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( Roman Emperor)
The Roman Emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period (starting at about 27 BC). The Romans had no single term for the office Latin titles such as imperator (from which English emperor ultimately derives), augustus, caesar and princeps were all associated with it. In practice, the Emperor was supreme ruler of Rome and supreme commander of the Roman legions. In theory, however, Rome remained a republic, the res publica, and the Emperor's status was merely that of primus inter pares—first among equals. This legal fiction became increasingly meaningless as the Emperors consolidated their power. However, it was maintained at least to a ceremonial degree until the very end of the Roman Empire.[citation needed] The Western Roman Empire met its end in 476 and the Eastern Roman Empire in 1453. There was no constitutional office of "Roman Emperor" (the first person actually to bear that title was Michael I Rhangabes in the early 9th century,[citation needed] who was styled Basileus Rhomaiôn, "Emperor of the Romans"—if appreciating that by that time the meaning of "Basileus" had moved from "Sovereign" to "Emperor"), nor any title or rank directly analogous to the title of "Emperor"; all the titles traditionally associated with the Emperor had pre-existing, Republican meanings.[citation needed] "Roman Emperor" is a convenient shorthand used by historians to express the much more complicated nature of being the "First Citizen" in the Roman state, and as a result there are many differing opinions as to precisely who was Emperor when, and how many Emperors there were. In the beginning there were supposedly 14 emperors before 54 B.C. The emperor's legal authority derived from the extraordinary concentration of individual powers and offices extant in the Republic rather than from a new political office (emperors regularly had themselves elected to the consulship and the censorate); the emperor actually held the non-"imperial" offices of princeps senatus (parliamentary leader of the Senate) and pontifex maximus (chief priest of the Roman state religion, literally "greatest bridge-maker"), both of which had existed for hundreds of years before the Empire. (Gratian was the last emperor to be pontifex maximus; he surrendered the pontificate maximus in 382 to St. Siricius and it permanently became an auxiliary honor of the Bishop of Rome.) However, these offices only provided great dignitas (personal prestige); the emperor's powers derived from the fact that he held auctoritas he had, ad personam (i.e. without holding office), both imperium maius (greater power or command) and tribunicia potestas (tribunician power).[citation needed] As a result, he formally outranked the provincial governors and the ordinary magistrates (magistratus ordinarii), had the right to enact capital punishment, could command obedience of private citizens (privati), enjoyed personal inviolability (sacrosanctitas), could rescue any plebeian from the hands of any patrician magistrate (ius auxiliandi), and interpose his veto on any act or proposal of any magistrate, including the tribunes of the people (ius intercedendi or ius intercessionis).[citation needed]
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