User:Ichthyovenator/Roman imperial titles

The titles of the Roman emperors test

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Full titles and titles in documents


The latest known inscription to offer the full standard Roman imperial titles (including the last definite use of the title pontifex maximus by a Roman emperor) dates to 370 and contains the titles of Emperor Gratian ((r. undefined – undefined)375–383). These titles read:

By Gratian's time, the full imperial titles were only used very rarely. In the half century that separated Constantine the Great from Gratian, the full titles are only attested three times (from emperors Constantius II, Julian and Valentinian I). The vast majority of dedications to, and edicts by, emperors from the fourth century and onwards used only pius felix maximus victor ac triumphator semper Augustus, sometimes with victory titles as well. Despite this rarity, the full titles were probably never formally abolished as they appear in later letters and documents. In a letter dated to 7 February 457, Emperors Valentinian III (western emperor, (r. undefined – undefined)425–455) and Marcian (eastern emperor, (r. undefined – undefined)450–457) are accorded these titles:

An even later example is known from a letter to the Roman senate, dated to 516. In the letter, Emperor Anastasius I ((r. undefined – undefined)491–518) is accorded these titles:

The only significant differences between these later titles and the 370 title of Gratian is that the word maximus has been replaced by inclitus in all places where it originally appeared. Maximus had been added to victory titles by Roman emperors since the late second century but had been replaced by inclitus in the fifth century, which at that point was viewed as an equivalent title. The reasoning behind the change might be that the emperors wished to transform the title of pontifex maximus, the high priest of the Roman religion, into something more acceptable within a Christian framework and once they had changed that title into pontifex inclitus, other places where maximus were used had to be changed as well.

A titulature similar to the one used by Anastasius I, though without many of the less prominent titles, is ascribed to Emperor Justin II ((r. undefined – undefined)565–574) in the Novellae Constitutiones:

Titles on coins
Probably the most widely used standardized titulature represented on coins in Late antiquity was DN [Emperor's name] PF (or PP) AVG, introduced in the 4th century. DN stands for Dominus Noster ("our lord"), PF for Pius Felix ("pious, fortunate"), PP for Perpetuus ("eternal") and AVG for Augustus. The standard titulature represented on Roman coins continued to be used during the early centuries of the Byzantine Empire, though DN and PFAVG ceased to be easily intelligible by the end of the 7th century. Although Greek was gradually replacing Latin as an administrative language in the East at this time (it had been the popular language in the East throughout Roman rule), Latin continued to figure in titulature and in ceremonies for some time. Significant changes took place during the 8th century in that DN was dropped and PF AVG was replaced by PAMVLT, standing for per annos multos ("for many years"). With this substitution, the use of Augustus on coins largely ceased in the 8th century, often replaced with equivalent Greek terms such as despotes, basileus or autokrator.

Late Byzantine period
In the 12th century, the problem of two emperors came to a head as the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI expressed a desire to unite christendom under his own rule. The threat posed by the German emperor, caused great concern in the Byzantine Empire, where Emperor Alexios III Angelos slightly altered his imperial title in an attempt to make it appear less offensive to his western counterpart. Though previous Byzantine emperors had used basileus kai autokrator Romaion ("Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans"), Alexios III's title separated basileus from the rest and replaced its original position with augoustos (once more bringing the old title of Augustus into prominence), creating the possible interpretation that Alexios III was simply an emperor (basileus) and besides that also the moderator Romanorum ("Autocrat of the Romans") but not explicitly the Roman emperor, so that he was no longer in direct competition with his rival in Germany and that his title was less provocative to the West in general. Alexios III's successor, Alexios IV Angelos, continued with this practice and went even further, inverting the order of moderator Romanorum and rendering it as Romanorum moderator. Alexios III's new full title in Greek was en Christoi to theo pistos basileus theostephes anax krataios huspelos augoustos kai autokrator Romaion in Greek and in Christo Deo fidelis imperator divinitus coronatus sublimis potens excelsus semper augustus moderator Romanorum in Latin. The new title became the standard variant of the imperial title until the end of the empire, many of the laudatory epithets (e.g. sublimis, excelsus and potens) being dropped. As recorded in Latin, the standard formula from the Angelid emperors onwards was:

The use of the Latin version can be seen in many Byzantine treaties and documents (often intended for a Latin-speaking audience in the West or the Crusader possessions in Greece), for instance from the following emperors:


 * Isaac II Angelos (r. 1185–1195, 1203–1204): Ysaakius in Christo Deo fildelis imperator et moderator romanorum Angelus.
 * Alexios III Angelos (r. 1195–1203): Alexius fidelis in Christo imperator a Deo coronatus romanorum moderator et semper Augustus, Comnanus.
 * Alexios IV Angelos (r. 1203–1204): Alexius fidelis in Christo imperator a Deo coronatus romanorum moderator et semper Augustus.
 * Theodore I Laskaris (r. 1204/1205–1221): Teodorus in Christo Deo fildelis imperator et moderator romanorum et semper Augustus Comnanus Lascarus.
 * Michael VIII Palaiologos (r. 1259–1282): Michael in Christo Deo fidelis imperator et moderator romeorum, Ducas, Angelus, Comninus, Paleologus semper Augustus.
 * John VIII Palaiologos (r. 1425–1448): Iohannes in Christo Deo fidelis imperator et moderator romeorum Paleologus semper Augustus.