The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period (starting in 27 BC). 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 or caesar. Another title often used was imperator, originally a military honorific. Early Emperors also used the title princeps. Emperors frequently amassed Republican titles, notably princeps Senatus, consul and Pontifex Maximus.

The legitimacy of an emperor's rule depended on his control of the army and recognition by the Senate; an emperor would normally be proclaimed by his troops, or invested with imperial titles by the Senate, or both. The first emperors reigned alone; later emperors would sometimes rule with co-Emperors and divide administration of the Empire between them.

The Romans considered the office of emperor to be distinct to that of a king. The first emperor, Augustus, resolutely refused recognition as a monarch. Although Augustus could claim that his power was authentically Republican, his successor, Tiberius, could not convincingly make the same claim. Nonetheless, for the first three hundred years of Roman Emperors, from Augustus until Diocletian, a great effort was made to emphasize that the Emperors were the leaders of a Republic.

The office of Roman Emperor went through a complex evolution over the centuries of its existence. During its earliest phase, the Principate, the reality of autocratic rule was masked behind the forms and conventions of oligarchic self-government inherited from the Roman Republic. The emperor had no specific office unless he chose to occupy the Republican office of consul.

Julio-Claudian dynasty

The Julio-Claudian dynasty was composed of the Iulii Caesares and the Claudii Nerones, two distinguished patrician families in the waning days of the old Republic. The Iulii Caesares rose to absolute power in the Roman state in the person of the paterfamilias, Julius Caesar himself; upon his murder in 44 BC, the majority of his estate passed to his posthumously adopted son, Octavian, the grandson of Caesar's sister Julia.

Octavian emerged from a series of civil wars as the sole master of the Roman world, and in January 27 BC was appointed princeps senatus and given the cognomen "Augustus" (Latin, "Majestic" or "Venerable"); henceforth he styled himself "Imperator Caesar Augustus". He continued to be elected consul ordinarius each year until 23 BC.

Roman Emperor was a full-rigged ship built in 1848.

The Roman Emperor made at least two voyages from England to New Zealand, arriving there in 1860 and 1863. Each voyage carried many immigrants to New Zealand. The novelist Samuel Butler arrived in Christchurch on the Roman Emperor in January 1860.

References

Francis I (German: Franz Stefan; Italian: Francesco Stefano; English: Francis Stephen; 8 December 1708 – 18 August 1765) was Holy Roman Emperor and Grand Duke of Tuscany, though his wife effectively executed the real powers of those positions. With his wife, Maria Theresa, he was the founder of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty. From 1728 until 1737 he was Duke of Lorraine. In 1737, Lorraine became managed by France under terms resulting from the War of the Polish Succession. Francis and the House of Lorraine received the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in the peace treaty that ended that war. After taking the throne of the Holy Roman Empire, the return of the ancestral duchy of Lorraine went nominally to his brother Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine (who was however engaged in ruling the Austrian Netherlands), until succession under derivate house alliances resulted in Lorraine's annexation to France in 1766.

Early life

Francis was born in Nancy, Lorraine (now in France), the oldest surviving son of Leopold Joseph, duke of Lorraine, and his wife Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans, daughter of Philippe, duc d'Orléans.

The Holy Roman Emperor (German: Römisch-deutscher Kaiser, Latin: Romanorum Imperator) was the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire. From an autocracy in Carolingian times the title evolved into an elected monarchy chosen by the Prince-electors. Until the Reformation the Emperor elect (imperator electus) was required to be crowned by the Pope before assuming the imperial title.

The title was held in conjunction with the rule of the Kingdom of Germany and the Kingdom of Italy (Imperial Northern Italy). In theory, the Holy Roman Emperor was primus inter pares (first among equals) among the other Roman Catholic monarchs; in practice, a Holy Roman Emperor was only as strong as his army and alliances made him.

Various royal houses of Europe, at different times, effectively became hereditary holders of the title, in particular in later times the Habsburgs. After the Reformation many of the subject states and most of those in Germany were Protestant while the Emperor continued to be Catholic. The Holy Roman Empire was dissolved by the last Emperor (who became simply the Emperor of Austria) as a result of the collapse of the polity during the Napoleonic wars.

Holy Roman Emperor, is a retired Thoroughbred racehorseand active sire. He was a leading two-year-old racehorse, winning four races from seven runs in Europe in 2006.

Background

Holy Roman Emperor was sired by Danehill out of a Secretariat mare. Holy Roman Emperor was trained by Aidan O'Brien at Ballydoyle.

Racing career

In 2006 Holy Roman Emperor won two Group One races, the Phoenix Stakes where he defeated the Coventry Stakes winner Hellvelyn and subsequent Group One winning filly Miss Beatrix and the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère where he defeated the useful French colt Battle Paint. He also defeated subsequent three-year-old mile champion Excellent Art producing a blistering turn of foot to win the Group Two Railway Stakes at the Curragh.

His greatest rival was Teofilo, to whom he finished runner-up twice, firstly in the National Stakes, and later in the Dewhurst Stakes. There was great anticipation of another year of races between the pair, but it was decided in March 2007 to retire Holy Roman Emperor to stud as a replacement for George Washington, who was suffering fertility problems (and was also a son of Danehill).

Francis I or Francis the First may refer to: