Tsar

Tsar (Russian царь; often spelt Czar or Tzar in English), was the title used for the rulers of Imperial Russia from 1546 to 1917. It was first adopted by Ivan IV as symbolic of a change in the nature of the Russian monarchy. 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.

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".

The domain or rule of a tsar is sometimes referred to as a tsardom.

The Patriarchs, heads of the Russian Orthodox Church, sometimes acted as the leaders of Russia -- as, for example, during the Polish occupation and interregnum of 1610 - 1613.

Table of contents
1 Full title
2 Etymology and spelling
3 Titles for Tsar's family
4 List of Russian rulers
5 List of Serbian tsars
6 List of Bulgarian tsars
7 Related topics
8 Footnote

Full title

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 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.

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 newspaper in Britain. (see the Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition).

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, etc.

Correct pronunciation of tsar is /tsar'/ in SAMPA though many if not most English-speaking people pronounce it /zAr/.

Titles for Tsar's family

Tsaritsa is the term used for an Empress, though in English contexts this seems invariably to be altered to tsarina. Tsaritsa could be either a ruler herself or a wife (Empress consort) of tsar.

Tsesarevich (literally, "son of the tsesar") is the term for a male heir apparent, the full title was Heir Tsesarevich ("Naslednik Tsesarevich"), informally abbreviated in Russia to The Heir ("Naslednik") (from the capital letter).

Tsarevich was the term for a son. In older times the term was used in place of "Tsesarevich". A son who was not a heir was formally called Velikii Kniaz (Grand Duke). The latter title was also used for grandsons (through male lines).

Tsarevna was the term for a daughter of a Tsar or Tsarina.

Tsesarevna was the wife of the Tsesarevich.

List of Russian rulers

(For pre-Muscovite Russia see Rulers of Kievan Rus)

List of Serbian tsars

List of Bulgarian tsars

Tsar was the title of the rulers of Bulgaria in 893 - 1014, 1085 - 1396 and 1908 - 1946

Dulo clan

House of Comitopuli (976-1018) House of Asen (the Asenites) (1186-1277, 1279-1280) House of Terter (1280-1292, 1300-1323) House of Shishman (1323-1396) House of Battenberg (1879-1886)

House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (1887-1946)

Related topics

Footnote

1 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.





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