Have you ever wondered what the difference is between an emperor and a king?
Well typically, a king rules over one country;
Whereas an emperor rules over many countries.
A king normally rules by birthright; but can also seize power through conquest
An emperor normally rules by conquest but can also gain power by inheritance
In the past, empires were made up of multiple countries - however Japan has always been
an exception to this rule.
The only current ruling emperor is the emperor of Japan.
Let’s look at the Japanese system.
Prior to the 11th century, Japan was a collection of feudal states ruled by its landowners.
The Emperor was appointed by these aristocrats to help resolve disputes and act as a unifying
force that would rule over these feudal lands.
In terms of etymology, the word Emperor is actually a Latin word, derived from the verb
imperāre, meaning 'to rule'.
The word King is Germanic and is related to the English word kin
Meaning family-which denotes the birthright aspect of kingship
Both Kings and Emperors were believed to have divine status.
Emperors were considered to be Gods within their Empires, whereas kings were deemed to
reign by the Grace of God.
There seem to be no definite rules which can be used to determine whether a ruler is an
emperor or a king.
For example, Louis XVI was a king but Napoleon was an emperor
However, usually the hierarchy looks like this:
A Duke rules an area by having a force that they control completely
A Prince rules over several Duchies or a Princedom
A King is the holder of several Princedoms or a Kingdom
An Emperor is the holder of several Kingdoms or an Empire.
Accordingly, it is possible for emperors to rule over kings as well.
There are, however some cultural variations.
A modern day example would be the President of the United States and President of India.
Both are presidents – but the way they are elected and their duties and powers are quite
different.
Similarly, in Ancient Rome the word emperor was used to describe the ruler of the Roman
Empire, which consisted of multiple territories.
Whereas the Japanese emperor ruled over mainly just one country.
There is also the King-Emperor or Queen-Empress - a sovereign ruler who is simultaneously
a king of one territory and emperor of another.
Like Queen Victoria,
who was the queen of England.
But an Empress of India
This is usually created by the merger of both the royal and imperial crowns.
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