Kaiser is the German title meaning "Emperor," with Kaiserin being the female equivalent, "Empress." It is directly derived from the Latin Emperors' title of Caesar, which in turn is derived from the name of Julius Caesar. In English "the Kaiser" is usually reserved for the Emperors of the German Empire. Although the British monarchs styled "Emperor of India" were also called "Kaiser i Hind" in Hindi and Urdu, this word, although similar in form, has no direct relationship with German Kaiser.[1]
German history and antecedents of the title
The Roman imperial style was revived in the Frankish realm by Charlemagne in 800. When his empire was divided the title of Emperor went to the ruler holding the kingdom of Rome. Through inheritances this kingdom fell to the eastern ("German") kingdom. The Holy Roman Emperors (962—1806) called themselves Kaiser, combining the imperial title with that of Roman King (assumed by the designated heir before the imperial coronation); they saw their rule as a continuation of that of the Roman Emperors and used the title derived from "Caesar" to reflect their supposed heritage. The rulers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (1804—1918) were born in the Habsburg dynasty, which had provided all Holy Roman Emperors since 1440. The Austrian-Hungarian rulers adopted the title Kaiser. In English the (untranslated) word "Kaiser" is mainly associated with the emperors of the unified German Empire (1871—1918) and in particular with Kaiser Wilhelm II. In 1871, there was much debate about the exact title for the monarch of the unified Germany. Deutscher Kaiser ("German Emperor") was chosen over alternatives such as Kaiser von Deutschland ("Emperor of Germany"), or Kaiser der Deutschen ("Emperor of the Germans"); as the selected expressed the least degree of superiority over the rulers of the other principalities. There have only been three Kaisers of the (second) German Empire. All of them belonged to the Hohenzollern dynasty, which had been de facto leaders of Germany as kings of Prussia, the greatest power among the German principalities. The German Kaisers were:
- William I (1871—1888);
- Frederick III (1888), who ruled for 99 days;
- William II (1888—1918), during whose reign the monarchy in Germany ended near the end of World War I.
