperor and the legitimate grandchildren of an Emperor in the male line are Shinno (Princes) in the case of males and Naishinno (Princesses) in the case of females.
A king consort or emperor consort is a rarely used (or disputed) title to describe the husband of a queen regnant. Examples include: Mary, Queen of Scots (reigned 1542–1567) was first married to Francis, Dauphin of France (later Francis II of France), who became king consort of Scotland upon their marriage.
Meet Wu Zetian: ruler of the Tang dynasty
All but one of these emperors were men. Wu Zetian, the only female emperor to rule China, was born in 624 and was the de facto ruler of the Tang Dynasty from 665 to 705. However, Wu Zetian's rise to power was long and complex.
Wu Zhao (624–705), also known as Empress Wu Zetian, was the first and only woman emperor of China. With her exceptional intelligence, extraordinary competence in politics, and inordinate ambition, she ruled as the “Holy and Divine Emperor” of the Second Zhou Dynasty (690–705) for fifteen years.
The five titles of the peerage, in descending order of precedence, or rank, are: duke, marquess, earl, viscount, baron. The highest rank of the peerage, duke, is the most exclusive.
At the top of the hierarchy of noble titles is the monarch, also known as the king or Queen. The monarch is the highest-ranking individual in a monarchy and holds ultimate authority over the kingdom. Below the monarch are the various nobles, including dukes, earls, viscounts, barons, and knights.
The peerage was divided into five ranks; from highest to lowest, these are: Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount, and Baron. The peerage system became more formalized over time.
In terms of political power, yes, an empress is more powerful than a queen. While a queen has rule over a kingdom or territory, an empress has authority over multiple nations, kingdoms, or regions. For a female monarch, the station of empress is the highest political office that can be attained.
Imperator/Caeser (Emperor) Rex/Regina (King/Queen) Magnus Dux/Magna Ducissa (Grand Duke/Grand Duchess) Archidux/Archiducissa (Archduke/Archduchess)
In status, a grand duke traditionally ranks in order of precedence below an emperor, as an approximate equal of king or archduke and above a sovereign prince or sovereign duke.
Unlike many European royal families (e.g., the Windsors), the Japanese Imperial Family has no surname but uses childhood appellations called no-miya, granted by the Emperor in childhood. Each person born into the Imperial Family is also given a personal name.
The current head of the monarchy is Emperor Naruhito, the 126th emperor who ascended to the Chrysanthemum Throne after his father, Emperor Emeritus Akihito, abdicated in 2019. There are currently only 17 members in the royal family.
The 1947 Constitution of Japan abolished the kazoku and ended the use of all titles of nobility or rank outside the immediate Imperial Family. Since the end of the war, many descendants of the kazoku families continue to occupy prominent roles in Japanese society and industry.