Tsar

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Tsar (Bulgarian, Serbian and Macedonian цар, Russian (help·info)), often spelled Czar or Tzar and sometimes Csar or Zar in English, was the official title, either rendered as King (the officially correct equivalent) or (informally customary in the Russian case) Emperor, used for the autocratic monarchs in three strong, in the political sense 'imperial', Slavonic states:

  • Bulgaria in 913-1396/1422 and 1908-1946
  • Serbia between 1346 and 1371
  • all Russia from 1547 until 1721, when the higher imperial style was assumed instead, while Tsar was officially maintained only as a multiple subsidiary title of the Russian Autocrat in some of his peripheral realms, notably Georgia, Kazan, Poland and Siberia.

However, the transliteration of this title in foreign languages such as English is commonly used also, in fact chiefly, for all Russian Emperors to 1917, though this usage is technically incorrect;

Even though the word Tsar connoted like emperor, it was used indifferently of both emperors and kings, being officially the equivalent of the Slavonic krol, kral and Russian korol as well as the Magyar, kiraly, all meaning King, which had been adopted from the name of Charlemagne (German Karl (der Große), Latin Carolus (Magnus)). The last Russian ruler formally styled Tsar, Peter the Great, at the peace of Nystad (November, 1721), assumed the Byzantine (orthodox) styles of imperator (Latin: to the Orthodox somewhat exotic) and Autocrat, intended to mark his imperial dignity as the equal of the Catholic Habsburg Emperor, as the 'third Rome' (after Byzantium; the Holy Roman empire succeeding to the original Rome in the Western Empire of Antiquity).

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Etymology, history and spelling

The word tsar is derived from the Greek form Kaisar of the Latin (Byzantium's official language) title Caesar (which has a complex history starting in the Roman, ending in utter devaluation as the Byzantine empire, which forged ever loftier princely styles for the imperial houses in its long history, commonly handed out 'honorary princeships' to 'allies' (and enemies it needed to placate) of ranks no longer high enough to be reserved for the porphyrogenetes) by way of the Old Slavonic tsesar (цесарь). The word is cognate with German Kaiser, Gothic káisar, Dutch keizer, Danish kejser, Swedish kejsare, and Norwegian keiser. 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.

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, etcetera.

The original Russian pronunciation of tsar is [tsarʲ] (in IPA notation) though many if not most English-speaking people pronounce it considerably differently: [zɑr] or [zɑ:]. This is because although English has [ts] in words like cats, it is unusual for this sound to start an English word.

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 early spelling czar originated with the Austrian diplomat Baron Sigismund von Herberstein, whose Rerum Moscoviticarum Commentarii (1549) 'Notes on Muscovite Affairs' was the main source of knowledge of Russia in early modern western Europe, while not found in any of the Slavic languages.

Throughout history, the terms Emperor ("Imperator") and Tsar were used informally as if interchangeable for the Russian sovereign, and just as incorrectly 'the' Tsar without any specification is used, absolutely, for the Russian Emperor. However, in all official uses, Tsar was merely the equivalent of the lower rank of King, as attested by the non-use of that word in foreign languages and the granting to the 'protected' Georgian vassal.

Meanwhile, ironically, the correct title Tsar for both Balkan rulers of that official style (in Bulgaria and Serbia) was rarely used in informal speech, rather translated to its western equivalent, e.g. Roi in French (often used in diplomacy at the time) for the Bulgarian Tsar.

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Bulgaria

Prince Boris I is sometimes referred as tsar, because at his time Bulgaria was Christianized. However, the title "tsar" was adopted fully and used as the ruler's royal style in Bulgaria by his son Simeon I, following a decisive victory over the Byzantine Empire in 913.

It was also used by all of Simeon I's successors (927-1018;1185-1396) until the fall of Bulgaria under Ottoman rule in 1396. After Bulgaria's liberation from the Ottomans in 1878, its new monarchs adopted the title tsar again and used it between 1908 and 1946.

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Russia

In 1547, Ivan IV of Russia, of the Moscovian dynasty, 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 besides which the former style Tsar continued to be used informally as a (technically incorrect) synonym.

Actually, the new style was adopted precisely to underline a claim that Russia, by now a rising major power in Europe, invoking a marriage to a Byzantine princess considered heiress to the (since the Ottoman conquest fictitious) imperial crown, was the Orthodox "third Rome", succeeding in every respect to Byzantium, the orthodox "second Rome".

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Full style of Russian Sovereigns

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 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, 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 Georgia, Lord of Pskov, and Grand Duke of Smolensk, Lithuania, Volhynia, Podolia, and Finland, Prince of Estonia, Livonia, Courland and Semigalia, Samogitia, Białystok, Karelia, Tver, Yugra, Perm, Vyatka, Bulgaria, and other territories; Lord and Grand Duke of Nizhni Novgorod, Chernigov; Ruler of Ryazan, Polotsk, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Beloozero, 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, Dithmarschen, Oldenburg, and so forth, and so forth, and so forth."

For example, Nicholas II of Russia (1 November 1894 - 15 March 1917) was titled as follows (notice the Cyrillic 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.
  • The Emperor's subsidiary title of Tsar in chief of Kazan proclaimed the chief orthodox dynasty as successor in law to the mighty Islamic khanate of Kazan, not maintaining its 'heathen' title (as the Ottoman Great Sultans did in several cases), but christening it.
  • The Emperor's subsidiary title of Tsar in chief of Siberia is a bizarre forging, almost historical forgery, as there never was such a kingdom, only a very weak Tartar (heathen Islamic) Khanate of Sibir, easily subdued in the early stages of the exploration and annexation of hugely larger Siberia, 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 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 is not in chief of another 'Russian' realm but of the 20 June 1815 - 5 November 1916 legally separate (actually subordinate) Polish Kingdom, nominally in personal union with Russia, established by the Congress of Vienna (also called "Congress Poland"), in a sense reviving the royal style of the pre-existent national kingdom of Poland, which however had used as its native royal title Król before it was carved up in three successive partitions between Russia, Prussia and Austria.
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Titles in the Russian Royal/Imperial family

Tsaritsa (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 tsar.

Tsesarevich (Цесаревич) (literally, "son of the tsar") 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.

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Notes

  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 Mikhail. Mikhail initially considered accepting the throne, conditional upon the people accepting him as their ruler. But a day or two later he decided against this course. He saw no need to formally abdicate a throne he had never formally accepted. He was never proclaimed as "Tsar Mikhail II". Historians and lists of tsars differ as to whether to regard Mikhail or Nicholas II as the last tsar. Nicholas II was undoubtedly the last tsar to rule Russia and so was the last effective tsar. Mikhail, if he can be said to have been Tsar at all, exercised no governmental functions and merely reigned nominally for a very short time. Mikhail, like his brother Nicholas, was executed by the Bolsheviks in 1918.
  2. In 1924 Grand Duke Cyril Romanov proclaimed himself Emperor in exile.
  3. Moscow and Saint-Petersburg are known as the two tsar's capitals, though the latter was precisely founded as the new capital, symbolizing the new empire after Peter had shed the formal style of Tsar.
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Georgia

After Russia had established its protectorate over the (also orthodox) kingdom of Georgia, the Russian Emperor recognised the following styles and titles as of 24th September 1783 (old style)

  • for its 'Hereditary Sovereign and Prince' (in fact now a vassal) until the annexation, when he hiself added this realm to his full style with the same title of Tsar: The Most Serene Tsar (reign name), by the will of our Lord, Tsar of Kartli, Tsar of Kakheti, Hereditary Prince of Samtzkhé-Saatabago, Ruling Prince of Kazakh, Borchalo, Shamshadilo, Kak, Shaki, and Shirvan, Prince and Lord of Ganja and Erivan, with the style of His Majesty; however these Russian designations were largely ignored in Georgia by the Georgians themselves, who continued to use the ancient styles and titles (varying in time, but here is the latest example): The Mepe-Umaglesi 'Most High King' (reign name), by the will of our Lord, Mepe-Mepeta 'King of Kings' of the Abkhazis, Kartvelians, Ranians, Kakhetians and the Armenians, Shirvanshah and Shahanshah (two Persian titles, royal viz. imperial) and Master of all the East and West.
  • All sons of the Georgian Sovereign, including the Heir, were styled: Tsarevitch 'Prince' (given name) (father's name) Grouzinskii, i.e. Prince of Georgia, with the style of His Highness.
  • All legitimate male descendants of Kings Irakli II and Giorgi XII, in the male line, were styled: Kniaz 'Prince' (given name) (father's name) Grouzinskii, i.e. Prince of Georgia, with the style of His Serene Highness.
  • More remote princes of the blood or descendants in the natural line, also received the title of Kniaz (given name) (father's name) Bagration (the name of the royal dynasty, which has also ruled in Armenia), frequently with a territorial or other designation, e.g. Bagration-Mukhranskii 'Bagration of Mukhrani'.
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Serbia

The title Tsar was also used in Serbia, but only by two monarchs - Stefan Dusan and Stefan Uroš V in the 14th century. Previous and later medieval Serbian Monarchs used the royal title King.

However when Serbia, emerging as a princedom as it throws of Ottoman domination, is again accepted as a kingdom, its ruler, in fact the last knjaz (prince), adopts another, native royal title, kralj, and so the King's full style is, 6 March 1882 - 1 December 1918 (New Style): Po milosti Bozjoj i volji narodnoj kralj Srbije "By the grace of God and the will of the nation, King of Serbia".

Again, when the Serbian dynasty comes to rule an enlarged kingdom, including Crotia and Slovenia, so three peoples on the Balkan peninsula, after a decade generally collectively referred to as Yugoslavs (literally "Southern Slavonic"), its full style remains accordingly:

  • 1 December 1918 (New Style) - 3 October 1929: Po milosti Bozjoj i volji narodnoj kralj Srba, Hrvata i Slovenaca "By the Grace of God and will of the people, King of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes";
  • 3 October 1929 - 29 November 1945: Po milosti Bozjoj i volji narodnoj kralj Jugoslavije "By the Grace of God and will of the people, King of Yugoslavia".

Several other Serbian rulers are known as Tsars, though they realistically can't be called so:

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Metaphorical uses

Like many lofty titles, e.g. Moghol, Tsar or Czar has been used as a metaphore for positions of high authority, in English since 1866 (referring to U.S. President Andrew Johnson), with a connotation of dictatorial powers and style, fitting since Autocrat was an official title of the Russian Emperor (informally referred to as 'the Czar').

However this use is not limited to statesmen, e.g. 'drug tsar' for the head of the U.S. agency against illegal narcotics.

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See also

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Sources and References