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The title of imperator ( ) originally meant the rough equivalent of commander under the Roman Republic. Later, it became a part of the titulature of the as their praenomen. The Roman emperors generally based their authority on multiple titles and positions, rather than preferring any single title. Nevertheless, imperator was used relatively consistently as an element of a Roman ruler's title throughout the Principate and the later Roman Empire. It was abbreviated to "IMP" in inscriptions. The word derives from the stem of the verb , meaning 'to order, to command'. The English word emperor derives from imperator via .
Since a triumph was the goal of many politically ambitious commanders, republican history is full of cases where Roman legion were bribed to call their commander imperator. The title of imperator was given firstly to Aemilius Paulus in 189 BC, for his campaigns against the Lusitanians from 191–189 BC.The Oxford Classical Dictionary, entry 'Imperator', Third Edition, Oxford University Press, 1996. Next, it was given to Lucius Cornelius Sulla in 95 BC as governor or pro consul of the Cilician province for his returning of Ariobarzanes I to the Cappadocia throne.Ampelius 31 with Mackay (2000), pp. 178–93. Then in 90 BC to Lucius Julius Caesar, in 84 BC to Pompey, in 60 BC to Julius Caesar, relative of the previously mentioned Lucius Julius Caesar, during the 50s BC to Gaius Julius Caesar (in Gaul), in 45 BC again to Gaius Julius Caesar, in 43 BC to Decimus Junius Brutus, and in 41 BC to Lucius Antonius (younger brother and ally of the more famous Marcus Antonius). In AD 15 Germanicus was also imperator during the empire (see below) of his adoptive father Tiberius.Tacitus, The Annals
As a title imperator was generally translated into Greek as autokrator ("one who rules oneself," also sometimes used as a translation for ). This was necessarily imprecise as it lost the nuances of Latin political thought contrasting imperium with other forms of public authority. Nevertheless, this title (along with sebastos for augustus) was used in Greek-language texts for Roman emperors from the establishment of the empire.
In the east, the title continued to be used into the Byzantine period, although to a lesser, and much more ceremonial extent. In most Byzantine writings, the Greek translation "Autokrator" is preferred, but "Imperator" makes an appearance in Constantine IV's mid seventh century mosaic in the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe, and on various ninth century lead seals.
After 800, the imperator was used (in conjunction with augustus) as a formal Latin title in succession by the Carolingian and German Holy Roman Emperors until 1806 and by the Emperors until 1918.
In medieval Spain, the title imperator was used under a variety of circumstances from the ninth century onward, but its use peaked, as a formal and practical title, between 1086 and 1157. It primarily was used by the Kings of León and Castile, but it also found currency in the Kingdom of Navarre and was employed by the Counts of Castile and at least one Duke of Galicia. It signalled at various points the king's equality with the Byzantine Emperor and Holy Roman Emperor, his rule by conquest or military superiority, his rule over several people groups ethnic or religious, and his claim to suzerainty over the other kings of the peninsula, both Christian and Muslim.
Beginning in 1077, Alfonso instituted the use of the style ego Adefonsus imperator totius Hispaniae ("I, Alfonso, emperor of all Spain") and its use soon became regular.Reilly 1988, 137. This title was used throughout the period 1079–81, which represents the peak of his imperial pretensions before his capture of the city of Toledo, ancient capital of the Visigoths. In 1080, he introduced the form ego Adefonsus Hispaniarum imperator ("I, Alfonso, emperor of the Spains"), which he used again in 1090. His most elaborate imperial title was ego Adefonsus imperator totius Castelle et Toleto necnon et Nazare seu Alave ("I, Alfonso, emperor of all Castile and of Toledo also and of Nájera, or Álava").García Gallo 1945, 214.
After the Ottoman Empire conquered both the Balkan peninsula (Rumeli in Turkish meaning "lands of Rome") and Constantinople, the Turkish ruler acclaimed to be the Caesar of Rome ( sultan-ı iklim-i Rûm). In the fifteenth century Bayezid II established diplomatic relations with some Christian European states, and sent a document to the King of Poland in which he used the titles Sultan Dei gratia Asie, Grecie etc. Imperator Maximus ("with help of God, emperor of Asia and Greece"). Like his predecessor, Selim I titled himself imperator in diplomatic correspondence ( per la Divina favente clementia Grande Imperator di Constantinopoli, di Asia, Europa, Persia, Syria et Egypto et Arabia et de li mari etc.) due to his military successes. (2025). 9781139136952, Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781139136952
It is not clear when the feminine form of the Latin term imperator originated or was used for the first time. It usually indicates a reigning monarch, and is thus used in the Latin version of titles of modern reigning empresses.
When Fortuna is identified "imperatrix mundi" in the Carmina Burana, the term describes the Goddess Fortune, or a personification of her, it is as the "ruler of the world".
The word imperatrix, which did not exist in Latin, is deployed by Cicero for Clodia in 56 BC; only in the mid-fifth century AD is Pulcheria Augusta also imperatrix.
In Christian context, Imperatrix became a laudatory address to the Virgin Mary, in diverse forms at least since the Middle Ages — for example, she is sometimes called "Imperatrix angelorum" ("ruler of the angels").
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