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Tsar, (Russian царь, Bulgarian цар&#; often spelt Czar or Tzar in English), was the title used for the rulers of Imperial Russia from 1546 to 1917. It was first adopted by Ivan IV as symbolic of a change in the nature of the Russian monarchy. In 1721 Peter I adopted the title Emperor. (Император [Imperator]), by which he and his heirs were recognised, and which came to be used interchangeably with Tsar. It is derived from the Latin title Caesar.
The early Bulgarian emperors and the 20th-century kings of Bulgaria were also called tsars. Bulgarian Khan Boris I became the first Bulgarian Tsar after he converted to Christianity in 864. He was known as Tsar Boris The First or tsar Boris I of Bulgaria. Bulgarian Tsar (цар) is pronounced harder than the Russian (царь).
Often the word tsar is translated as emperor and vice versa. The Slavic languages often used tsar for other emperors; for example, the title of the Japanese emperor was translated as "tsar of Japan".
The domain or rule of a tsar is sometimes referred to as a tsardom.
The Patriarchs, heads of the Russian Orthodox Church, sometimes acted as the leaders of Russia -- as, for example, during the Polish occupation and interregnum of 1610 - 1613.
Rulers that were called tsars may be found in the following lists.
The full title of Russian emperors started with By the Grace of God, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias (Божию Милостию, Император и Самодержец Всероссийский [Bozhiyu Milostiyu, Imperator i Samodyerzhets Vserossiysky]) and went further to list all ruled territories. For example, according to the art. 59 of the Russian Constitution of April 23, 1906, "the full title of His Imperial Majesty is as follows: We, ------ by the grace of God, Emperor and Autocrat of all the Russias, of Moscow, Kiev, Vladimir, Novgorod, Tsar of Kazan, Tsar of Astrakhan, Tsar of Poland, Tsar of Siberia, Tsar of Tauric Khersones, Tsar of Grusia, Lord of Pskov, and Grand Duke of Smolensk, Lithuania, Volhynia, Podolia, and Finland, Prince of Estonia, Livonia, Courland and Semigalia, Samogitia, Bielostok, Korelia, Tver, Jugra, Perm, Vyatka, Bulgaria, and other territories; Lord and Grand Duke of Novgorod, Chernigov; Ruler of Ryazan, Polotsk, Rostov, Jaroslavl, Bielozero, Udoria, Obdoria, Kondia, Vitebsk, Mstislav, and all northern territories ; Ruler of Iveria, Kartalinia, and the Kabardinian lands and Armenian territories - hereditary Ruler and Lord of the Cherkess and Mountain Princes and others; Lord of Turkestan, Heir of Norway, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, Stormarn, Ditmarsch, Oldenburg, and so forth, and so forth, and so forth." For example, Nicholas II of Russia was titled as follows (notice the archaic spelling):
The word tsar is derived from the Latin title Caesar by way of the Old Slavonic tsesar (цесарь). The word is cognate with German Kaiser and Gothic Káisar. The contraction of цесарь into царь occurred by the way of shorthand writing of titles in old Slavonic church manuscripts, see Titlo article. One may see the examples of this, e.g., in the older copies of the Slavic Primary Chronicle.
The spelling tsar is the closest possible transliteration of the Russian using standard English spelling. Both czar and tsar have been accepted in English for the last century as a correct usage. French adopted the form tsar during the 19th century, and it became more frequent in English towards the end of that century, following its adoption by the Times newspaper in Britain. (see the Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition).
The spelling czar originated with the Austrian diplomat Baron Sigismund von Herberstein, whose Rerum Moscoviticarum Commentarii (1549) (literally Notes on Muscovite Affairs) was the main source of knowledge of Russia in early modern western Europe. It is not found in any of the Slavic languages, but is the primary spelling adopted by Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (11th Edition, 2003), with tsar offered only as a variant.
Modern usage seems to have standardized on the use of tsar to describe former rulers of Russia, while czar is used to informally describe an expert in charge of implementing policy (especially in the US): economics czar, drug czar, etc.
Correct pronunciation of tsar is /tsar'/ in SAMPA though many if not most English-speaking people pronounce it /zAr/. This is because although English has ts in words like cats it is unusual for this sound to start an English word.
In Christian Europe the use of the title emperor is more than an affectation. A king recognises that the church is an equal or superior in the religious sphere, emperors do not. This was illustrated by Henry VIII of England who started to use the word imperium in his dispute with the Pope over his first divorce. By stating that they were emperors the Russian rulers could claim to be the head of the (Russian Orthodox) church and did not recognise any superior authority but God.
Tsaritsa (царица) is the term used for an Empress, though in English contexts this seems invariably to be altered to tsarina. In the Imperial Russia, the official title was Empress (Императрица). Tsaritsa (Empress) could be either the ruler herself or the wife (Empress consort) of tsar.
Tsesarevich (Цесаревич) (literally, "son of the tsesar") is the term for a male heir apparent, the full title was Heir Tsesarevich ("Naslednik Tsesarevich", Наследник Цесаревич), informally abbreviated in Russia to The Heir ("Naslednik") (from the capital letter).
Tsarevich (царевич) was the term for a son. In older times the term was used in place of "Tsesarevich" (Цесаревич). A son who was not a heir was formally called Velikii Kniaz (Великий Князь) (Grand Duke). The latter title was also used for grandsons (through male lines).
Tsarevna (царевна) was the term for a daughter and a granddaughter of a Tsar or Tsarina. The official title was Velikaya Kniaginya (Великая Княгиня), translated as Grand Duchess or Grand Princess.
See also Grand Duchess for more details on the Velikaya Kniaginya title.
Tsesarevna (Цесаревна) was the wife of the Tsesarevich.
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