Tsar
Tsar was the title used for the rulers of Russia from 1546 to 1917. In 1721 Peter I adopted the title Emperor (Imperator), by which he and his heirs were recognised, and which came to be used interchangably with Tsar.
The word "Tsar" (sometimes transliterated less correctly according to modern standards as "Czar" or "Tzar") is from the Latin "Caesar". "Tsarina" is used for an empress, "Tsarevna" for the daughter of a Tsar or Tsarina, and "Tsarevich" for a son. The Patriarchs, heads of the Russian Orthodox Church, acted as leaders of Russia at times, as during the Polish occupation and interregnum of 1610-13.
The deprecated cz spelling originated with Baron Sigismund von Heberstein in 1549 in his Rerum Moscovit. Commentarii, which was the main early source of knowledge of Russia in Western Europe. However this contrasts with the ts spelling in all slavonic languages; for example, the English tsar comes from the Russian tsari. The ts spelling has been accepted in English for the last century as the correct usage. See the Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition.
Some of the Tsars were:
- Ivan IV of Russia (Ivan the Terrible) (1530-1585) - last of the Ruriks; first to be named Tsar
- Michael Romanov (1613-1645) - first of the Romanoffs: elected Tsar following the "Time of Troubles"
- Peter I of Russia (Peter the Great) (1689-1725)
- Catherine I of Russia (1725-1727)
- Anna Ivanovna (1730-1740)
- Elizabeth Petrovna (1741-1761)
- Peter III of Russia (1762)
- Catherine II of Russia (Catherine the Great) (1762-1796)
- Paul I of Russia (1796-1801)
- Alexander I of Russia (1801-1825)
- Nicholas I of Russia (1825-1855)
- Alexander II of Russia (1855-1881) - abolished serf system
- Alexander III of Russia 1881-1894
- Nicholas II of Russia 1894-1917
Tsar was also the title of the rulers of Bulgaria in 893-1014, 1085-1396 and 1908-1946, and of Serbia in 1346-1371.
See also the history of Russia, history of Finland, history of Belarus, history of Ukraine, and lists of incumbents.