'''Tsar''' (
Bulgarian цар,
Russian царь, ; often spelled
Czar or
Tzar and sometimes
Csar or
Zar in
English), was the
title used for the
autocratic rulers of the
First and Second Bulgarian Empires since 913, in
Serbia in the middle of the
14th century, and in
Russia from 1547 to 1917 (although this usage is only technically correct until 1721).
History of usage
The title
tsar was first adopted and used in
Bulgaria by
Simeon I following a decisive victory over the
Byzantine Empire in 913. It was also used by all of
Simeon Is successors until the fall of Bulgaria under Ottoman rule in 1396. After Bulgarias liberation from the Ottomans in 1878, its new monarchs adopted the title tsar again and used it between 1908 and 1946.
In 1547,
Ivan IV of
Russia changed his title from "
Veliki Kniaz (Grand Duke) of the whole Rus" to "tsar of the whole Rus" as a symbol of change in the nature of the Russian state. In 1721
Peter I adopted the title
Emperor (''Император'' [''Imperator'']), by which he and his heirs were recognised, and which came to be used interchangeably with Tsar.
The title "Tsar" was also used by
Serbian rulers in the middle of the
14th century.
Often the word
tsar is translated as
emperor and vice versa. The
Slavic languages often used
tsar for other emperors; for example, the title of the Japanese emperor was translated as "tsar of Japan". However, in 1721, Tsar
Peter the Great of Russia took the additional title of
Imperator (Emperor), which, at least officially, superseded the older title of Tsar, which was henceforth formally used only for peripheral parts of the Empire.
The word "tsar" is sometimes informally applied to earlier Russian and Bulgarian rulers which were not formally crowned as tsars.
The domain or rule of a tsar is sometimes referred to as a
tsardom.
Rulers that were called tsars may be found in the following lists.
Etymology and spelling
The word
tsar is derived from the
Latin title
Caesar by way of the
Old Slavonic tsesar (''цесарь''). The word is cognate with
German Kaiser and
Gothic Káisar. The contraction of
цесарь into
царь occurred by the way of shorthand writing of titles in old Slavonic church manuscripts, see
Titlo article. One may see the examples of this, e.g., in the older copies of the Slavic
Primary Chronicle.
The spelling
tsar is the closest possible
transliteration of the Russian using standard English
spelling. Both
czar and
tsar have been accepted in English for the last century as a correct usage. French adopted the form
tsar during the
19th century, and it became more frequent in English towards the end of that century, following its adoption by
The Times. (see the
Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition). The spelling
tzar with
z is also very common, and represents an alternative transliteration of the first letter
ц.
The spelling
czar originated with the
Austrian diplomat Baron
Sigismund von Herberstein, whose
Rerum Moscoviticarum Commentarii (1549) (literally
Notes on Muscovite Affairs) was the main source of knowledge of Russia in early modern western Europe. It is not found in any of the Slavic languages, but is the primary spelling adopted by
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (11th Edition, 2003), with
tsar offered only as a variant.
Modern usage seems to have standardized on the use of
tsar to describe former rulers of Russia, while
czar is used to informally describe an expert in charge of implementing policy (especially in the US):
economics czar,
drug czar, et cetera.
Correct pronunciation of
tsar is in
IPA though many if not most English-speaking people pronounce it or . This is because although English has
ts in words like
cats it is unusual for this sound to start an English word.
Imperium maius
In Christian Europe the use of the title emperor is more than an affectation. A king recognises that the church is an equal or superior in the religious sphere, emperors do not. This was illustrated by Henry VIII of
England who started to use the word
imperium in his dispute with the
Pope over his first divorce. By stating that they were emperors the Russian rulers claimed to be the head of the (Russian Orthodox) church and did not recognise any superior authority but God.
Russia
Full title of Russian tsars
The full title of Russian emperors started with
By the Grace of God, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias (''Божию Милостию, Император и Самодержец Всероссийский'' [''Bozhiyu Milostiyu, Imperator i Samodyerzhets Vserossiysky'']) and went further to list all ruled territories. For example, according to the art. 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,
Emperor and
Autocrat of all the
Russias, of
Moscow,
Kiev, Vladimir,
Novgorod, Tsar of
Kazan, Tsar of
Astrakhan, Tsar of
Poland, Tsar of
Siberia, Tsar of
Tauric Khersones, Tsar of
Grusia,
Lord of
Pskov, and
Grand Duke of
Smolensk,
Lithuania,
Volhynia,
Podolia, and
Finland,
Prince of
Estonia,
Livonia,
Courland and Semigalia,
Samogitia,
Bielostok,
Korelia,
Tver, Jugra,
Perm, Vyatka,
Bulgaria, and other territories; Lord and Grand Duke of Nizhni Novgorod, Chernigov; Ruler of
Ryazan, Polotsk,
Rostov, Jaroslavl, Bielozero, Udoria, Obdoria, Kondia, Vitebsk,
Mstislav, and all northern territories ; Ruler of
Iveria,
Kartalinia, and the
Kabardinian lands and
Armenian territories - hereditary Ruler and Lord of the
Cherkess and Mountain Princes and others; Lord of
Turkestan, Heir of
Norway, Duke of
Schleswig-Holstein,
Stormarn, Ditmarsch,
Oldenburg, and so forth, and so forth, and so forth."
For example,
Nicholas II of Russia was titled as follows (notice the archaic spelling):
:Божію Поспѣшествующею Милостію МЫ, НИКОЛАЙ ВТОРЫЙ ИМПЕРАТОРЪ и САМОДЕРЖЕЦЪ ВСЕРОССІЙСКІЙ
:Московский, Кіевскій, Владимірскій, Новгородскій,
:Царь Казанскій, Царь Астраханскій, Царь Польскій, Царь Сибирскій, Царь Херсониса 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.
Titles for Russian Tsar's family
Tsaritsa (царица) is the term used for an Empress, though in English contexts this seems invariably to be altered to
tsarina. In the
Imperial Russia, the official title was Empress (Императрица). Tsaritsa (Empress) could be either the ruler herself or the wife (Empress consort) of tsar.
Tsesarevich (Цесаревич) (literally, "son of the tsesar") is the term for a
male heir apparent, the full title was
Heir Tsesarevich ("Naslednik Tsesarevich", Наследник Цесаревич), informally abbreviated in Russia to
The Heir ("Naslednik") (from the capital letter).
Tsarevich (царевич) was the term for a son. In older times the term was used in place of "Tsesarevich" (Цесаревич). A son who was not a heir was formally called
Velikii Kniaz (Великий Князь) (
Grand Duke). The latter title was also used for grandsons (through male lines).
Tsarevna (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.
Tsesarevna (Цесаревна) was the wife of the Tsesarevich.
Notes
#When Nicholas II abdicated in 1917 he abdicated not just on his own behalf but also on behalf of his teenage son, who was too ill to take up the throne. He named as his heir his own brother Michael. Michael initially accepted the throne and was proclaimed as Tsar Michael II. He subsequently declined it. Historians and lists of tsars differ as to whether to regard Michael or Nicholas II as the last tsar. Nicholas II was undoubtedly the last tsar to
rule Russia and so was the last
effective tsar. Michael, if he can be said to be tsar at all, exercised no governmental functions and merely
reigned nominally for a short time before himself abdicating. Michael, like his brother Nicholas, was
executed by the
Bolsheviks in 1918.
#In 1924
Grand Duke Cyril Romanov proclaimed himself Emperor in exile.
Category:Imperial Russia
Russia, Tsar
Category:Russian leaders
Category:Titles
Category:Positions of authority
bg:Цар
ca:Tsar
da:Zar
de:Zar
et:Tsaar
es:Zar
eo:Caro
fr:Tsar
id:Tsar
it:Zar
he:צאר
la:Tzar
nl:Tsaar
ja:ツァーリ
nb:Tsar
nn:Tsar
pl:Car
pt:Czar
ro:Ţar
ru:Цари
fi:Tsaari
sv:Tsar
zh:沙皇