Difference between revisions of "Emperor"

Generally, an '''emperor''' is a head of state who wields utmost governmental control over an [[empire]]. The theoretical female variant is '''empress''', coined by Duke [[Orin Grandier]] in anticipation of the [[Catarine Dominion]] under [[Catarin deSangre]]'s absolute rule, though in the end, she yielded to tradition through her marriage to the [[Shallam]]ese consort Prince [[Evander Christin]]. [[Vertani]] emperors prefer the title of [[ascendant]] to mark what they term their '''overlord'''; the position ranks the same, though the means of gaining the title vary from those of a traditional emperor. Most emperors are traditionally also known as kings, and most assume the throne by way of monarchal succession.

The first known person to achieve the rank was Emperor [[Sulaiman]] of [[Shallam]]. (Though it is likely that [[Lorielan]] became empress of the [[Crystal Realm]] long before Sulaiman was born, this title was probably interpreted ex post facto during [[Kx'Khrah]] translation due to the fact that the [[Wars of Succession|Succession]]-era Orin Grandier coined the feminine form.) The position of emperor persisted in Shallam right up until the [[Seleucar]]ian conquest of the city, after which it would have been a peerage faux pas – gauche at best, traitorous at worst – for the Shallamese leader to wear any rank above that of "king."

Some time during the span of Shallamese emperors, the kings of the [[Kasmarkin]] empire also opted to bear the title. Chiefly known among these was [[Rakmarkha III]], last emperor of [[Kasmarkin]]. Given the numeral suffix "III," it is possible that at least two emperors came before Rakmarkha III – and likely, given his reign at the very downfall of the empire, that there were more predecessors still. With the sinking of Kasmarkin and the scattering of the [[Troll]]ish peoples, this position all but dissipated into the annals of history.

Directly after the demotion of the last Shallamese emperor, the rise of the [[Seleucarian Empire]] lent nobility to the progenitor of the most famous of all royal bloodlines: Emperor [[Nicator]], whose descendants the [[deSangre]]s ruled the continent for nigh on 800 years. With the fall of the Empire by the hands and blades of the [[Sapient League]], the position of emperor was again snuffed from the face of [[Sapience]].

On a more minor note, declarations were made in 184 AF of the formation of the [[Kharon Empire]]. Never fully recognised by Sapience as a political entity in its own right, the self-proclaimed empire dissolved in 187 AF, reformed in 200 AF, and dissolved again in the same year due to an inability to be taken seriously.