Holy Roman Emperor: Did you mean...?

Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (1459-1519), belonged to the imperial House of Habsburg, and the imperial electors made him King of the Romans in 1486 during his father's lifetime, thus establishing...

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (24 February 1500 to 21 September 1558) reigned from 1519 until his abdication in 1556 and was one of the most powerful rulers in the history of the Habsburg dynasty. Through a series of...

Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor (1741-1790), was the son and successor of Maria Theresa (1717-1780) and Francis Stephen, aka Francis I (1708-1765), of the imperial house of the Habsburgs. He governed...

The Holy Roman Empire officially lasted from 962 to 1806. It was one of Europe’s largest medieval and early modern states, but its power base was unstable and continually shifting. The Holy Roman Empire was not a unitary state...

Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I von Hapsburg (detail), print illustration by unknown artist, c. 17th century. Maximilian I (b. 1459 - d.1519) ruled as King of the Romans and Holy Roman Emperor. He...

A medieval manuscript illustration depicting the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI (r. 1191-1197 CE). (Codex Manesse, 1305-1315 CE)

"The Holy Roman Empire was in no way holy, nor Roman, nor an empire," wrote Voltaire, and this interpretation still dominates the popular imagination, so the Holy Roman Empire is treated as a bad joke, a pale...

Roman emperors ruled the Roman Empire starting with Augustus in 27 BCE and continuing in the West until the late 5th century CE and in the Eastern Roman Empire up to the mid-15th century CE. The emperors took titles such as Caesar...

The emperors of ancient China had tremendous power and responsibility. Called the 'Son of Heaven', he (and once she) was given a divine right to rule over all people but was expected to promote their best interest and not his...

Woodcut portrait of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor (r. 1084-1105) by Christoffel Jegher, c. 1631-1633. The British Museum, London.