Tsar — Mediated Wiki

{{Short description|Monarchical title in some Slavic countries}} {{Hatnote group|{{Redirect|Czar|the political term|Czar (political term)}}{{Other uses}}}} [[File:Car_Simeon_Bulharsky_-_Alfons_Mucha.jpg|thumb|Simeon I of Bulgaria, the first Bulgarian tsar and the first person who bore the title "tsar",<ref>Ivan Biliarsky, Word and Power in Mediaeval Bulgaria, East Central and Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 450–1450, Brill, 2011, {{ISBN|9004181873}}, p. 211.</ref> by Alphonse Mucha|alt=<nowiki>Alphonse Mucha's The Slav Epic cycle No.4: Tsar Simeon I of Bulgaria (1923)</nowiki>]] [[File:Emperor by Ivan Makarov.jpg|thumb|Reception of the Tsar of Russia in the Moscow Kremlin, by Ivan Makarov]] [[File:Paja Jovanović-Krunisanje Cara Dušana.jpg|thumb|Crowning of Stefan Dušan, Emperor of the Serbs, as tsar, by Paja Jovanović]] {{Ranks of Nobility}} {{Monarchism}}

'''Tsar''' ({{IPAc-en|z|ɑːr|,_|(|t|)|s|ɑːr}}; also spelled '''''czar''''', '''''tzar''''', or '''''csar'''''; {{langx|bg|цар|tsar}}; {{langx|ru|царь|tsar'}}; {{lang-sr-Cyrl-Latn|цар|car}}) is a Slavic title derived from the Latin word ''caesar'',<ref name="Vodoff"/> which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the European medieval sense of the term—a ruler with the same rank as a Roman emperor, holding it by the approval of another emperor or a supreme ecclesiastical official—but was usually considered by Western Europeans to be equivalent to "king".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Margeret|first=J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=atYFs7aWsLkC&pg=PA111|title=The Russian Empire and Grand Duchy of Muscovy|publisher=University of Pittsburgh|year=1983|isbn=9780822977018|pages=111|quote=The Slavonic Bible did equate the terms "tsar" and "king"... Russian writers often compared the grand prince or tsar with any kings of the Old Testament. Several writers [argued] that it was a mistake to translate ''tsar'' as "emperor". This was important because of a widely held view in Europe that the tsar wished to claim the imperial legacy of the defunct Byzantine Empire.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=de Madariaga|first=Isabel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xe965KmqqcYC&pg=PT78|title=Ivan the Terrible|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2006|isbn=9780300143768|pages=78|quote=The primary meaning of ''tsar'' was thus an independent ruler, with no overlord, who could be either a king of one particular nation or people, as in the Bible, or an 'emperor' ruling over several nations, such as the East Roman Emperor.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Madariaga |first=Isabel De |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=omjXAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA40 |title=Politics and Culture in Eighteenth-Century Russia |date=2014 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-88190-2 |pages=40–42 |quote=Other powers [forgot] that ''tsar'' had once been recognized as ''Empereur'', as ''imperator'', or even as ''kayzer''... This explains much of the difficulty encountered by Peter I when he adopted the title ''Imperator''. The etymological origin of the word ''tsar'' had been glossed over and the title had been devalued.}}</ref>

Tsar and its variants were the official titles in the First Bulgarian Empire (681–1018), Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396), the Kingdom of Bulgaria (1908–1946), the Serbian Empire (1346–1371), and the Tsardom of Russia (1547–1721). The first monarch to adopt the title of tsar was Simeon I of Bulgaria.<ref>"Simeon I." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 12 July 2009, [http://search.eb.com/eb/article-9067834 EB.com].</ref> Simeon II, the last tsar of Bulgaria, is the last person (and only living person as of 2026) to have held this title.

==Etymology== The title ''tsar'' is derived from the Latin title ''caesar'', used for the Roman emperors.<ref name=eponym>{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=tsar|title=Online Etymology Dictionary|work=etymonline.com}}</ref><ref name="Vodoff">{{cite book |last1=Vodoff |first1=Vladimir |editor-last1=Vauchez |editor-first1=Andre |title=Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages |volume=2 |date=2000a |publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers |isbn=978-1-57958-282-1 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780197599020.001.0001/acref-9780197599020-e-9130|chapter=Tsar |page=1469 |language=en}}</ref> It entered the Slavic languages through the Gothic term ''kaisar'' and was used as an equivalent of the Greek term ''basileus'', which referred to Byzantine emperors and the kings of the Bible.<ref name="Vodoff"/> The Greek equivalent of the Latin word ''imperator'' was the title ''autokrator''.

==Bulgaria== {{Further|List of Bulgarian monarchs}}

[[File:The inscription of Mostich.JPG|right|thumb|upright=0.9|Mostich's epitaph uses the title ''tsar'' (outlined): "Here lies Mostich who was ichirgu-boil during the reigns of Tsar Simeon and Tsar Peter. At the age of eighty he forsook the rank of ichirgu boila and all of his possessions and became a monk. And so ended his life." (Museum of Preslav)]] [[File:Simeon_II_of_Bulgaria.jpg|thumb|Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha is the only living person to have borne the title of "tsar" (as Simeon II of Bulgaria).<ref>Christina Holtz-Bacha, ''Encyclopedia of Political Communication'', Volume 1, with Lynda Lee Kaid, Christina Holtz-Bacha as ed., Sage, 2008, {{ISBN|1412917999}}. p. 115.</ref>]] In 705, Emperor Justinian II named Tervel of Bulgaria "caesar" ({{Langx|el|καῖσαρ}}), the first foreigner to receive this title, but his descendants continued to use the Bulgar title "Kanasubigi". The sainted Boris I is sometimes retrospectively referred to as tsar, because at his time Bulgaria was converted to Christianity. However, the title "tsar" (and its Byzantine Greek equivalent ''basileus'') was actually adopted and used for the first time by his son Simeon I, following a makeshift imperial coronation performed by the Patriarch of Constantinople in 913. After an attempt by the Byzantine Empire to revoke this major diplomatic concession and a decade of intensive warfare, the imperial title of the Bulgarian ruler was recognized by the Byzantine government in 924 and again at the formal conclusion of peace in 927. Since in Byzantine political theory there was place for only two emperors, Eastern and Western (as in the Late Roman Empire), the Bulgarian ruler was crowned ''basileus'' as "a spiritual son" of the Byzantine ''basileus''.<ref>Срђан Пириватрић. ''Самуилова држава''. Београд, 1997.</ref>

It has been hypothesized that Simeon's title was also recognized by a papal mission to Bulgaria in or shortly after 925, as a concession in exchange for a settlement in the Bulgarian-Croatian conflict or a possible attempt to return Bulgaria to union with Rome. Thus, in the later diplomatic correspondence conducted in 1199–1204 between the Bulgarian ruler Kaloyan and Pope Innocent III, Kaloyan—whose self-assumed Latin title was "Imperator Bulgarorum et Blachorum"—claims that the imperial crowns of Simeon I, his son Peter I, and Samuel were somehow derived from the papacy. The pope, however, only speaks of ''reges'' (kings) of Bulgaria in his replies, and eventually grants only that lesser title to Kaloyan, who nevertheless proceeds to thank the pope for the "imperial title" conferred upon him.<ref>''Innocentii pp. III epistolae ad Bulgariae historiam spectantes''. Recensuit et explicavit Iv. Dujcev. Sofia, 1942.</ref>

After Bulgaria's liberation from the Ottomans in 1878, its new monarchs were at first ''autonomous prince'' (knyaz). With the declaration of full independence, Ferdinand I of Bulgaria adopted the traditional title "tsar" in 1908 and it was used until the abolition of the monarchy in 1946. However, these titles were not generally perceived as equivalents of "emperor" any longer. In the Bulgarian as in the Greek vernacular, the meaning of the title had shifted<ref>Найден Геров. 1895–1904. Речник на блъгарский язик. (the entry on цар in Naiden Gerov's ''Dictionary of the Bulgarian Language'')</ref> (although Paisius' ''Slavonic-Bulgarian History'' (1760–1762) had still distinguished between the two concepts).

==Serbia== {{Further|Emperor of the Serbs|List of Serbian monarchs}} [[File:Serbian Emperor Stefan Dušan, cropped.jpg|right|thumb|Tsar Dušan of Serbia]]

The title of ''tsar'' (Serbian ''car'') was used officially by two monarchs, the previous monarchical title being that of king (''kralj''). In 1345, Stefan Dušan began to style himself "Emperor of Serbs and Greeks" (the Greek renderings read "''basileus'' and ''autokrator'' of Serbs and Romans"), and was crowned as such in Skopje on Easter (April 16) 1346 by the newly elevated Serbian patriarch, alongside the Bulgarian patriarch and archbishop of Ohrid. On the same occasion, he had his wife Helena of Bulgaria crowned as empress and his son associated in power as king. When Dušan died in 1355, his son Stefan Uroš V became the next emperor. The new emperor's uncle Simeon Uroš (Siniša) contested the succession and claimed the same titles as a dynast in Thessaly. After his death around 1370, he was succeeded in his claims by his son John Uroš, who retired to a monastery in about 1373.<ref>{{Citation |chapter=Empire (c.1170–1459) |date=2023 |title=A Concise History of Serbia |pages=83–139 |editor-last=Djokić |editor-first=Dejan |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/concise-history-of-serbia/empire-c11701459/D8DD1C6481FED34AFB34350304B2AE7A |access-date=2025-12-29 |series=Cambridge Concise Histories |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-02838-8}}</ref>

== Russia == {{Main list|List of Russian monarchs}}

The title ''tsar'' was used once by church officials of Kievan Rus' in the naming of Yaroslav the Wise, the grand prince of Kiev ({{reign | 1019 | 1054}}). This may have related to Yaroslav's war against Byzantium and to his efforts to distance himself from Constantinople. However, other princes during the period of Kievan Rus' never styled themselves as tsars.<ref>Wladimir Vodoff. ''Remarques sur la valeur du terme "czar" appliqué aux princes russes avant le milieu du 15e siècle'', in "Oxford Slavonic Series", new series, vol. XI. Oxford University Press, 1978.</ref> The first Russian ruler to openly break with the khan of the Golden Horde, Mikhail of Tver ({{reigned|1285|1318}}), assumed the title ''basileus ton Ros'',<ref> {{cite book |last1 = de Madariaga |first1 = Isabel |author-link1 = Isabel de Madariaga |editor-last1 = Oresko |editor-first1 = Robert |editor-last2 = Gibbs |editor-first2 = G. C. |editor-last3 = Scott |editor-first3 = H. M. |editor-link3 = H. M. Scott |date = 1997 |chapter = Tsar into Emperor: the title of Peter the Great |title = Royal and Republican Sovereignty in Early Modern Europe: Essays in Memory of Ragnhild Hatton |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=kfXtdrD6kVIC |publication-place = Cambridge |publisher = Cambridge University Press |page = 355 |isbn = 9780521419109 |access-date = 2 October 2023 |quote = [...] Michael of Tver', after receiving the ''yarlyk'' (edict) of the Mongol Khan in 1304 as grand prince of Vladimir and Moscow sent an embassy to the Emperor Andronicos II in which he described himself as '''basileus ton Ros'''. }} </ref> as well as ''tsar''.<ref>A.V. Soloviev. ''"Reges" et "Regnum Russiae" au moyen âge'', in "Byzantion", t. XXXVI. Bruxelles, 1966.</ref> The title of tsar was used to denote a fullness of a sovereign's power and was reserved to the Holy Roman emperor and the Byzantine emperor, and later the khan of the Golden Horde.<ref name="Feldbrugge"/>{{rp|776}} In literature, it was also used in a wider sense to indicate an illustrious ruler.<ref name="Feldbrugge"/>{{rp|776}} Unlike its usage in Bulgarian and Serbian, where the title of tsar was used to challenge the power of the ''basileus'', it only had a religious or moral value when attributed to a Russian prince throughout most of the medieval period.<ref name="Vodoff"/>

The grand princes of Moscow began using the title in foreign relations.<ref name="Feldbrugge"/>{{rp|776}} Following his assertion of independence from the khan in 1476, Ivan III ({{reign | 1462 | 1505}}) adopted the title of sovereign of all Russia, and he later also started to use the title of tsar regularly in diplomatic relations with the West.<ref> {{cite book |last1 = Bushkovitch |first1 = Paul |date = 2021 |title = Succession to the Throne in Early Modern Russia: The Transfer of Power 1450–1725 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=pAEbEAAAQBAJ |edition = 1st |publication-place = New York |publisher = Cambridge University Press |page = 73 |isbn = 9781108479349 |access-date = 2 October 2023 |quote = Ivan III had occasionally, not regularly, used the title 'tsar' in letters to other rulers. }} </ref> From about 1480, he is designated as ''imperator'' in his Latin correspondence, as ''keyser'' in his correspondence with the Swedish regent, and as ''kejser'' in his correspondence with the Danish king, Teutonic Knights, and the Hanseatic League. Ivan's son Vasily III continued using these titles. Sigismund von Herberstein (1486–1566) observed that the titles of ''kaiser'' and ''imperator'' were attempts to render the Russian term ''tsar'' into German and Latin, respectively.<ref>"Den Titel aines Khaisers, wiewol Er alle seine Brief nur Reissisch schreibt, darinn Er sich Czar nent, so schickht Er gemaincklich Lateinische Copeyen darmit oder darinn, und an stat des Czar setzen sy Imperator, den wir Teutsch Khaiser nennen".</ref>{{full citation needed|date=October 2023}} The title-inflation related to Russia's growing ambitions to become an Orthodox "third Rome", after the fall of Constantinople in 1453. The monarch in Moscow was recognized as an emperor by Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I in 1514.<ref>Ostrowski, D. (2002). ''Muscovy and the Mongols: Cross-Cultural Influences on the Steppe Frontier, 1304–1589''. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, p. 178.</ref><ref>Lehtovirta, J. "The Use of Titles in Herberstein's "Commentarii". Was the Muscovite Tsar a King or an Emperor?" in Kӓmpfer, F. and Frӧtschner, R. (eds.) (2002) ''450 Jahre Sigismund von Herbersteins Rerum Moscoviticarum Commentarii 1549–1999'', Harrassowitz Verlag, pp. 196–198.</ref>{{NoteTag|"Kayser vnnd Herscher aller Rewssen und Groszfürste zu Wolodimer" in the German text of Maximilian's letter; "Imperator et Dominator universorum Rhutenorum et Magnus Princeps Valadomerorum" in the Latin copy. Vasily III responded by referring to Maximilian as "Maximiliano Dei gratia Electo Romanorum Caesare", i.e., "Roman Caesar". Maximilian's letter was of great importance to Ivan the Terrible and to Peter the Great, when they wished to back up their titles of "tsar" and "emperor", respectively. Both monarchs demonstrated the letter to foreign ambassadors; Peter even referred to it when he proclaimed himself Emperor.}}

However, the first Russian ruler to be formally crowned as tsar of all Russia was Ivan IV ("the Terrible"), in 1547.<ref name="Feldbrugge">{{cite book |last1=Feldbrugge |first1=Ferdinand J. M. |title=A History of Russian Law: From Ancient Times to the Council Code (Ulozhenie) of Tsar Aleksei Mikhailovich of 1649 |date=2 October 2017 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-35214-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TDI9DwAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref>{{rp|776, 1061}} Some foreign ambassadors—namely, Herberstein (in 1516 and 1525), Daniel Printz a Buchau (in 1576 and 1578) and Just Juel (in 1709)—indicated that the word "tsar" should not be translated as "emperor", because it is applied by Russians to David, Solomon and other Biblical kings, who are simple ''reges''.{{NoteTag|Based on these accounts, the Popes repeatedly suggested to confer on the Russian monarchs the title of ''rex'' ("king"), if they would only ally themselves with the Pope. Such a proposal was made for the last time in 1550, i.e., three years after Ivan IV had crowned himself tsar. As early as 1489, Ivan III declined the papal offer, declaring that his regal authority did not require anyone's confirmation.}} On the other hand, Jacques Margeret, a bodyguard of False Demetrius I ({{reign | 1605 | 1606}}), argues that the title of "tsar" is more honorable for Muscovites than "kaiser" or "king" exactly because it was God and not some earthly potentate who ordained to apply it to David, Solomon, and other kings of Israel.<ref>"Et ainsi retiennent le nom de Zar comme plus autentique, duquel nom il pleut iadis à Dieu d'honorer David, Salomon et autres regnans sur la maison de Iuda et Israel, disent-ils, et que ces mots ''Tsisar'' et ''Krol'' n'est que invention humaine, lequel nom quelqu'un s'est acquis par beaux faits d'armes".</ref> Samuel Collins, a court physician to Tsar Alexis in 1659–66, styled the latter "Great Emperor", commenting that "as for the word ''Czar'', it has so near relation to ''Cesar''... that it may well be granted to signifie Emperour. The Russians would have in to be an higher Title than King, and yet they call David ''Czar'', and our kings, ''Kirrols'', probably from Carolus Quintus, whose history they have among them".<ref>''The Present State of Russia, in a Letter to a Friend at London. Written by an Eminent Person residing at Great Tzars Court at Mosco for the space of nine years''. 2nd ed. London, 1671. pp. 54–55.</ref>

[[File:Tsar Nicholas II -1898.jpg|thumb|Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia.]]

The title ''tsar'' remained in common usage, and also officially as part of various titles signifying rule over various states absorbed by the Russian monarchy (such as the former Tatar khanates and the Georgian Orthodox kingdom). In the 18th century, ''tsar'' was increasingly viewed as inferior to "emperor" or as highlighting the oriental side of the rank.<ref>Boris Uspensky. ''Царь и император: помазание на трон и семантика монарших титулов''. Moscow: Языки русской культуры, 2000. {{ISBN|5-7859-0145-5}}. pp. 48–52.</ref> Upon annexing Crimea in 1783, Catherine the Great adopted the hellenicized title "tsaritsa of Tauric Chersonesos", rather than "tsaritsa of the Crimea". By 1815, when Russia annexed a large part of Poland, the title had clearly come to be interpreted in Russia as the equivalent of Polish ''król'' ("king"), and the Russian emperor assumed the title "tsar of Poland".<ref name=BEC>{{cite web | url= http://www.cultinfo.ru/fulltext/1/001/007/111/111470.htm | title= The Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedia entry on Tsar | access-date= 2006-07-27 | archive-date= 2020-09-08 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200908103414/http://cultinfo.ru/fulltext/1/001/007/111/111470.htm | url-status= dead }}</ref>

Among the indigenous peoples of Siberia and the Muslims of the Volga region, Central Asia and the Caucasus, the autocracy of the Russian Empire often became identified with the image of the "White Tsar" ({{langx |ru| Белый царь}}).<ref> {{cite book |last1 = Hofmeister |first1 = Ulrich |editor-last1 = Banerjee |editor-first1 = Milinda |editor-last2 = Backerra |editor-first2 = Charlotte |editor-last3 = Sarti |editor-first3 = Cathleen |date = 2017 |chapter = From the ''White Tsar'' to the ''Russian Tsar''. Monarchy and Russian Nationalism in Tsarist Turkestan |title = Transnational Histories of the 'Royal Nation' |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=g1DCDgAAQBAJ |series = Palgrave Studies in Modern Monarchy |publication-place = Cham, Switzerland |publisher = Springer |page = 137 |isbn = 9783319505237 |access-date = 2 October 2023 |quote = [...] White Tsar [Belyi Tsar']. This title was widely used in Russian communication with Asian or Muslim peoples during the nineteenth century and derived its attraction from its 'Asian' appeal. [...I]n late Tsarist times the expression ''White Tsar'' was perceived as a specific 'oriental' title for the Russian Tsar that was rooted in Mongolian traditions. }} </ref>

By 1894, when Nicholas II ascended the throne, the full title of the Russian rulers was <blockquote>"By the grace of God Almighty, the Emperor and Supreme Autocrat of all the Russias, Tsar of Moscow, Kiev, Vladimir, Novgorod, Kazan, Astrakhan, Poland, Siberia, Tauric Chersonese, and Georgia, Lord of Pskov, Grand Duke of Smolensk, Lithuania, Volhynia, Podolia and Finland, Prince of Estonia, Livonia, Courland and Semigalia, Samogitia, Białystok, Karelia, Tver, Yugra, Perm, Vyatka, Bulgaria, and other territories; Lord and Grand Duke of Nizhny Novgorod, Chernigov; Ruler of Ryazan, Polotsk, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Beloozero, Udoria, Obdoria, Kondia, Vitebsk, Mstislav, and all northern territories; Ruler of Iveria, Kartalinia, and the Kabardinian lands and Armenian territories; hereditary Ruler and Lord of the Cherkess and Mountain Princes and others; Lord of Turkestan, Heir of Norway, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, Stormarn, Dithmarschen, Oldenburg".<ref>Harcave, Sidney ''First Blood The Russian Revolution of 1905'' Macmillan: London, 1964 p. 12</ref> </blockquote>

== Montenegro == {{Main|Šćepan Mali}}

The title of tsar was only used one time in Montenegro, by Šćepan Mali, translated as "Stephen the Little". He was rumored to be former Russian emperor Peter III. He ruled the country of Montenegro as absolute monarch, and reigned as the tsar of Montenegro from 1768 until his death in 1773.<ref name="LaBrujulaVerde">{{Cite web |date=20 August 2024 |title=Šćepan Mali: the first and only tsar of Montenegro who pretended to be the Russian Peter III |url=https://www.labrujulaverde.com/en/2024/08/scepan-mali-the-first-and-only-tsar-of-montenegro-who-pretended-to-be-the-russian-peter-iii/ |access-date=20 August 2025 |publisher=La Brújula Verde}}</ref>

==Metaphorical uses== {{See also|Czar (political term)}}

Like many lofty titles, such as mogul, tsar or czar has been used in English as a metaphor for positions of high authority since 1866 (referring to U.S. President Andrew Johnson), with a connotation of dictatorial powers and style, fitting since "autocrat" was an official title of the Russian emperor (informally referred to as 'the tsar'). Similarly, Speaker of the House Thomas Brackett Reed was called "Czar Reed" for his dictatorial control of the House of Representatives in the 1880s and 1890s.<ref name="EtymonlineCzar">{{Cite web |title=Czar (etymology and metaphorical usage) |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/czar |access-date=21 August 2025 |publisher=Online Etymology Dictionary}}</ref>

In the United States and in the United Kingdom, the title "czar" is a colloquial term for certain high-level civil servants, such as the "drug czar" for the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (not to be confused with a drug baron), "terrorism czar" for a presidential advisor on terrorism policy, "cybersecurity czar" for the highest-ranking Department of Homeland Security official on computer security and information security policy, and "war czar" to oversee the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. More specifically, a czar in the US government typically refers to a sub-cabinet-level advisor within the executive branch. One of the earliest known usages of the term was for Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, who was named commissioner of baseball, with broad powers to clean up the sport after it had been sullied by the Black Sox scandal of 1919.<ref>{{cite news|title=Close, But No Big Czar |author=James K. Glassman |date=December 18, 2000 |work=Reason magazine |url=http://www.reason.com/news/show/36081.html }}</ref>

== Notes == {{NoteFoot}}

== References == === Citations=== {{Reflist}}

=== Sources === {{refbegin}} * ''Michael and Natasha, The Life and Love of the Last Tsar of Russia'', Rosemary & Donald Crawford, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London 1997. {{ISBN|0-297-81836-8}}. * George Ostrogorsky, "Avtokrator i samodržac", ''Glas Srpske kraljevske akademije'' CLXIV, Drugi razdred 84 (1935), 95–187 * John V.A. Fine Jr., ''The Early Medieval Balkans'', Ann Arbor, 1983 * John V.A. Fine Jr., ''The Late Medieval Balkans'', Ann Arbor, 1987 * Robert O. Crummey, ''The Formation of Muscovy 1304–1613'', New York, 1987 * David Warnes, ''Chronicle of the Russian Tsars'', London, 1999 * Matthew Lang (Editor), ''The Chronicle – $10 Very Cheap'', Sydney, 2009/10 {{refend}}

==External links== {{Wiktionary}} {{Commons category|Tsars}} {{EB1911 poster|Tsar}} * [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=tsar&searchmode=none EtymOnline]

Category:Tsars of Russia Category:Bulgarian noble titles Category:Emperors Category:Heads of state Category:Imperial titles Category:Russian Empire Category:Serbian noble titles Category:Slavic titles Category:Titles of national or ethnic leadership