This is a list including all rulers who had carried the title of emperor or who ruled states generally regarded as empires in the constitutional or dynastic sense. It excludes rulers whose states are described as colonial empires solely because of their overseas possessions, such as the British, French, Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese empires, unless they also held an explicit imperial title, as the British monarchs did through the title Emperor (or Empress) of India between 1876 and 1947. Some titles, such as “tsar” or “padishah”, could denote “emperor” in certain historical contexts, but did not always carry an imperial meaning. For example, “tsar” in the modern Kingdom of Bulgaria is generally understood as equivalent to “king” rather than “emperor”, while "padishah" in the Kingdom of Afghanistan is not generally regarded as an imperial title.
Emperors of empires
Asia EmpireDurationTitle(s)SeeIranAchaemenid Empire550 BC–330 BCShahanshah("King of Kings")List of Persian monarchsSeleucid Empire312 BC–63 BCBasileus Megas("Great King")List of Seleucid rulersParthian Empire247 BC–224 ADShahanshah("King of Kings")List of Persian monarchsSasanian Empire224–651Buyid Empire978–1062Seljuk Empire1037–1194Ilkhanate1295–1388Padishah("Master King")Timurid Empire1370–1507Qara Qoyunlu1452–1469List of rulers of Qara QoyunluAq Qoyunlu1465–1508List of rulers of Aq QoyunluSafavid Empire1501–17361750–1773Shahanshah("King of Kings")List of Persian monarchsHotak dynasty1722–1738Afsharid Empire1736–1796Qajar Empire1789–1925Pahlavi Iran1925–1979Indian subcontinentMaurya Empire322 BC–184 BCChakravarti("ideal universal ruler")Samrat("proper ruler")List of Mauryan emperorsChola Empire848–1279Chakravartigal("ideal universal ruler")List of Tamil monarchsMughal Empire1526–1857Padishah("Master King")Shahenshah ("King of Kings")List of Mughal emperorsBritish Indian Empire1877–1947King-EmperorEmperor of IndiaEast AsiaImperial China221 BC–1912皇帝 (Huángdì)("Godly Ruler")List of Chinese emperorsEmpire of China (1915–1916)1915–1916Hongxian EmperorManchukuo1934–1945Datong EmperorJapan660 BC-Present天皇 (Tennō)("Heavenly Sovereign") 皇帝 (Kōtei)("Godly Ruler")List of emperors of JapanGoryeo918–1270聖皇 (Seonghwang)("Holy Sovereign") 皇帝 (Hwangje)("Godly Ruler")List of monarchs of KoreaKorean Empire1897–1910皇帝 (Hwangje)("Godly Ruler")Nanyue204–125 BC皇帝 (Hoàng Đế)("Godly Ruler")List of Vietnamese emperorsVạn Xuân544–602Vietnam968–1945OtherRouran Khaganate330–555Khagan("Great Khan")Khmer Empire802–1431Devarāja("Godly ruler")Monarchy of CambodiaOttoman Empire1453–1922Padishah("Master King")List of Ottoman emperorsMongol Empire1206–1634Khagan("Great Khan")List of Mongol rulersDurrani Empire 1747–18231839–1842Padishah("Master King")List of Afghan monarchs
Europe EmpireDurationTitle(s)SeeAlexandrian Empire331 BC–301 BCBasileusAlexander the GreatRoman Empire27 BC–1453Augustus ("Venerable")BasileusList of Roman emperorsList of Byzantine emperorsEmpire of Nicaea1204–1261BasileusEmpire of Trebizond1204–1461BasileusList of Trapezuntine emperorsEmpire of Thessalonica1224–1242BasileusLatin Empire1204–1261ImperatorLatin EmperorHoly Roman Empire800–1806ImperatorHoly Roman EmperorAvar Khaganate567–822Khagan("Great Khan")Bulgarian Empire (First)(Second)913–10181185–1396TsarList of Bulgarian monarchsIberia1034–1157Imperator totius HispaniaeSerbian Empire1346–1373TsarList of Serbian monarchsRussian Tsardom1547–1721TsarList of Russian monarchsRussian Empire1721–1917ImperatorAustrian Empire 1804–1867KaiserList of Austrian monarchsAustro-Hungarian Empire1867–1918Kaiser or KirályList of Austrian monarchs List of Hungarian monarchsGerman Empire1871–1918KaiserList of German monarchsFrench Empire (First) (Second)1804–18151852–1870EmpereurList of French monarchs
Americas EmpireDurationTitleSeeAztec Empire1375–1521Hueyi Tlatoani("great ruler")List of tlatoque of TetzcocoInca Empire1438–1533Sapa Inca("only ruler")Pre-Conquest Sapa IncasPost-Conquest Sapa IncasEmpire of Brazil1822–1889ImperadorList of Brazilian monarchsEmpire of Haiti (First) (Second)1804–1806 1849–1859EmpereurList of monarchs of HaitiMexican Empire (First) (Second)1822–1823 1864-1867Emperador
Africa EmpireDurationTitle(s)SeeEthiopian Empire1270–1975Nəgusä nägäst("ruler of rulers")List of Ethiopian emperorsCentral African Empire1976–1979EmpereurEmperor Bokassa
Self-proclaimed "emperors" See also Self-proclaimed monarchy and micronation
Yi Ching-ok, "Emperor of the Geum dynasty" (1453) Jovan Nenad, "Emperor of Serbs" (1526–1527) Andrés Novales, “Emperor of the Philippines” (1823) Joshua Abraham Norton, “Emperor of the United States of America” (1859-1880)
Fictional emperors Category: Fictional emperors and empresses
References